Brothers Tre Johnson and Josh Johnson of Waukegan possess gold medals for their winning effort in the NAACP Act-So competition for the organization’s Lake County branch. They took different paths to their success.
Josh, a home-schooled high school freshman, hopes to be a minister. He won the oratory competition. His mother, Gina Johnson, said writing and delivering a speech about the obstacles his great-great-great-great-grandfather overcame is a good start.
Trey, a home-schooled high school junior, won the classical music competition playing Frederic Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.” He started formal piano lessons two years ago, but he said he has no memories of his lifetime when he was not playing the piano.
“I don’t remember not playing the piano,” Trey said. “I was watching TV on Christmas and heard “Carol of the Bells.” I sat down at the piano and started playing it. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
The Johnson brothers each won gold medals in their events at the NAACP Lake County Branch Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (Act-So) competition on March 14 at the College of Lake County in Waukegan, qualifying for the national finals.
Now, the brothers have four months to fine-tune their skills for the national Act-So event, which starts July 15 in Chicago.
Sandra Leconte, the Act-So chair and president of the NAACP Lake County Branch, said local events take place at 2,200 locations across the United States, with gold medalists participating in the national finals.
Though Tre and Josh were the only competitors this year, Leconte said they had to score 95 out of 100 possible points from each member of the panel of judges. Something less could earn them a silver or bronze medal, but not an opportunity to become a national champion.
“These are academic Olympics for high school age students,” Leconte said. “They work on this a whole year with a mentor. They have launched a career for some stars.”
Entering the competition for the third year after not winning as a freshman and sophomore in high school, Tre said he was nervous when he took the stage. He knew any slips he made playing the “Minute Waltz” could be disqualifying.
“I felt a sense of relief; it was an answer to my prayers,” Tre said. “I felt relieved that I finally got the gold medal.”
Taking piano lessons from a teacher was something new, but Tre said it was essential to winning the gold medal. Though he played a variety of music most of his life, he never read a piece of music. Seeing the notes in front of him was a new experience.
“It was a huge learning curve learning to play while reading the notes,” Tre said. “I had to learn quickly. My teacher taught me the ‘Minute Waltz.’ He said you did this right and you did this wrong. He hugely helped me perform at a classical level.”
Starting to play the “Minute Waltz” in late November, Tre said he developed a comfort level within a month. A lot more practice was necessary before he was ready to take the stage in March.
Mentoring Josh for the competition was his mother, Gina Johnson. She helped him with the research on his family to get the material for the speech. He developed relying on his own personality and those of his forebearers. He wrote the speech, gaining pride in his family history.
“I am a survivor,” Josh said. “A survivor is somebody who endures a lot and does not give up, who perseveres. My ancestors were people who fought for their beliefs. My (great-great-great-great) grandfather escaped from slavery on the underground railroad.”
Much of Josh’s speech was telling the story of Isaac Berry, his great-great-great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side of the family. Gina Johnson said he eventually made his way to Northern Michigan, where he settled with a largely Native American community.
“He first went to Canada and then he settled in Michigan, the Upper Peninsula,” Johnson said. “He built the first schoolhouse and it’s still standing.”
