By: Amir Franklin-Branch 

What is it like being one of a kind? The majority of us would never be able to truly understand that feeling but Jalen Johnson has, and his journey to the promised land of swimming has been “accomplishing. Seeing the work I’ve put in alone has been a beautiful journey.” 

JJohnson is a junior at WVWC and his athletic journey has been “hard but fruitful”. Being an African-American in the swim world is like being the black sheep (no pun intended) but it’s a different world, a different monster. NCAA Swimming has been mostly Caucasian success stories – you rarely hear about African-Americans thriving in the sport, so for Johnson, finding inspiration that looked like him was far and few between for him.

A swimmer named Colin Johns, a North Carolina native, set a bar Johnson. “He was the guy for me. His ability to soar above his competition showed me I could do it; it’s possible for me to reach that pinnacle.”

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Photo by: DC Faber

For Johnson, he has faced a lot of microaggressions in the sport.

“The slick comments is always what gets me. It’s crazy that people still think so backwards like its still the old days, but I use it as fuel like I’m going to show them what I’m made of.”

Johnson has faced an absurd amount of unfit stereotypes but he has prevailed nonetheless, hoping he can remain a beacon to kids like him. He is an inspiration for the next generation, not only as an athlete, but a role model. Johnson is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, an organization inside of the Divine nine. Johnson discussed the fun times he’s had in college and his best moments.

“I don’t have one moment. I can’t settle on one, but I’ll give you my top two: winning a conference championship my freshmen year is definitely one of them. Being able to have that kind of success early is a thrill like no other. It’s something you can’t duplicate – you just want more and more and more, like just chasing that “high” is what we do it for. Another great time, I’ll have to say was crossing into my frat. It was a life changing experience that I would do over again.”

The term “black boy joy” radiates off of Johnson and every African-American child should feel that joy in their lives.