N.C. A&T Civil Rights Couple Featured in Essence Magazine

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” The marriage of the Rev. Nelson Johnson ’86 and Joyce H. Johnson ’90 has stood the test of time, lasting for nearly 55 years. Their impactful story was featured in Essence Magazine’s January-February 2024 edition on Black Love.

The Johnsons are the founders and co-executive directors of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, a community-based, grassroots organization rooted in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of seeking racial and economic justice, democracy and a beloved community. They have worked together relentlessly to advocate for equal rights and justice for others while maintaining their faith in God.

Nelson Johnson, a native of Halifax County, North Carolina, grew up hearing stories about his grandfather, whom he is named after and who was the founding pastor of Lee’s Chapel Baptist Church in Littleton, N.C. His faith took root at a very early age and has carried him through his life’s journey.

In the 1960s, he served for four years in the Air Force and enrolled in North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was a student from 1965 to 1969 and served as vice president of the Student Government Association. In addition, his father and five out of nine children attended North Carolina A&T.

“During my time at A&T, the 1960s was a time of the civil rights movement culture. I met many students from different walks of life, and I organized various protests against issues on and surrounding the campus,” he said.

In February 1969, he was introduced to Joyce Hobson at an event. After three months, they married in May 1969, during the Greensboro Uprising.

Joyce Johnson is a former university professor and research director at N.C. A&T. A native of Richmond, Virginia, she was one of the earlier Black students enrolled at Duke University. She also was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement on campus and issues facing the Black community in North Carolina.

In the 1970s, the Johnsons started their family and had two daughters, Akua Johnson Matherson and Ayo Samori Johnson. The couple worked together to tackle issues in Greensboro, particularly pertaining to voting, fair wages, and the housing authority failure to improve living conditions for residents in low-income communities and eviction rates.

In 1979, the Johnsons faced the unspeakable, unthinkable event now known as the Greensboro Massacre that took place at Morningside Homes community.

This account of the Greensboro Massacre story is from the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report, Rev. Nelson Johnson and Joyce Johnson:

On November 3, 1979, individuals affiliated with the Worker Viewpoint Organization (WVO), later called the Communist Workers Party (CWP), alongside their supporters, convened for a peaceful march through the City of Greensboro. Rev. Nelson Johnson, a member of the WVO/CWP applied for a parade permit that contained the planned parade route. This permit also stated that participants of the march were not to carry firearms as the Greensboro Police Department would be onsite for protection. Despite holding a valid parade permit and assembling at the Morningside Homes Community, heavily armed members of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party descended upon the mostly unarmed marchers. The Greensboro Police Department, in conjunction with other city personnel, neglected to caution the demonstrators about the forthcoming violence orchestrated by the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party members. With the assistance of a paid informant within the police department, Eddie Dawson, who was a longtime Klan member and former FBI informant. Many in the police department grew wary of the march due to Johnson’s involvement and his activism with the Greensboro Uprising.

Shortly after marchers began to raise their picket signs and sing protest songs, Nazis and Klansmen were on the scene and quickly opened fire at demonstrators. This assault resulted in the loss of five lives and inflicted numerous injuries upon participants. The Greensboro Massacre victims’ names are Cesar Cauce, Dr. James Waller, William Evan Sampson, Sandra Neely Smith, and Dr. Michael Nathan.

“On this day, our children were with us during this march, and they were 7 and 8, witnessing this massacre,” said Joyce Johnson. “For years, we lived with the guilt of what happened on that unfortunate day.”

Days after the massacre, the victims’ family members had a difficult time finding a funeral home that would make arrangements for those who lost their lives. The CWP planned a funeral march to honor and bury the victims of the Greensboro Massacre on Nov. 11, 1979.

In November 1980, six Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party members were tried for the murder of the five victims and injuries to others, and rioting. An all-white jury found the defendants to be acting in self-defense and they were acquitted. In April 1984, five members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party were tried in federal court for their roles in the massacre. One pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge. An all-white jury acquitted the five of the other charges they faced.

On June 8, 1985, a civil jury found five members of the Ku Klux Klan, American Nazi Party and two Greensboro police officers were found jointly liable for wrongful death in the massacre. At one point during legal procedures, Klansmen, Nazis and police officers, being tried for murder, were put on a $50,000 bond. Johnson, who was charged with “disruptive behavior” was put on a $100,000 bond.

In efforts to resolve what took place on Nov. 3, 1979, the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission was launched by the Johnson and other survivors, along with numerous supports on June 12, 2004, and funded by private sources to help move toward truth, healing and reconciliation.

On Aug. 15, 2017, Greensboro City Council and the City of Greensboro issued a statement of regret to the victims, survivors, their families, and the members of the Morningside Homes community.

After continued pushing by Survivors, Greensboro Clergy, and community supporters, the Greensboro City Council in October 2020 finally issued an apology and an acknowledgment of the roles of the police and other public officials for the murders.

To further resolve the events that took place, the City of Greensboro honors the five victims who lost their lives annually along with an academic scholarship known as the “Morningside Homes Memorial Scholarship” in the amount of $1,979.00 to five graduating seniors at James B. Dudley High School. The scholarship is awarded to individuals who submit an entry focusing on the issues of racial and social justice that helps the Greensboro community reconcile the events that occurred in 1979.

“The aftermath of the Greensboro Massacre followed us for years and a lot of people in the community did not want to be associated with us out of fear of reprisals,” said Nelson.

“I was working at A&T during the time of the massacre and there were people petitioning for me to lose my job, but thankfully Dean Quiester Craig took a stand for me, and I was still able to be employed at the university,” said Joyce.

In 1991, the Johnsons and community members Lewis Brandon, III ’61, the Rev. Barbara Dua, First Presbyterian Church assistant pastor, and the Rev. Z. Holler, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant pastor, founded the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro.

For more than 30 years, it has mobilized students at surrounding universities and colleges in Guilford County to learn about the social justice movement and leadership development.

Today, the organization supports voter engagement, economic justice, police accountability and professionalism, and the North Carolina Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Process.

The Johnsons remain active in the community, facilitating trainings and speaking at events.

To learn more about the work of the Beloved Community Center, visit https://belovedcommunitycenter.org/.