Rod’s “doodling” as a pre-teen in Detroit, Michigan grew into illustrating programs for school theatre productions, such as “Raisin In The Sun,” creating a 30-foot mural at his high school, and his watercolor, "The Huddle,” selected as one of the City of Detroit’s entries into the national NAACP ACT-SO competition.
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Rod attended college at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. At the university, he continued his art involvement by providing cover illustrations and other art for theatre productions (Done to Death, The Crucible, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) and The Tower— a literary magazine of poetry, prose and art.
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After graduating college, he went to Robeson County, NC to assist the community organizing to stop the siting of a massive, regional nuclear waste facility, as well as a hazardous waste disposal site. Rod’s passionate pursuit of social justice and racial equality later moved him to work with philanthropic groups, first as a fellow of the Field Foundation, and then with the New World Foundation. He traveled throughout the country facilitating community-based efforts for positive change. Rod later graduated from CUNY School of Law at Queens College, from which Rod received his law degree.
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​After returning to Atlanta in the mid 1990’s, Rod worked with Georgia Legal Services Program as its Development and Publications Director. In early 2000, while transitioning to yet another career challenge, Rod woke up one morning in the hospital unable to speak or to walk. A brain injury caused by a blood clot struck him with damaged “sleep/alert” functioning, cognitive issues, no short-term memory, eye damage, and a dysfunctional right arm and hand.
When the doctors proclaimed, “You will never be able to….” Rod dismissed their predictions. Countless well-wishers tried to get him to “accept his limitations.” Ultimately, “limitations” would not be the defining word for Rod Johnson. He kept working hard to improve, participating in various community support programs and became ever more independent.
In 2007, using his non-dominant left hand for sketching and painting, Rod finished his first painting after ten years--a composition entitled, “Smiles.” The painting and subsequent works are emblematic of the brightness, hopefulness and wellness that is Rod Johnson today.
Smiles