OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Kings in Brotherhood was started in 2017, and it was based on the plight of the black community, and the direction it was headed in from what community activist Larry Johnson had witnessed.
“Where it was going was not how I was raised,” said Johnson. “I grew up with loving parents, a loving community, the whole entire community was a village and looked out for other people’s kids.”
When Johnson was younger, it was a different era, issues would be resolved quickly, and classmates and friends wouldn’t harbor any resentment toward one another going forward.
“We didn’t do like kids do nowadays, they fight each other and then they want to kill each other if they lose the fight,” said Johnson. “We didn’t do that. We got along, and if we got in a fight, we were friends the next day.”
However, the plight of the black community isn’t endemic to just Ocala, it’s nationwide, said Johnson, who took a proactive approach by creating an organization that continues to impact lives.
“We’re sitting up here and killing each other for no reason,” said Johnson. “I created Kings in Brotherhood because there’s a way to fix this. I just have to put it out there. I created this organization to show these kids, that there’s a better way of living in the black community and getting out of the community without selling drugs.”
Johnson has been working at Jenkins Hyundai since 2005, and he became a manager in 2010 and is still a manager in 2025. He has served as a mentor and as role model for many young men in the community.
“I get kids who are lost and don’t know their way, and I show them that there is a better way,” said Johnson. “You can get a job, but when you get a job, you have to be consistent and be to work on time every day, while putting your best foot forward. They have to go in there with a different mindset, with the thought process of, ‘I am somebody.'”
Young black men are still contending with what they heard about racism in the past, with many still holding onto those beliefs, that their progress will be impeded by a white boss, said Johnson.
Johnson’s father, Rev. Leroy Johnson, served as an inspirational role model, seeing what his father experienced facing adversity and overcoming life’s pitfalls, where the challenges were far greater for an African American that they are in today’s climate.
Many of the young men, who Johnson has worked with, have gone onto enjoy success, working through the levels, and becoming established, providing them with a purpose, instilling the same core values he was taught and has shared them with his own sons. The Kings in Brotherhood’s motto is “We rise by lifting others.” God has provided everyone with a gift, said Johnson.
‘That’s what kids want to know, do they have the ability to make money and make something out of themselves and contribute to society,” said Johnson. “I tell them every time, when y0u wake up in the morning, be happy and give thanks that God got you up and look at that person in the mirror. That person in the mirror is the only person that can hold you back. They can talk about you, berate you, but you don’t have to answer to what they call you or what they say. You know who you are. You know what you bring to the table. It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, everybody is equal, and no one is above anyone else.”