THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9506300182
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Rebecca Myers
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
For the last 16 years, Darnell Johnson's favorite Portsmouth hangout has been the City Jail.
No, Johnson is not an inmate serving hard time.
He's a chaplain serving the Lord.
``Great people, poor choices'' is the way Johnson describes the prisoners he counsels.
On Mondays and Saturdays, Johnson teaches Bible classes in cell blocks. On almost every other day of the week, Johnson is available to offer counseling to inmates who face family emergencies or threaten suicide.
Johnson does it, he said, ``to help those who people give up on.'' Because of this dedication, the 44-year-old school principal received this year's Liberty Bell Award given by the Portsmouth Bar Association.
The award is given annually to a citizen who encourages greater respect for the law, stimulates a deeper sense of individual responsibility and fosters a better understanding and appreciation of the law.
Bruce R. Cherry, clerk of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, nominated Johnson for the award.
``It is my understanding that Mr. Johnson visits the Portsmouth jail approximately 150 times per year and spends about four hours per visit with the inmates, many of whom he knows from previous personal or family contacts,'' Cherry wrote in his nomination letter.
``Within the jail, he has respect and credibility, and he effectively draws upon his status to promote and emphasize those principles of law and citizenship which the Liberty Bell Award recognizes, particularly in the areas of individual responsibility and respect for the law and the judicial system.''
Johnson says his ministry work has helped him in his career as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and as principal of New Directions Center, an alternative program for students in grades six through 10 who have had some adjustment problems.
``Many times - not all the time, but many times - the kids who get into serious trouble in school have parents or grandparents or aunts or uncles who are in jail and have set a precedent,'' he said.
``And to counter that is to get to know the parents and befriend them and work with them in jail so that when I deal with the kids, they already have a clue that Mr. Johnson is also working with their mom, dad, aunt or uncle.''
Johnson, a 1969 graduate of I.C. Norcom High School, received an undergraduate degree in math from Elizabeth City State University in 1973 and a master's in math education from the University of Kentucky in 1977.
He taught math at Cradock High School from 1974 to 1980, at Waters Junior High School in 1980 and at Manor High from 1981 to 1987. He was also an adjunct professor at Elizabeth City State University from 1986 to 1992 and at Norfolk State from 1989 to 1990.
He was assistant principal at Waters Junior High from 1987 to 1990. He left Portsmouth for a year and served as assistant principal at Bayside Junior High School. Then he returned as principal of New Directions Center in 1991.
Last year, Johnson was put on special assignment to oversee the district's alternative school program and the transition to community elementary schools. He will return to his former position at New Directions in the fall.
Because 16 of his 21 years with the school system has been spent as a jail chaplain, Johnson has finds himself counseling behind bars some of the same students who sat in his math classes.
``There are some in there right now who are my former students - and I'm not talking about kids who really got into a lot of trouble,'' he said.
``That's the disheartening part, but you've got to suck it up and keep going.''
Name: Darnell Johnson
Nickname: ``DJ''
Number of years in Portsmouth: 25
Birthplace: Henderson, N.C.
Birthdate: Jan. 31, 1951
Occupation: Principal on special assignment: Coordinator of Community Schools
What other job than your own would you like? Coordinator of Pupil Personnel/Student Advocacy
Marital Status: Married to Stephanie D.B. Johnson
Children/Grandchildren: One daughter, Dawn Walthall, 23, who is expecting twins in October
Fondest childhood memory: Playing community baseball - Fathers vs. Sons; being educated in the Portsmouth School System
First concert: Jerry Butler, Elizabeth City State University, 1972
What song or book title best describes your life? ``Amazing Grace''
If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? I don't gamble, but if I were to inherit a fortune, it would be used to purchase a 1,000-acre ranch to house students who are economically and culturally deprived from all ethnic groups.
If you could trade places for just one day with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? Billy Graham. I would share my Christian faith with even larger audiences.
Biggest accomplishment: Becoming the second black in America to receive the NCAA post-graduate scholarship for student athletes in 1972.
Most embarrassing moment: Forgetting words to a song during an administrative retreat
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would have received my doctorate 10 years ago
Perfect way to spend the day: Sharing leisure time with my wife (my best friend)
I can't resist: Encouraging students to be successful
Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: The Flagship
Biggest problem facing Portsmouth: The funding of a quality school system
If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?
Greater spiritual awareness
Unity between the races
Greater parent/community involvement in education
Other than its small-town atmosphere, what do you like about Portsmouth? The greatness of the people that I have encountered ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Darnell Johnson
by CNB