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Kevin Johnson, NBA star-turned-community developer, stepped in front of a film crew Wednesday in Sacramento for an upcoming profile on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
Johnson plans to expound on education with the queen of talk television and launch a program with a national scope, he said.
"She's the most powerful woman in the world and she brings attention to issues," said Johnson of Winfrey during a break in daylong filming at his various hometown projects. "Education is our 21st century civil rights issue."
OAS_AD('Button20'); No air date for the program is available yet, according to a spokeswoman for Winfrey, but Johnson said he was scheduled to sit down with Winfrey during the first part of April.
A former Phoenix Suns guard, Johnson, 40, is chairman of the board of St. Hope Inc., which runs Sacramento Charter High School and the charter elementary school, Public School 7. His development company also has restored property in the heart of Oak Park, at 35th Street and Broadway, creating a complex with a theater, an art gallery and a Starbucks.
Twenty years after Johnson graduated from Sacramento High School in 1983, school trustees converted the storied high school into a charter school, touching off a divisive battle among parents and teachers. Teachers opposed establishing what would become a nonunion faculty. Some parents were opposed to a private nonprofit running the school, though other parents welcomed an alternative to lackluster district performance.
"We as an organization never took it personally," Johnson said of the acrimony.
Inside the gallery at his commercial complex, Johnson, collegiate in a navy blazer, sat down with several parents of students from the charter high school for a round-table talk captured on film.
One by one, the parents told him of their children's struggles and successes, their compliments and complaints. Regina Brink said her 17-year-old son was doing well. "In fact, he's tutoring people," she said.
She wasn't quite as pleased with the way the band program was run, though, she told Johnson.
For Johnson, the session was no setup, renowned talk-show host or not: He was tuned in to their concerns.
"We need to meet again," Johnson said after the film crew quit. "Oprah's show, that's cool and all, but we need to meet again."
About the writer: The Bee's M.S. Enkoji can be reached at (916) 321-1106 or menkoji@sacbee.com. Unique content, exceptional value. SUBSCRIBE NOW! To see more of the Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe, go to http://www.sacbee.com Copyright 2004 Sacramento Bee. All Rights Reserved.
