Ella Maxelle Johnson was born on December 14, 1944 in Provident

Hospital to the late William Alexander and Maude Thelma Johnson.

Ella was the second child born to this union. Ella grew up in the

Sandtown Winchester Community at 1039 North Mount Street.
During her academic career at John H. Murphy (known as School Number
119), Ella's advancements in academics allowed her to skip a grade
which was only the beginning to her honorary achievements. Ella

attended Charles Hamilton Houston Junior High School, and graduated
high school from Fredrick Douglas Senior High in 1962. After high
school, Ella attended Morgan State University. While attending, Ella
was employed at the Self Service which was located on the corner of

Mount Street and Mosher Street as well as the Food-a-Rama located on
the 3800 block of Liberty Heights Avenue. Ella graduated from
Morgan State University in 1968 with a Bachelors Degree in History.
xfter graduating college, she became a teacher at Booker T. Washing-
ton Junior High School (1969-1971).

After her tenure as an educator, Ella worked for the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission as a Community Relations Investigator
(1971-1976). It was there that her passion for helping the community
blossomed and she continued to flourish. In the late 1970's, Ella became
a Housing Specialist for the SandTown Winchester Improvement Asso-
ciation (SWIA), which began out of a house on the 1100 block of
Fulton Ave. Ella Johnson was one of the trailblazers whom of which
assisted the SandTown Winchester Community with getting the houses
on North Fulton Avenue renovated, as well as helping SandTown Win-
chester citizens obtain those homes for their growing families. During

Ella's time with the SWIA, the headquarters moved several times to
Calhoun Street, and then to the School 132 located on the 1100 block of
Mount Street.

During her time at the SWIA, Ella balanced her life between servicing
her community and providing care for her beloved mother Mrs. Maude
Johnson. Family members remember Ella working endlessly into the
night for community causes with no transportation, leaving Maude
Johnson, Ella's mother, constantly concerned about Ella's health and
safety.

Maude Johnson would lecture young Ella about adjusting her hours of
work, and instead of adjusting those work hours, Ella relied on friends
and coworkers with vehicles as her transportation during the late hours

to ease her mother's worries. In 1992, Ella soared into being the
Director of the SandTown Winchester Improvement Association,
however, due to health complications in 2001 she had to resign from
the position.

For those who knew Ella, they can all agree that she had an undying
love for her community. She fought for the rights of her community on
a daily basis, and never left a stone unturned. Through not only her
faith, but through her dedication, she battled the political community
with thoroughly researched and supported facts to advocate for the
people within her community. Ella loved children; her nieces and
nephews remember times where she empowered them to not only seek
knowledge, but to better themselves in and out of their communities
whilst dosing off to sleep after a long day of work. In describing Ella
M. Johnson, the wonderful woman who worked in the SandTown
Community, some would call her an Advocate and a Leader, some
would call her a Rebel, and some would call her Family but ALL will

say that she cared deeply about making a difference and making a
better place for those to call home.

Ella is referenced in several books due to her hard work and dedica-
tion. Just to name a few: Black Baltimore: A New Theory of Commu-
nity by Harold Mcdougall 1993; To Live In Peace: Biblical Faith and
the Changing Inner City by Mark R. Gornick 2002; Restoring At-Risk

Communities: Doing It Together and Doing It Right by John M.

Perkins 1996

Ella M. Johnson is preceded in death by her (Father) William Alexan-
der Johnson I, (Mother) Maude Thelma Johnson, (Sister) Wilma Lesly
Waker Lewis, (Nephew) William Alexander Johnson III, and (Two
Brother-in-laws) James Hicks and Leroy N. Bradley.

Ella M. Johnson is survived by (two sisters) Edna EIre Johnson and
Juanita Vernette Bradley, (three brothers) William Alexander Johnson
II, Wilton Westly Johnson and Maurice Clifton Johnson; and a host of
Nieces, Nephews, Family and Friends