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Article: A remembrance: Ben Johnson, a force of nature
- Article from:
- Westside Gazette
- Article date:
- January 21, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright The Gazette Newspaper Group Jan 21, 2004. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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"Colorful" is an adjective routinely associated with Ben Johnson, a respected journalist at a number of leading newspapers, who died tragically last week at age 53. A utility crew in Huntsville, Ala. found Johnson's body behind a tree Monday, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police reported.
Johnson's larger-than-life persona was well known inside the National Association of Black Journalists in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was impossible to be indifferent about him; you either found Johnson endearing or inappropriate. I believe it is reasonable however to say that black journalists on both sides of that divide agreed that Ben Johnson spoke and acted courageously for ...