Jason Miccolo Johnson Bio- 2025 Honoree

“Gordon Parks Choice of Weapons Award” 2025 Recipient

Jason Miccolo Johnson

Photojournalist and Author

Jason Miccolo Johnson What do Thurgood Marshall, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Iman, seven U.S. presidents, and 15 heads of state have in common? They all have been photographed by Jason Miccolo Johnson. His images have been in five Smithsonian exhibitions, 45 books, four films, a music video, and over 70 magazines. In 2006, Johnson published his first solo book, Soul Sanctuary: Images of the African American Worship Experience (foreword by Gordon Parks). Fifty of those photographs are now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC

Historic events shot by Johnson include the inauguration of President Obama, Million Man March, Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. He has photographed nearly every elected Black governor and all but one elected Black U.S. Senator. Johnson was the official photographer for the 50th anniversary of N.A.T.O. and the 50th anniversaries of SNCC and UNCF

From 2015-2022, Johnson taught photography at Savannah State University. He took 15 students to cover the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2002, he organized the largest gathering of professional Black photographers in history (90) to celebrate Gordon Parks on his 90th birthday. In 1997, he planned and organized the 40th anniversary of his alma mater, Carver High School in Memphis, Tennessee, the biggest event in the school’s history.

He began his professional photography career in the U.S. Navy before becoming the photo lab director at USA Today where he designed darkrooms and printed pictures at major sporting events including the 1988 Winter and Summer Olympics, 1987 World Series, 1986 Super Bowl, and 1987 and ‘88 NCAA Men’s Final Four. Johnson interned at ABC Network News, worked at The Shaw Group advertising agency in Memphis, and shot assignments for Essence, Black Enterprise, Financial World, Glamour, American Visions, Washingtonian, Ebony, and Jet magazines. Johnson is a recipient of the ArtMaker Award from the History Makers, and Distinguished Alumni Award from Howard University. Since 1990, he has been the official photographer for the National Association of Black Journalists. Johnson has had solo exhibitions at the National Civil Rights Museum, Chrysler Museum, and African American Museums in Philadelphia and Detroit.

Photo Credit in Films and Documentaries: Guest Who [Columbia Pictures]; The Black Godfather: The Clarence Avant Story [Netflix]; Boss: The Black Experience in Business [WNET]; and W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices [The Scribe]. Johnson currently lives in Savannah, Georgia while working on his third solo book, LEGENDS of our LIFETIME: 75 Black Men Who Influenced America. For more information, visit jasonmiccolojohnson.com.