AFSCME Council 20's Johnson Puts "Africa in Focus"

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Born and raised in DC, AFSCME Council 20 Director George T. Johnson has been around awhile and seen a few things, “Some good, some bad, some bizarre.” But nothing had prepared Johnson for what he would see, hear and feel on his first trip to Africa last August. It was, Johnson said, “like finding that last missing piece to the puzzle; it was an overwhelming experience; a life-changing event for me.” Johnson traveled to Zambia and then on to South Africa, visiting Johannesburg and Cape Town. Meeting with political, cultural and labor leaders as he traveled, Johnson’s African visit August 7 – 27 also had a personal purpose: his 18-year-old son, Charles Holland, died in a tragic car accident on a highway outside Lusaka, Zambia in 2006. Johnson and other family members and friends held a memorial in Lusaka for the teenager on August 11. Johnson’s richly detailed reports on his visit include up-to-date information and insights into Africa’s growing political and economic importance; he notes, for example, that “Within the next year, the Pentagon will establish America’s first permanent military footprint on the continent, largely to protect U.S. security and economic interests – primarily oil.” Click here for George Johnson’s “Africa In Focus” series, including photos, maps and more.