Johnson completed four years of college and graduated from Washington, D. C.'s Wayland Seminary in 1868, with honors.

His time came in 1872 when Reverend William P. Thompson died at the age of thirty-two, and Johnson became the head of Baltimore Union Church.

[3] He embarked on a career filed with spiritual and civil rights expansion, also serving the black community.

This organization, run by Johnson, pledged "to use all legal means within our power to procure and maintain our rights as citizens of this our common country.

"[5] Johnson encouraged attorney Everett J. Waring to move to Baltimore to represent the organization in 1886.

[6] Two offices were established in 1885 of the MUBL, and a three-day conference was held on the black civil rights discussion.

He came up with a plan to make progress in the racial issues in Baltimore known as the "Texas Purchase Movement".

The legal team helped over a hundred African Americans gain back their rights and equality.

Johnson's efforts shaped the legal strategy of the lawyers in the MUBL, the NAACP, and Thurgood Marshall.