Author, Center Stage: Brian Johnson, Send Judah First

Today I welcome Brian C. Johnson to the Author, Center Stage. His new release, Send Judah First, went on sale to rave reviews. Tell us what it’s about.

A young girl’s life is shattered when she is stolen from her African village in a midnight raid. Ruthlessly torn from her family to be beaten, chained, degraded, and enslaved in a heartless world she can barely comprehend.

The slave ledger at Virginia’s Belle Grove Plantation only reveals that Judah was purchased to be the cook, gave birth to 12 children, and died in April 1836. But, like the other 276 faceless names entered in that ledger, Judah lived. Brian’s important work of historical fiction goes beyond what is recorded to portray the depth, humanity, and vulnerability of a beautiful soul all but erased by history.

As Brian notes, Judah “did the ultimate— she survived. Not as a weakling, but resilient and determined.”

Judah’s story is fascinating. Why did you chose to tell it via fiction than a straight biography? In what ways does your love of films and filmmaking influence your storytelling?

The lack of documentation about Judah prohibits a biography; it almost necessitates a fictionalized version. When I visited Belle Grove Plantation the first time, I was struck by a statement noting there were only two extant documents that proved Judah ever lived. I pledged that day to tell her story.

As a movie buff and one who studies film in the academic sense, I see almost all of my fictional work in movie form. My first novel, The Room Downstairs, came to me in a dream. As I recall it, the dreamscape was like a movie on a screen. My daughter is a cinematography major in college; my hope is that someday she adapts that novel as her first full-length feature film.

Movie-making is all about the story. It is the epitome of “show don’t tell” the common parlance of the publishing industry. I admit, I am a new fiction writer and have much to earn. Send Judah First is my sophomore novel. I am hoping it is a blockbuster!

In my mind, I have already cast the film adaptation for Send Judah First. I could easily see Regina King embodying Judah’s character.

How do you think Judah’s story can influence young people today? How can she inspire them as someone in a world and life not of her own choosing?

In my work as an educator, students regularly express frustration with the failure of their K-12 education regarding slavery and the Black American experience. They say, “Why was I never taught this?”

During my first visit to Belle Grove, I learned that “slave” was not an identity; it was a title. Judah (and countless others) were ENSLAVED—a condition forced upon them. I hope readers can learn to affirm the dignity and humanity of these purchased/kidnapped souls and to welcome them back from obscurity.

The enslaved were people too. We live in an era where tracing our genealogy and family ancestry are popular. Genealogy is more than DNA percentages, names, and dates. It’s the stories, the medical histories, the traditions that can come alive—these are the things that make us who we are. When I started tracing my family ancestry, my mother told me to “let sleeping dogs lie,” as she didn’t necessarily want me to unearth sordid details. I explained, those details are our truth and we should not hide from nor run from the facts. My hope for readers is that this hidden side of American history has fruit for our benefit today. While she was a victim of the trade, I wanted to paint her as a human being first.

In what ways does your faith encourage your writing?

I make a distinction between being a “Christian writer” and being a “writer who is a Christian.” As a writer who is a Christian, I write about Christian themes as I apply biblical ideas to secular topics. Faith is supposed to influence everything we do, so following the Colossians 3 ideal, whatever I write, I hope to bring God glory.

How do you envision Judah being used in schools or church classes?

Send Judah First falls in a long literary lineage—the slave narrative. Its predecessors are Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Phyllis Wheatley and Alex Haley’s Roots. These works have lasted for hundreds of years (Incidents) or decades (Roots) because of the powerful story being told. I cannot compare myself to either writer, but someday I hope to be able to be so capable. I’m happy to have found a small place.

My hope for schools is that teachers see a value in showing a different side to our American history. In some ways, I am challenging the dominant narrative that this country was founded upon the principles of freedom and equality. Freedom for some, yes, but not all. Equality for some, but not all. Some of those vestiges endure in 2019—though we have come a long way. In August 2019 (when Judah launches) the USA will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Africans to arrive on these shores as slaves. There are still lessons to be learned. I fear we have not yet learned from our history, and if the adage is correct, we may be facing repeat.

I have taken significant license with story creation. In my tale, I have painted Isaac Hite, Judah’s owner, as a pastor. In real life, Hite was not a clergyman. I created this calling for him to deliver a means to discuss Christian complicity in the slave trade and its legacy. The African slave trade in America, in many ways, was supported by the Christian church. Many slavers were merely “doing their Christian duty.” Martin Luther King Jr. famously indicated how 11:00 AM on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. Sadly, in 2019, that may still be true. There exists today an important call for churches in America to openly discuss the vestiges of racism left in our society and to foster environments to candidly talk about race from the pulpits to the pews.

What’s your next book?

In the fall of this year, I get the privilege to see my Finding God in the Bathroom come to life. This book has taken over ten years to see the light.

In Finding God in the Bathroom, my purpose is to take the American public’s fascination with grossology in popular culture (e.g., Dirty Jobs, Bizarre Foods, etc.), to examine matters of faith. Just imagine “sin” being described as fecal matter and the Bible as the “toilet paper” that wipes it all away! Yes, I go there!

So where can we find you online?

Facebook and Twitter: thereelbrian

Instagram: dr.briancjohnson

Website: www.briancjohnson.net

And the best places to find Send Judah First?

https://www.amazon.com/Brian-C.-Johnson/e/B001JS4396/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 https://hiddenshelfpublishinghouse.com/store/ 

Brian C. Johnson honors the struggles and accomplishments of the ordinary citizens who launched the Civil Rights Movement by committing himself personally and professionally to the advancement of multicultural and inclusive education.

He has served as a faculty member in the department of academic enrichment at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and was the director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for Academic Excellence. He is a founder of the Pennsylvania Association of Liaisons and Officers of Multicultural Affairs, a consortium that promotes best practices in higher education.

He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from California University of Pennsylvania and a PhD at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Communications Media and Instructional Technology. His research examines the role of mainstream film in the development of social dominance orientation.

Johnson serves on the ministry team at Revival Tabernacle in Watsontown, PA where he is a church elder, youth minister, and leads the Kingdom Writers’ guild. He is a film reviewer for Christian Spotlight on Entertainment. He and his wife, Darlene, have four children—Kasey, Thomas, Aubyn, and Analisa.