By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
Demonstrators marched from Union Station to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 25 in Washington, D.C., chanting all along the way.
Their powerful words echoed into the air as tourists turned their attention away from their sight seeing to the hundreds of Black men marching and chanting in unison.
“Kendrick Johnson…We know the truth, we stand for you…
Kendrick Johnson…we ain’t forgot about you…”
It has been 13 years since the parents of Kendrick Lamar Johnson learned their son, a sophomore at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., was found dead in the school’s gymnasium. The sophomore’s body was found on Jan. 11, 2013, just one day after he failed to return home from school. The medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded that the 17-year-old died from “positional asphyxia.” The death was ruled an accident and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office wrapped up their investigation.
Unconvinced, the family hired a private pathologist to conduct a second autopsy.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), “on June 15, 2013, at his family’s request, Kendrick Johnson’s body was exhumed and Dr. William Anderson conducted a second autopsy. Two months later, Dr. Anderson determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the right side of Kendrick’s neck, near the jaw, and the manner of death was not an accident. He found hemorrhages to the jaw line area not detected during the GBI autopsy.”
Still, after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, DOJ officials announced no criminal charges would be filed in relation to Kendrick’s death.
The DOJ agreed with the medical examiner’s report, the teen had become “entrapped upside-down in the rolled-up mat and had suffocated.”
“It hurts – it still hurts,” Kenneth Johnson, Kendrick’s father, said. “We’ve been given a lot of promises that have all been broken from officials who said they would determine what really happened. They said they wanted to uncover the truth. But we’re still dissatisfied. That’s why we’re here today at the Supreme Court – to ask the justices for their help.”
“We’re convinced that some of the evidence was either tampered with, hidden away or destroyed. We just don’t believe that Kendrick’s death was accidental. When I viewed his body, one side of his face was bruised and his lip was swollen,” said Kenneth Johnson. “That sounds like he had been in a fight. And then his fingernails had been cut down to the skin. He wore his nails long – he’d never have done that. Someone knows what happened. Someone was responsible. And we’re not going to rest until justice is served for our son.”
Over the years, the family has maintained that they believe Kendrick’s death was in fact a murder. The teens they alleged were responsible for the death were children of an FBI agent. There have been lawsuits filed, lawsuits dropped and lawsuits that were dismissed. In 2017, the Kendrick’s family was ordered to pay the legal fees of those they accused of killing their son, and the entities they believe engaged in a coverup.
In 2020, the documentary “Finding Kendrick Johnson” was released. The film was directed by Jason Pollock and narrated by actress Jenifer Lewis. In the film, Kendrick’s parents and Private Investigator Mitch Credle, a homicide detective from Washington D.C., allege that Kendrick was involved in a physical altercation over a girl. That fight allegedly led to Kendrick’s death.
Now, despite several failed efforts to seek justice for Kendrick in civil courts, Kendrick Johnson’s family have brought their argument and concerns to the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.
In an AFRO News interview, both Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson, the parents of the late teenager, explained why they are demanding that officials reopen the case.
On July 24, Kendrick’s parents say they filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking relief they say they have not found in lower courts. On July 25 they were joined outside of the Court by other family members, friends and supporters, including more than 100 Black men from Israel United in Christ.
Jacquelyn Johnson said she understands the pain faced by the family of Nolan Wells, a Black teen found dead on July 6 after a Fourth of July party on Horn Island in Mississippi.
“It hurts my heart to see another set of Black parents experiencing what we’ve been dealing with for the last 13 years,” Jacquelyn Johnson said. “I wonder why Black people must still face these kinds of nightmares in our own country in 2026. Is it wrong for us to expect justice like anyone else?”
To other parents she had the following to say:
“I’ve learned that it’s okay not to be okay,” she said. “Sometimes, when you’re in this kind of fight for justice, you have to take a break. But then you have to get back up and join the battle. As for me, I will forever say Kendrick’s name and I’m not going to rest until his spirit is at rest and justice has been served.”
Jacquelyn Johnson took time to share memories of Kendrick that she still cherishes.
“Kendrick was my baby boy and when I look back, I realize that we took a lot of everyday things that he did or said for granted. He was a jokester,” she told the AFRO. “He loved to aggravate his sister, and he loved football. But he was quiet and only had a few friends outside of our family. A lot of people say they knew him, but they really didn’t. But now, I guess they do – or at least they know his name.”
Kenneth Johnson spoke with emotion as he described his son.
“Kendrick was a responsible child,” Kenneth Johnson said. “He respected his elders and he obeyed our rules and the laws of the state of both our state and the nation. Respect for others and honesty were something we emphasized in our home.”
Kenneth Johnson says a moment he had with his son years ago still sticks with him.
“I’ll never forget one afternoon that started like a lot of others. We were watching a football game which was interrupted by a special news bulletin. Trayvon Martin had been killed in Florida by a white man who claimed he was protecting his community. Neither of us said anything and after the announcement, the football continued,” Kenneth Johnson said. “But then Kendrick looked over at me and said, ‘If something like that happens to me, would you fight for me – for justice?’ I told him I would. But I never imagined that I’d actually be doing that one day.”
To sign the Change.org petition, calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the case, click here.
