Nobody

I'm "Nobody", Joseph Lewis Johnson, born November 10th, 1947 into an impoverished family of seven (five brothers and a sister). This was an era in our village when the color of your skin determined where you sat, ate, or lived. As "Hey Water Boy" in the cotton fields of Anchor Curve Mississippi... From that dirt-poor existence my life has taken me through the tough streets of Chicago, to the make love not war street of Oakland, to enlightenment in colleges, to an educational entrepreneurs... as a mentor and coach to at-risk youth in Madison and Wausau Wisconsin... To a Master's Degree and life as I know it now-this beyond; Bridgewater, Massachusetts!

This back story will take you from a heartfelt and engaging expedition into the life of my enslaved ancestors, forced into the sharecropping regime. From how I, a descendent, survived a hardscrabble existence marked by the yoke of forced illiteracy that encompassed the evils of poverty, prejudice and social injustice.

As a non-traditional student, I was faced with a choice - give into what most believed me to be: "Nobody," or fight back! With stubborn persistence I chose the latter. However in my early adult years I did surrender to an insatiable thirst for drugs, alcohol and adult entrainment that caused my integrity and values to fall to hypocrisy. So! Since we are born to be "Sowers" for God and Christ, what kind of Sowers had I, Mr. "Nobody", evolved into? My basketball talent led to a scholarship that brought me to Aurora College, Aurora, Illinois, by the way of two junior colleges, I learned quickly that it was my commitment for academics that ultimately saw me through, not basketball. As a final act! I'll also share significant factors that eventually helped me to redeem my soul!