Gun violence took her father, brother, and son, so this Pennsylvania woman ran for office and won

“January 15, 2008, I left Philadelphia to protect my children from the gun violence,” gun reform activist and PA state Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell tells Daily Kos in an interview, “and on January 15, 2011, I buried my 18-year-old son.” As Johnson-Harrell explained to Daily Kos behind the scenes at Netroots Nation, the country’s largest progressive conference, far before she became an elected official in her government, she was intimately equated with gun violence. From witnessing her father’s murder when she was just eight-years-old to losing one of her children in a case of mistaken identity, for Johnson-Harrell, these political issues are deeply personal.

And as she breaks down for Daily Kos in Making Progress, our exclusive video interview series with politicians, activists, and organizers from across the progressive space, Johnson-Harrell is focused on gun reform, restorative justice, and ending the cycle of poverty.

“It's our responsibility to fix the broken system,” she continues to Daily Kos, “to make sure that these young people have access to education, access to resources, access to clean air and water, access to food, access to safe, affordable housing. It's not a child's responsibility to make sure that they have those things; it's our responsibility.”

Rep. Johnson-Harrell first ran to representative Pennslyvania’s 190th district in 2016, when she ultimately lost to Vanessa Lowery-Brown. Not long after, Lowery-Brown resigned after being sentenced to probation for bribery charges. Johnson-Harrell ran in the special election and won. Her win is historic for a big reason: She’s the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Pennslyvania state legislature. 

Check out her full interview below, as well as a transcription.

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Question 1: What is the Charles Foundation?

CHARLES stands for an acronym: Creating Healthy Alternatives Results in Less Emotional Suffering. The CHARLES Foundation was founded on April 13, 2011, exactly three months to the day that my 18-year-old son, Charles Andre Johnson, was murdered in a case of mistaken identity. And what was so sad for my family was that in the summer of 2007, my two sons who were 14 and 16, came to me and they said, "Mom, we know nine boys murdered in this neighborhood."

And after I consoled my sons and I left my room, I turned to my husband and I said, "It's time to leave." We had the resources. So, January 15, 2008, I left Philadelphia to protect my children from the gun violence. And on January 15, 2011, I buried my 18-year-old son.

Question 2: What would you say to young people who want to break out of the cycle of poverty?

I don't think it's a young persons' responsibility to break out of the cycle of poverty. I think it's our responsibility to give them the door and open the window for them to break out of poverty. One thing that I realized going through a two week trial with the two young men who murdered my son were, was that they were actually victims of their circumstances.

You know, they had parents who were absent because of drugs and incarceration, they grew up in poverty and they had been in and out of the juvenile correctional institutions, and they had been in a lot of adult correctional institutions. And my homicide detective said, "You know, Movita, these boys were gonna harm someone. "You know, we knew that they were gonna harm someone "at a young age."

And I was really baffled by that. And I what I said to my homicide detective was, "So, you had 'em and you didn't fix 'em." So, it's our responsibility to fix the broken system, to make sure that these young people have access to education, access to resources, access to clean air and water, access to food, access to safe, affordable housing. And it's not a child's responsibility to make sure that they have those things, it's our responsibility.

Question 3: Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been doing with restorative justice?

Absolutely. So, in January of 2018, I was invited by District Attorney Larry Krasner to join his team in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. And he appointed me Supervisor of Victim and Witnesses Services and Restorative Justice. And through that position, I was actually able to change the scope of that office to make it, first and foremost, look more like the community that it represents.

And then secondly, I was able to create a model called The Philadelphia Cares model that brought $1.6 million to Philadelphia and 15 jobs. Through that position, I was able to begin to make the connection between families and offenders, so that they could have restoration. We did healing circles. We worked with juvenile lifers that were being discharged. I did Impact of Crime, where I went behind the walls and taught classes. I did Day of Responsibility. So, one thing that we know is that a lot of our incarcerated family are coming out someday. And we have to make sure that discharge begins at the day of entry.

We have to make sure that they have the resources necessary to come out into the community and be a part of the solution. And one thing that I truly believe is that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.

Bonus Question: What advice would you give your teenage self?

It was extremely difficult for me growing up in five generations of poverty and five generations of addictions, having seen my father murdered at eight years old. And if I could turn back the hands of time and give myself some suggestions it would be just love yourself and appreciate yourself, and you are whole in who you are. You are whole. And there's somebody that will reach out and help you but just hold on and just love you.

Want to check out more videos from Making Progress? We’ve interviewed four Democratic presidential candidates, as well as state-level politicians, and add a fresh interview to the Daily Kos YouTube every Tuesday.

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