Kim Johnson discussed racial injustice in the criminal justice system and furthering civic engagement at a virtual event Tuesday as a part of University of Oregon’s African American Workshop and Lecture Series.
Johnson, the director of UO’s Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence and assistant vice provost for advising at UO, is one of eight experts guest lecturing as a part of the 2020-21 African American Workshop and Lecture Series. The lecture series aims to further standards of inclusive environments, practices and policies at UO, according to the event’s webpage.
In her lecture, Johnson discussed furthering civic engagement beyond casting ballots in elections. Voting is the bare minimum as a citizen, Johnson said, and isn’t enough to change hundreds of years of racism in the United States. Johnson said activism plays an important role in creating change, too.
“Your vote is your voice,” Johnson said. “It can be used as a weapon as much as it can be used as wielding power. Voting and activism for me are two sides of the same coin.”
Johnson said her first novel, “This Is My America,” is her form of civic action beyond casting ballots.
“This Is My America” tackles issues of racial injustice in the criminal justice system and mass incarceration in the United States. Her novel follows a young Black protagonist named Tracy, who is trying to save her father — an innocent Black man — from death row.
“I found purpose with writing something that I felt that could touch the world,” Johnson said. “Knowing that I know I didn’t have all of the answers, but I could provide a story that felt unflinching and honest and raw and could bridge a conversation about all the things that I covered in my novel.”
According to the NAACP, African Americans are incarcerated more than five times the rate whites are. In 2014, African Americans made up 2.3 million of 6.8 million incarcerated people in the U.S. Within the past 40 years, 35% of Americans executed under the death penalty were Black.
Johnson hopes that “This Is My America” will inspire future generations to have anti-racist thinking and dismantle systems of oppression and power. She also hopes her novel will inspire future works of literary activism.
Chloe Bryant is a junior studying journalism and global studies at the University of Oregon.