News

Mwalimu Johnson, Prison Reform Advocate and Counselor of Fellow Inmates, Dies at 78

Published

10 years ago

November 20, 2015

By Katy Reckdahl, the Advocate

Mwalimu Johnson, a prison-reform advocate and a sought-after counselor to thousands of fellow inmates, died last Tuesday of kidney failure at his home in New Orleans. He was 78.

“Mwalimu was full of wisdom and knowledge that he gave out like he was handing out candy for Halloween. He will forever be with me,” said Norris Henderson, who got to know Johnson during 27 years Henderson spent at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola on a wrongful murder conviction before he was released in 2003.

During the two decades Johnson served at Angola starting in 1977, he acted almost as the prison’s sage.

“If you needed advice or counsel, you’d go to Ward 2 of the prison hospital and get all the wisdom you needed. All the guys did that,” said Calvin Duncan, who spent 28 years in Angola for a murder he didn’t commit before he was released in 2011.

Johnson stayed in the prison’s hospital because he was paralyzed and in a wheelchair, though few remember the chair slowing him down in any meaningful way. So, to see Johnson, prisoners first had to get a pass to the hospital, Henderson and Duncan said. But Johnson’s reputation for imparting good advice was such that neither one can remember a guard who refused to issue such a pass to a prisoner who requested it.

“That’s the weirdest thing about it,” Duncan said. “The institution knew it.”

Born Leonard Johnson in New Orleans, he was nicknamed “Micey” as a child and spent his early youth using and selling illegal drugs. Then, in 1958, he pleaded guilty to bank robbery and was sentenced to 15 years in Angola, which was then known as perhaps the bloodiest prison in the nation.

“That was part of the reason why he gave of himself as much as he did,” said his daughter, Nicole Hessier, now an investigator for the Orleans Parish Public Defenders Office. “He felt like he owed this debt for the wrong things he did as a younger man who had lacked knowledge or understanding.”

Influenced by their father’s experience, two of Hessier’s sisters also work in criminal justice: Lynthea Johnson Edwards works for the probation office, and Malaika Johnson is a defense attorney. Johnson’s fourth daughter, Mtamu Johnson, is a nurse.

Stories of Johnson’s efforts to establish peace in the prison are legendary — how he hated so much to see the inmates fight one another that he would walk into the middle of a knife fight to stop it. He spoke reasonably to frustrated, angry men who were known as rapists, saving many young men from sexual assaults, fellow prisoners said. “That’s how he earned his reputation, among guys that were gladiators back then,” Duncan said.

It also was then that Johnson, after studying Islam, chose the name Mwalimu, Swahili for “teacher.”

Johnson was released in the late 1960s but still had a mistrust of police. So, when a squad car drove up as he stood in the front yard of a relative’s house in 1975, he ran; he was shot in the back and paralyzed.

He was then sentenced to seven years for assault on the officers who had shot him and to 50 years for an unrelated armed robbery that he said he had nothing to do with.

He would eventually be released for a wrongful sentence, but not until 1997 — more than 20 years later.

Soon afterward, Denny LeBoeuf hired him to answer the phones at the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana. “He had a magical way of dealing with the guys on death row,” said LeBoeuf, who would marvel to see young men burst into the office, often with families in tow. They would bear-hug Johnson and then tell their families, “This is the man who made my life possible.”

LeBoeuf’s successor, Gary Clements, heard the news about Johnson’s death as he drove to Angola, but many of the inmates already knew, having heard from guards who were equally heartbroken at the news, he said.

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OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

5 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

1 week ago

January 2, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.