Dynamic JCSU Couple Provides Scholarship Money For HBCU Band Students
Johnson C. Smith University has been a meeting ground for several lifelong friends, spouses and business partners. But for Frank and La Keisha Johnson, it was where they formed their love for not only one another but also their love for HBCU marching bands.
In 2018, the couple decided to tackle a cause that was important to both of them: providing monies for scholarships for HBCU band students and athletes through their HBCU Culture Legacy Foundation.
The foundation hosts an annual HBCU Battle of the Bands Tour. This year’s tour will be held Nov. 5 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium. The day features a fan fest, which will highlight several local high school bands and JCSU’s IIOS Marching Band. Ticket sales benefit the foundation’s scholarship fund.
Frank said his personal story of struggle fueled his passion to make sure other students didn’t have to make the difficult decision he had to make.
“I enrolled in 2001 as a freshman,” he said. “Going into my senior year, my father became sick from diabetes complications. He was a truck driver, and you can’t drive a truck when you become an amputee. So, I dropped out of school and went to work in the banking industry to support my family.”
During his time at JCSU, Frank was a member of the IIOS Marching Band. He played several percussion instruments but mainly stuck to the multi-tenor drum, better known as “quints.”
After a few years in the banking industry, Frank met his wife when he returned for the annual IIOS Homecoming reunion.
“We’re like the real ‘Drumline’ story,” said La Keisha, who graduated in 2008. “I was a dancer in Blue Satin, and he was a percussionist. We met the first semester of my senior year.”
After the couple started dating and were eventually married, they started an entertainment business but decided in 2018 to move toward a more purpose-driven cause.