Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 1-24-20

Local
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The pain of losing a child, especially to gun violence, is a pain that never goes away.On January 1, 2017, the life of Johnny Johnson was changed forever with the death of his son, Jayquon.
The 17-year-old died after being shot during an alleged drug deal. In addition to losing their son to gun violence, the Johnson family learned that Cody Quinn, who admitted shooting his classmate, would be charged with several other crimes, but not in connection with the death.
Since that time, Johnson has dedicated his life to draw- ing attention to gun violence. Recently, he rode his bicycle nearly two hundred miles to draw attention to gun violence and the change to the “Stand Your Ground” law that pre- vented Quinn from being charged with a crime. He ar- rived in Tallahassee during the first week of the new legislative session. The trip was educa- tional for Johnson, who re- turned with a message for everyone.
That message is, “I learned that if we don’t get out and vote, it is very hard to get legislation pushed through. We have to get activated to vote and stay activated. We have to get involved in order to make changes possible and to control our own destiny.
“If the people we elected
JAYQUON JOHNSON 7/8/1999 to 1/1/2017
don’t do what we want, we need to elect others. We need to get involved, vote, and hold our elected officials account- able. We must become politi- cally mature and make politics work for us. Every grass roots success story starts small. But, if we can get one thing accom- plished, then it will have been worth it.
“I met with Rep. Dianne Hart and Senator Darryl Rouson and learned that their hands are tied.”
Johnson said he visited the Hillsborough County Su- pervisor of Elections Office and obtained voter registration forms. He plans to pass them out wherever he goes. “To be- come a registered voter, all anyone has to do is fill out the form and put it in the mail.”
On Monday, January 13th, Johnson began his bicycle ride to Tallahassee. He said he didn’t ride the entire 236 miles, “but I rode into Leon County. It took two days to get there.
“I feel I accomplished my
JOHNNY JOHNSON Father of Jayquon Johnson
goal of bringing attention to changing the laws about gun violence. People don’t realize the power of the vote. I was at the King Parade and I realized how powerful our community could be if we could just get half of those who were out there activated and voting. We have to vote in every election,
Recently, Johnny Johnson rode his bicycle to Tallahassee to draw attention to the current “Stand Your Ground” law. Mr. Johnson, second from the right, is shown with Mr. and Mrs. Robert (Joann) Sampson, State Rep. Dianne Hart, State Senator Darryl Rouson, Mr. Johnson, and Deacon Henry Baker.
Grieving Dad Says Voting Will Change Things
not just during presidential elections,” he said.
Jayquon was the son of Ms. Kennishia Doyle-An- derson and Johnny John- son, Sr. He was a Tampa
native and attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. He was a starting member of the Brandon High School Basketball Team at the time of his death.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A