“Voting Isn’t Enough:” Author Kim Johnson Breaks Down the Need for Continuous Activism

By: Collin Bell

Voting isn’t enough to create social change; people need to act outside of their vote if there is any hope of extinguishing racism in America, according to Kim Johnson, literary activist and University of Oregon official.

“It cannot be the burden of Black people to state Black Lives Matter. It cannot be our sole burden,” Johnson said on Tuesday as the featured speaker at UO’s 2020–2021 African American Workshop and Lecture Series.

Johnson is the author of “This Is My America” and is the assistant vice provost for advising and the director for the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence at the UO, according to the UO’s website.

Johnson is one of eight guest speakers participating in the lecture series. The goal of the series is to explore and appreciate the “vast contributions that Black people have made to our country,” according to university officials.

In her lecture, Johnson discussed the history of racism in America, mass incarceration and the need for continuous activism.

“We have to say that the United States has an ideology of white supremacy deeply embedded in not only our roots but in the thread of our flag, the ground that we live on, the schools, systems and policies that govern us,” said Johnson.

According to Johnson, social movements stop making progress when people think dropping off a ballot will create social change. “Acting beyond the vote” is how real change is made.

Johnson said writing “This Is My America” was her way of acting outside of her vote. The 2020 book is the fictional story of a young Black woman fighting against an unjust American justice system to prove the innocence of her brother and father, according to Johnson’s website.

Johnson said she wrote the book during a time where she felt restricted in her role as an activist and overwhelmed by her work within a university institution.

“I felt my voice was stuck in the confines of an institution,” Johnson said. “This is what really pushed me and the need to create something all on my own, with my own lived experiences.”

According to Johnson, after the release of her novel, entire school systems in Texas and Tennessee have made it a part of their curriculum.

“It makes me feel like I am changing the world with my work,” Johnson said.