Jack B. Johnson - Early Life, Career, and Family

Early Life, Career, and Family

Johnson grew up on Johns Island, located outside of Charleston, South Carolina. The fifth of ten children, Johnson's mother was a maid and his father was a farmer who raised white potatoes, okra, and string breans. He attended a segregated high school, which he argues heavily shaped his worldview as a young person.

In 1970, Johnson received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Benedict College, an historically black school in Columbia, South Carolina. He also served a stint in the United States Army from 1970 to 1976. After college, Johnson's goal was to "get a nice job" where he could "wear a suit", which led him to the accounting department of a life insurance company in New York City. Johnson returned to school soon after and graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1975 with a J.D. He entered into a legal career with the Internal Revenue Service, where he spent nearly a decade from 1975 to 1984 working as an attorney for the chief counsel. For a brief period from 1984 to 1987, Johnson was associate professor of tax law at North Carolina Central University School of Law.

He lives with wife, Leslie Johnson, and his three children in Mitchellville, Maryland. He is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.