Q&A with Cheyenne native, USNWC professor Olenda Johnson

Jun. 4—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne native and U.S. Naval War College professor Olenda Johnson spoke with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle about growing up here, how she was treated as an African American in a mostly white region, and about her life and educational experiences.

Johnson teaches strategic leadership at the U.S. Naval War College. At 6:30 p.m. Monday at Laramie County Community College, she will speak about how Laramie County can "navigate who and what it wants to be through a variety of lenses, including economic, community services, growth and change."

The free event is sponsored by the Laramie County Community Partnership. In her comments, Johnson mentions Amy Spieker and Melissa Martin. Spieker is the executive director of the Laramie County Community Partnership, and Martin teaches college courses and consults on communications issues. (Martin's spouse, WTE Managing Editor Brian Martin, was not involved in the editing or reporting of this article.)

Johnson has spoken publicly on several past occasions in Cheyenne. The 58-year-old lives in Bristol, Rhode Island; USNWC is in Newport.

What follows is a slightly condensed transcript of the WTE's questions and Johnson's answers. She spoke by phone on Thursday.

WTE: What is your history in Cheyenne, and what current involvement and ties do you have here?

Johnson: "I grew up in Cheyenne. My father was in the Air Force. Our family moved to Cheyenne in, I believe, 1970. Cheyenne is home for me. I went to Pioneer Park (Elementary School), McCormick Junior High and Central (High)," in Laramie County School District 1.

"I got a scholarship (to Florida A&M University), and my mother actually really wanted me to experience a historically Black college. Florida A&M is a historically Black college or university. She recognized the experiences I had in Cheyenne, but that there were opportunities for even more broadened experiences by going to an HBCU. And it was culture shock ... definitely night and day from Cheyenne," she said, laughing.

Her brother owns a hair salon in Cheyenne. "I have nieces and nephews who are still in Cheyenne," and she visits them here. Her parents "were absolute fixtures in the Cheyenne community. My father even received citizen of the year, I'm not sure that was the exact title, very, very engaged in the community." They retired to North Carolina, and live there currently. "They still both very much consider Cheyenne integral. In fact, after they retired, they still returned every year for the Martin Luther King banquet, at least for 15 years."

WTE: How did Cheyenne shape you?

Johnson: "It's one of those things that you don't really appreciate until you leave just how wonderful your education experience was. I realized once I got to college that I essentially received a private school education" at LCSD1.

"When I grew up in Cheyenne, clearly, the Black community was small, but we all knew each other. And there's something unique about that internal sense of community. So, for example, in 2012, one of my brother's best friends coordinated what we ended up calling a Cheyenne friends and family reunion, which was all the Black families that we knew growing up. Many folks had moved on or started families elsewhere. And it was amazing to see all the families come back to reminisce, celebrate."

WTE: Did you ever encounter hatred growing up?

Johnson: "I was just having a conversation with one of my best friends, and we were reminiscing on our experiences as young Black kids in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I recall my first very deliberate racist incident" in Cody, when she was traveling with her fellow marching band members.

As she was crossing the street in Cody to join her white friends, "this truck pulled up and started yelling racial slurs and throwing beer cans. At first, I did not realize they were aiming it at me. I had to stop for a second and realize what was going on. And then when I did, I just became terrified, and I bawled my eyes out. I was a senior in high school." Her friends took her to the band director, she recalled. "They were very protective, and they immediately called my mother."

"She says, 'It's about time.' And I'm just like, wait, what? She said something along the lines of, 'It's about time that you truly experienced the world that you live in.' Up until that point, I had pretty much been sheltered in Cheyenne."

"My father was one of the first race relations officers in the military. So we were very aware of our history and very much in tune with race relations. I was usually the only Black kid in my classes."

"I can't say I felt discriminated against in high school, for example, but I definitely had a different experience. I remember when it was time to take the ACT (college-entry exam). I remember my classmates all carrying around these big giant books, and I didn't know what they were." No one told her to prepare. "Fortunately for me, I performed well taking it blind. But there's a difference there in terms of the support."

WTE: What are your current racism and diversity concerns regarding this city?

Johnson: "I haven't been party to what the experiences have been currently, beyond what's been shared" with her.

Martin and Spieker "sent me an email from out of the blue. They had apparently heard me speak at the Martin Luther King banquet in 2019." She said her remarks have been called "the ice cream speech. It was really a charge to recognize that while we have made some progress, there are still some challenges, and there are opportunities to keep getting better."

"The ask of me is to help set the context for conversations so that the community can work together to address these challenges" involving our own potential hatred of others, she said of what she was asked to do at Monday's event. "That is something that is happening in many places, even where I am in Rhode Island. I think it's clear that no community is immune. The challenge is how we collectively choose to respond."

"It's a two-hour event, so the idea is that I will speak for a time period, offer some thoughts, and then provide an opportunity for dialogue and discussion. More than someone dropping in and giving an inspirational speech, it is really more remarks to tee up a conversation and create a space for people to feel comfortable having conversations about topics that are sometimes uncomfortable."

Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3129. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm.