TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Clarence “CJ” Johnson, Jr. 1955-2024 Coach, Educator
from Temple University, the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology City Planning Department and other universities and organizations. He returned to the University of Pittsburgh to serve as associate provost. In 1989, he was promoted to provost and served until 1993. In this role, Henderson was credited, among his many contribu- tions, for helping establish the University Center for Social and Urban Research and planning and develop- ing the University Library System. A physical marker to Henderson’s time at Pitt — a clock dedicated to him by the Student Government Board when he retired in 1993 — sits at the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Forbes Avenue. In 2001, Pitt established an endowed professorship and an endowed scholarship fund in his honor. Brother Donald M. Henderson was prede- ceased by his wife, the former Bebe Norris. He is survived by son Mark (Kim) Henderson, son Gerald Henderson; daughter Shelley Grimes; sister Shirley Logan; seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. ♦
T he Charlotte (NC) Alumni mourns the loss of Clarence “CJ” Johnson, Jr. Esteemed coach and educator Clar- ence Johnson, Jr., entered the Chapter Invisible on April 7, 2024 at Novant Health Presbyterian Medi- cal Center in Charlotte, NC. Johnson was born in New York, NY, on December 31, 1955, to the late Clarence Sr., and Madeline Johnson McDonnough. Johnson received his formal education at Saint Pascal Baylon Elementary and High School in Queens, earning his diploma in 1974. Upon graduation, he attended Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y. He later transferred to his beloved alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) in Charlotte, NC, earning a BA degree in health and physical education (1979). His passion for all sports began early in his life, playing Little League Baseball and CYO basket- ball throughout the New York area.
After graduating from JCSU, Johnson’s career in sports spanned more than forty-one (41) years in the Charlotte community. He began his career as Program Director at Belmont Boys Club, where he was able to help young people learn life skills and escape poverty. While at Belmont, he developed adolescents into young men and women. His Belmont summer pro- grams became well known throughout the Charlotte community for providing recreation for youth ages six through eighteen. Later in his career, he helped launch the AAU Basketball Program in Charlotte. In 1992, Johnson coached the Charlotte Sonics team that reached the National Cham- pionship game, losing in the finals. That team included national top 20-recruits Jeff McInnis and Jerry Stackhouse (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Jeff Capel (Duke University). Brother “CJ”. as he was affectionately called by
his peers, players, and Kappa Brothers, served as Executive Director of the Saint Frances Job Program and the Jacob’s Ladder Job Center. Both programs helped the unemployed and the underemployed achieve economic self-suf- ficiency and improve the quality of their lives. In 2009, Johnson began his thirteen-year career as the Mallard Creek High School Girls Basketball Coach. His teams won eight conference tournament championships. He was named Charlotte Observ- er’s Coach of the Year three times. Johnson also previously served as head coach at Central Piedmont Community College (Char- lotte, NC), and assistant coach at Johnson C. Smith
WINTER 2023-2024 ♦ THE JOURNAL 63
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