TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Chester "Bruce" Johnson 1950–2022 WUSA Anchor, Author, Journalist
By Kendall Brown, Ph.D.
politician, the late D.C. Mayor and City Councilmember Marion Barry. Additionally, he was dispatched to ma- jor cities that included Moscow, Paris, Stockholm, Rome, Budapest, Bang- kok, Tokyo, Dakar, Port au Prince, Haiti, Beijing and Shanghai China and Havana for his acclaimed docuseries “Capitals of the World” airing during Sunday evening’s prime time immedi- ately after “60 Minutes” on CBS. Brother Johnson’s nearly 50 year broadcast journalism career yielded 22 Emmys, and inductions into the Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame, the Washington D.C. Hall of Fame, the Capitol Press Club journal- ist of the year award and the Ted Yates Award. In 2018, his anchor work was chosen for the Murrow Award and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Board of Governors award. Brother Johnson was a member of the National Press Club, and the National Association of Black Journal- ists. Upon his retirement Johnson’s image was added to one of the D.C. area's highest profile murals outside the legendary Ben's Chili Bowl restau- rant on historic U Street, Northwest, alongside figures that include First Lady Michelle and President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Harriet Tub- man, and Muhammed Ali. He was a life member of "Mended Hearts," the premier nonprofit advo- cacy organization for men, women, and children recovering from cardiac issues. He was inspired to improve heart health, especially in African- Americans, after he suffered a massive heart attack, at the age of 42, while on assignment. Brother Johnson
advocated for heart-healthy lifestyles by developing a three-part television series that won national recognition from the American Heart Association and a docu- mentary for the Association of Black Cardiologists titled "Before You Eat the Church Food, Watch This Video." After being diagnosed in 2018 with non-Hodg- kin's Lymphoma, he became an active participant, fundraiser, and spokesperson for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Brother Johnson’s greatest legacy was his love for the community. He was recognized by the District of Columbia Council, D.C. mayors, and hundreds of civic and community groups and chari- ties for his service work. In 2018, he returned to NKU as the commencement speaker. He was awarded an honor- ary doctorate degree. Shortly before his passing, he served as ambassador to the Covenant House which rescues home- less young people from the streets. He authored the following three books: Heart to Heart, which featured the comeback stories of heart attack survivors; All or Nothing: The Victor Page Story, which documents the life of former NBA prospect Victor Page; and Surviving Deep Waters, which presented his story of overcoming poverty, race, and violence. Brother Johnson was a Life Member of the fraternity, attained the honor of achieving fifty years in the fraternity on July 25th, 2020 and was a highly active member of the Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter. In his spare time, he enjoyed cycling, yoga, visiting his second home in Lewes, Delaware, and spend- ing time with his family. He was mar- ried with three adult children and five grandchildren.
C hester “Bruce” Johnson (Al- pha Omicron, 1970) entered Chapter Invisible on April 3, 2022. He was an author and recently retired Award Winning Hall of Fame Evening News Anchor-Reporter at WUSA-TV9 (CBS) In Washing- ton, DC. Politics and urban affairs, investigative and hard-hitting feature stories were his areas of expertise. He attended Kentucky State University for three years. He graduated with a degree in Political Science from Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and later earned a Master's degree in Public Af- fairs from the University of Cincinnati. Four years later, he joined the CBS station, WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV) in Washington, DC. He began his broadcasting career at Cincinnati’s WCPO-TV. This is where he developed his trademark style of going into the community to get the story, asking local officials the tough questions to deliver factual reporting to his viewers. He realized he had an opportunity and obligation to both edu- cate and empower the local community while holding elected officials account- able to its constituents. This realization brought him to the heart of our nation’s government, the Nation’s Capital. On March 15, 1976, Brother Johnson joined the Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate, WUSA 9 news, to cover the district’s government and breaking news stories that impacted the commu- nity. Stories such as the 1977 Hanafi Siege, the 1982 Washington Metro train derailment, numerous reports on the rise, fall, and rise again of D.C. 's best known and controversial local
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