He’s the best man I’ve ever known, William Johnson. He’s also my Daddy. God knew I needed more than one because I’d be a lot to handle.

When I was 2 months old, his wife came home with her brothers baby, me. They took me in the day my mother died, and raised me as their own.
William took me to school every morning. He taught me how to tie a tie. He gave me my first car. He helped me buy my second car. He taught me to be proud of my Blackness. He taught me how to like myself even when the world hated me.
He would always say, “I don’t care if you like me, I like me and that’s enough.” He taught me that I was enough.

Most of all, he taught me that love is a choice. You see, I wasn’t born his son, yet I got everything his sons got.
I wasn’t born his son, yet I never felt like his nephew. He showed me, how you love someone is a choice you make as an individual. He didn’t have to be my Daddy, and (he probably had no choice because my momma ain’t nothing to be played with 😂)
but he did have a choice in how he loved me, and he chose to love me without condition or borders.

He was a janitor at Banks Elementary for decades, but he didn’t just clean the school. He spent afternoons teaching young men how to shoot a basketball or throw the football.
He taught me it’s not how much you make, but what you do with what you make. He was always the best dressed at the school, drove the nicest car, and gave us a beautiful home on a modest salary.
A man who never met his father a day in his life, was a father to his biological children, and me. He’s 78 years old, and I pray everyday that God give him more years so he can see that his seeds brought forth a powerful harvest.
So he knows I listened every time he gave me a long talk. I am the man I am today, because of this man. If I am half the man William Johnson is, I’ll be a hell of a man when it’s all said and done.
Daddy, I love you and I appreciate you for everything you’ve been to me. Thank you for being my hero and my cheerleader. Happy Father’s Day.

Your Son,

- Gary -

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More from @GaryChambersJr

20 Jun
I carry his name, Gary. I’ve told you all my story and through it, I’ve told you his. My father married my mother his high school sweet heart. When I was 2 months old, she took her life. My father struggled with alcoholism and was homeless after that.
So he left me in the care of his oldest sister and her husband. I never saw my dad intoxicated, he was too proud for that.

My dad moved to Florida, fixed his life and by it fixed ours. I watched this man drive a 1985 Honda Civic and load my brother & 2 sisters in it.
The car would ride low as we got older, but he had all 4 of his kids with him. Even if only for the summer. He made us sit at the table and have dinner every night as a family. I’ll never forget those summers, they shaped me.
Read 6 tweets
19 Jun
So today is me & Connie’s anniversary!

On today last year, I just went to the school board meeting to speak because Dadrius Lanus asked me to come. For years we had pushed to change the name of Lee High School,
Connie was shopping while people were sharing their heart on the issue.

Y’all know how the rest of the story went. Connie walked out. We changed the name of the school to Liberty High School, but she’s still on the board.
I never imagined that night at the meeting the video would go viral, and millions would watch it. I was simply showing up in my community because I care. Your love and support over the last 365 days has blown me away and given me deep joy.
Read 4 tweets
21 Apr
You know, because I’ve dedicated so much of my life at this point to fighting injustice. I know as soon as I see something if it’s right or wrong.

What upsets me, is how easily one factor can make some of you justify our murder.

In America you have a right to defend yourself.
In America I’ve watched white men murder half a dozen Black people & be taken to jail.

Cops show restraint when they want to. They use less force over & over when they deal with white citizens.

Truth is, when this nation was founded it only saw white men as citizens.
So it has been etched into the minds of millions that a Black life is less worthy of restraint.

We are called animals for the same actions or less that whites do daily in America.

If you can justify shooting a teenager in the back instead of deescalation you don’t get it.
Read 6 tweets
21 Apr
You know, whoever this cop is — this is where the problem starts.

This jackass, like many believes that there is such a thing as a blue life. News flash jackass, it’s a job. The people who wear the badge are all nationalities,
the problem is too many of you have elevated a profession above humanity.

What a disgusting individual. I would say more, but I’m trying tonight to stay lifted above the hatred.
#Repost @shaunking 🤬🤬My God I’m so angry. ⁣

Let me tell you what you are seeing. ⁣

The @ColumbusPolice had just shot and killed 16 year old Ma’Khia Bryant.⁣

People are distraught. ⁣

And police are yelling BLUE LIVES MATTER to the bystanders. ⁣
Read 4 tweets
22 Mar
In December, they said we had no chance at all. Three weeks ago, they polled us at 6%. We got the phone calls, we heard the chatter, we just kept pushing. Head down and working hard to connect with THE PEOPLE.
We won over 140 precincts in New Orleans. We shook up the political establishment and if we had one more week of runway we’d be in a runoff today, heading to an upset.

The Senators had over $1 million a piece helping them via their campaigns or independent expenditures.
We raised $500k in small dollar contributions and we were inches away from an upset last night.

I know the typical person that ran for office disappears for a few weeks, and doesn’t publicly talk about the race much.
Read 4 tweets
21 Mar
Thank you to each individual who believed in this campaign. Thank you to every person who gave their resources, time, and positive energy in our direction.

Last night we came 1500 votes short of knocking out a sitting state Senator that’s been elected 20 years.
No one thought we had a shot. The polls said we were at 6%, we finished with 21.3% of the vote. That’s due to my amazing team, thank you for everything you sacrificed and have to this team. I appreciate you. We earned every single vote we got.
We had almost no institutional support, but we had a belief in progressive values and that THE PEOPLE deserve more.

To my family, thank you for sacrificing in ways most will never know so I can stand and fight for what I believe in.
Read 6 tweets

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