TheLoop21.com

By: Keli Goff (Add to your loop)
Wed, 01/20/2010 - 01:00

Jeff Johnson is the host for BET.

IN THE LOOP WITH... Jeff Johnson

Claim to Fame: Author and Journalist

Affiliation: BET Host

Education:  University of Toledo

Currently Resides: Washington, D.C.
 
1. What one word best describes you?
Driven

2. What's your guilty pleasure?
A great bottle of wine.

3. Are you a dreamer or dedicated realist? Why?
I'm a realist with optimistic daydreams. I heard from a friend recently that the loose definition of integrity is not simply being honest but leading people with reality and I think that one of the most important aspects of what we do is that we don't sell people pipedreams so it's important to deal with the reality of what we're dealing with but if we don't have a sense that things can be better then what's the point of living in the first place? So I'm very real about the conditions we are in but while I'm awake and working and pushing I'm optimistic about what can come.

4. What book, movie or CD would you have to take with you to a deserted island?
Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue.'

5. What country outside the U.S. do you most want to visit (or enjoy visiting)?  Why?
Egypt, because it's the cradle of civilization.

6. If you could trade places with someone in another profession for a day, who would it be and why?
I'd be an astronaut. I just don't think there are many things I can conceivably imagine as more awe-inspiring than being in space.

7. What was your very first job?
Paper route. It taught me very early how to deal with people and be wary of dogs.

8. Did you have a role model? If so, how did you find them or did they find you?
My first role models were given to me — my parents.

9. Did you always plan to be a journalist or did circumstances (fate) lead you to it? 
No plans to be a journalist. Completely circumstances. I didn't try to be a journalist. I wasn't interested in it. Never thought about it. Never did a reel or an interview. Ran into Stephen Hill at BET who asked me did I want to be on TV — and that was it.

10. In your experience, what has been more important talent or tenacity?  Explain.
Tenacity. Talent gives you the ability to do the job but tenacity gets you in the door and gives you the energy to stay there.

11. What was your most important/difficult career decision?
Leaving the NAACP. As a young professional at the top of my game, I decided to go out on my own so I no longer had a paycheck so I had to hunt and kill what I was going to eat. Taking the risk to step out on my own was the first step to me becoming who I was supposed to be so if I hadn't taken the risk, I wouldn't be here right now.

12. What political issue or charitable cause are you most passionate about?
Institutional building. I believe that in order to make transformative change in communities of color, there need to be institutions to insure, sunstain stability. Right now, there are organizations that lack capacity because they don't have the institutions to provide it. 

13. In your view, what is the biggest challenge facing America today?
Diminishing civility. One of the scariest things about being American is that our culture is becoming less and less humane. Whether that's how we see young people in urban America treating each other or whether that's how we see pundits treating each other on nightly news shows. As a culture, we are becoming less and less civil and that to me is frightening. I think we've forgotten that only collectively can we solve our biggest problems, but the less civil we become the more we imply that we don't need anybody else to make the change that's necessary.

14. In the wake of electing our first Black president, in what area do you expect Black Americans to make the most progress over the next decade?
I don't think they're intrinsically connected. The Black community's advancement over the next decade will be reflective of what the Black community does not what the president does.
 
15. Share with us the best advice that you ever received (about life, career, or whatever)? 
Live like today is your last day and love like you can't get hurt.

Keli Goff is a political blogger for TheLoop21.com. She is the author of the critically acclaimed book Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (Basic Books, March 2008). She is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and previously served as an editorial contributor to RushmoreDrive.com. Keli can be seen regularly on national news programs including Anderson Cooper 360, The CBS Early Show, Lou Dobbs and BET.

Will you watch Michael Vick's reality show on BET?

Yes!

Maybe

Absolutely not

I don't know yet