World events inspire Johnson to become difference maker

Between serving as interim president for the local chapter of the NAACP, taking part in the Bridge the Gap conversations and starting a “Get Juiced” program during COVID-19, Rosa Johnson wants to bring people together.

Karla Elliot, Emilee Inman, Selina Pociask, Tierra Johnson, Shayna Hogan and Audrey Hanes all nominated Johnson as a Difference Maker and said she’s done more things for the community than they could list.

While her involvement includes longer commitments, such as with the NAACP, she’s also done volunteer haircuts for veterans and students during back to school, and coaches children’s track and women’s softball teams.

“She’s also done fundraisers … giving school supplies to those who need it,” Pociask said. “She’s done so much, that it’s hard to name them all.”

Johnson said she got involved in the NAACP after receiving help from a chapter in Tennessee to regain custody of her daughter and get her out of an abusive situation.

“I contacted the president of Clarksville, Tennessee, to help me fight for her back, and from then on, they’ve just been really important in my life,” she said. “Also, I noticed here, there’s a lot of dividing.

“NAACP is bringing people together as one. That’s what I wanted to do here is bringing the NAACP to our Butler County; to bring people together instead of dividing.”

Along the same goal, Johnson takes part in the Bridge the Gap conversations, which focus on ways to build relationships and trust between law enforcement and people of color.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the area and local schools closed down, Johnson developed a “Get Juiced” program. She, her four children, and others in the community, would deliver goodie bags to youth.

She said it was something more for her kids to do to get out of the house during the stay-at-home order and see friends while still maintaining physical distance.

Johnson’s family “juiced” more than 180 kids one week, she said. The Facebook group, over the course of the program, grew to over 470 members.

“I felt like, let’s try to do something where they can still interact, do something kind for friends, and it wasn’t about getting anything in return, but more like learning how to give,” she said.

This program was a primary reason Hogan nominated Johnson, she said, as her kids benefited from it.

Hogan is a mother of five — ages 6, 10, 11, 12 and 14 — and said within a day of signing up for them to be “juiced,” Johnson’s family was knocking on her door.

“She showed up at my front door, knocking on my door… and had bags for my kids,” she said. “Three of mine are mentally challenged, and they need socialization.

“During COVID, they couldn’t get that. So, something so small meant so much to the kids; to all the kids, I’m sure, of the Butler County area, but I know for a fact that it meant a lot to mine.”

Johnson said she’s working on community events for the coming months, including a fall festival and something to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women earning the right to vote.

“I just feel like equality means so much to me because that is what we live for,” Johnson said. “So, seeing somebody that’s being mistreated because of their race or sexuality, it just hits me because I deal with that every day.

“I know how it feels to be discriminated (against). So, I’m trying to help our community because our community is not how we see on social media. And, I know that we can come together and make a difference.”