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“Mentoring is in my blood.”
Christopher Johnson’s career in education began auspiciously nearly 40 years ago, when he was in the 10th grade. He landed a job as a high school bus driver—to and from his own school—charged with maintaining order on the vehicle filled with his peers. Johnson had no qualms with writing up his Greenville, S.C., schoolmates if they got out of line. Even back then, he prided himself on his innate ability to foster a culture of respect and caring among his fellow teenagers.
“It probably helped that my nickname in high school was Tuffy,” he says.
Currently, he is a leader in the 100 Black Men organization, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a culture of achievement and empowerment for Black youth. He helps young people find the confidence to rise past obstacles and achieve dreams they might once have thought impossible, stressing the importance of setting goals and graduating from high school and college.
Johnson can hardly remember a time when he wasn’t motivating young people to aspire to be their best selves. After four years in the Marine Corps following high school, he enrolled at South Carolina State University and joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, which encourages mentorship.
“A lot of our work centered on youth development,” he says. “Seeing strong Black men in the community is paramount to helping future generations.” Whether teaming with individual mentees or groups of kids and their parents over the years, he’s grabbed every opportunity to build supportive, trusting relationships with families while instilling values like hard work and responsibility.
His community work ties into his profession as a real estate agent. When he became a REALTOR® five years ago, Johnson lent his expertise to the DeKalb Association of REALTORS® and became its school board committee chair, helping launch the association’s financial literacy program, which reaches public schools and technical colleges through career fairs
Martha Jackson, president of the DeKalb Association of REALTORS®, says Johnson’s educational background and community service experience were assets. “He has expertise in being able to relate to various levels of students, particularly young males.”
‘What They See Is What They’ll Be’
Over 35 years, Johnson estimates, he’s mentored 50 students individually and another 1,000 in group programs, including his current work with the DeKalb County chapter of 100 Black Men, where he serves as board secretary. “I think of it as helping to shape the next generation of responsible leaders and citizens. To be honest, I think, in my case, God gives you a purpose,” he says.
“He’s going to challenge you in the best ways possible. He is going to demand that you’re great.” –Gian Crunk, mentee
Johnson has always been moved by the organization’s motto, “What they see is what they’ll be.” Mentoring for him means making a connection and a commitment to help mentees wherever they’re at, whether it’s picking up a student from school in a pinch or offering guidance about responsible behavior at the prom.
Its peace education component teaches students how to resolve conflicts without violence, helping them develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to prevent conflict and create social conditions that promote peace.
Johnson is still a driving force in the chapter’s Leadership Academy, which welcomes 100–150 mentees every other Saturday. In addition to serving as a board member for the national organization, he was appointed K–12 education chair in March.
A former eighth grade math teacher, Johnson was named Georgia’s Assistant Principal of the Year and a KAP mentor of the year in 2005. He capped his own educational achievements by earning his doctorate in educational leadership from Georgia Southern University in 2011.
A Father Figure
Through 100 Black Men of South Metro Atlanta, he was paired with 14-year-old Gian Crunk, a new mentee in the Rites of Passage program, for youths from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, often in single-mother households.
“We spent one-on-one time together, him being a positive male role model in my life,” recalls Crunk, who is now 34 and still close with Johnson. “My biological father lives overseas, so I don’t have the closest relationship with him.”
Crunk says his bond with Johnson came naturally because they had similar personalities. “We are both perfectionists. We both really don’t take no as an answer. We find a way to get the job done.”
Johnson and Crunk spent many Saturdays at the Leadership Academy, which focuses on life skills, leadership development, and group mentoring for middle school through high school youths.
A standout student, Crunk was named national mentee of the year in 2008 for his leadership, fundraising and business savvy. The mentor-mentee pairing continued until Crunk received several college scholarship offers.
Crunk recounts one of the best pieces of advice Johnson gave him: “One of the colleges I wanted to go to didn’t give me a full scholarship. He advised me not to put myself in debt,” says Crunk. “He did not want me to have to be burdened with having to pay the money back. I chose another university that gave me more financial incentive.”
“I call him my uncle, out of respect to my real father,” Crunk says. “I call him my uncle, but he feels like a father figure.”
Mentoring doesn’t stop when the mentees graduate from high school. “He always knew he could count on me,” Johnson says of Crunk. “And he still does. When he got ready to buy a house, we talked about that. Being a mentor is a lifetime commitment.”
Crunk says as he approached his 35th birthday, he wanted to do something for himself. “I bought a car just like his. I think it was subconscious. … It was a dream car. Seeing someone I was that close to, who I knew came from a similar background, motivated me to know that it is possible for me.
“In a world where there are a lot of negative stereotypes, [Christopher] is everything you want a Black man to be—loving, caring, strong, dependable,” Crunk says. “He’s going to challenge you in the best ways possible. He is going to demand that you’re great.”
Christoher Johnson is a REALTOR® with Imagine Associates in Ellenwood, Ga. As a board member of 100 Black Men, he helps the organization thrive at the local and national level.