Mr. Jasper (Lisa)

My neighbor passed away recently, the nicest man you could ever meet. Mr. Johnson waved and said hello to everyone and always sharing kind words with my daughter Claire and I on our daily walks. I did not know him beyond this even though we had frequent encounters. Like with most neighbors we know in life, we learn more about their holiness after they are gone.

Mr. Jasper Johnson was born in 1939, same year as my mom. This was the year WW2 started in Europe and 2 years before Pearl Harbor when the U.S. entered the war. Wide spread Jim Crow laws had been in effect since the end of the Civil War, in 1865 continuing on for 125 years. The laws segregated blacks from whites, limiting opportunities to education, employment, wealth accumulation, housing, health care, basically everything.

When Mr. Johnson was 25, the death knell for Jim Crow came; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Brown vs Board of Education in 1954, outlawed segregation in any public school, employment discrimination, housing, voting and more. It was a big leap forward but much discrimination remained unchecked.

I share all this because my mom is as white as I am and my neighbor Mr. Johnson is black. It makes me pause to think how different mine and my mom’s life would be if our collective starting point had been impacted by Jim Crow laws. Where would I be if my parents, grandparents were discriminated against in housing, education, employment… When I think of what Mr. Johnson has achieved in his life, what he has overcome, when I think of his humble kind acts, despite all the unfair odds stacked against him, it gives me pause. It makes me humble. So humble.

In his obituary, his family shared his extensive education, service in the U.S. Marine Corp, years of teaching math and so much more. He believed a good teacher inspires, praises, guides and encourages students to do their best. He created countless math programs and achieved the highest level of academic work retiring in 2005.

In his retirement, Mr. Jasper worked at Macy’s and later as a custodian in the Harford County Public School System living by the premise that work is work. It all needs to be done and it is all good. Get to work. Get it done.

I wish I was in his math class but I find myself grateful to be in his humble class. Mr. Johnson never missed a day putting out cold Gatorades or water bottles for the garbage collection workers, other honorable, valued, essential people who are often overlooked. I heard stories of him inviting homeless folks into WAWA to pick out food and a drink that he purchased for them. He was simply kind. Loving. Giving. His family said he never hesitated to step in to assist in any way – to be a good neighbor, advisor, and friend.

I started putting out frozen bottles of water for my refuse collection guys this summer with a note of love each week in honor of Mr. Johnson, in honor of humility, in the hopes that I grow. I am reading a great deal of books written by black authors to understand more deeply what racism looks like and what hope in a future of social justice looks like too. I hope I make my teacher Mr. Jasper Johnson proud. Class is in session. I am humbly listening and learning.