CINCINNATI — Near one of Cincinnati's hotspots for shootings in Over-The-Rhine, an author is trying to re-write history and inspire children through literature.
Dashawn BillBill Johnson explained in his own words.
"Growing up around here just made me tough-minded," he said. "To me, it's the best place in the world. (There are) a lot of kids that maybe had troubles like me. My mom died when I was 10 years old. A lot of kids had a lot of dreams and goals and they're pretty much innocent and a lot of times it could be a friend, could be a family member, could be a guy walking down the street might tell them you can't be that or you're not good. I just want to be their inspiration and lead them, show them a positive way."
"If you've read (my book) 'Super Bill,' Super Bill pretty much talks about being your own type of leader in your community whether it's picking up trash or saying positive words to people, you know, positive affirmation."
"I've talked to a lot of kids and the thing that they come up with is they want to be an athlete or maybe a doctor or lawyer. Those are the top main things. So, (in) the book, 'Where I Grow Up' I pretty much came up with 50 different occupations that kids can look at and see for themselves this isn't it. You don't have to be an athlete. There's a Plan A. There's a Plan B. There's a Plan C."
"I'm hoping it brings positivity to them. I'm just hoping they can pass it on to the next kid that they can be a leader."
"It's very personal. I had three siblings. I pretty much was the older role model. So, I was the one who stumbled and bumped my head first. So, I want to be able to step in before they do anything like that and think of all the positive things they can do before they do anything negative."
"You can still overcome any obstacle."
So far, Johnson has four books published: 'I Love School,' 'Grandma's House,' 'When I Grow Up,' and 'Super Bill.' He is working on fifth called 'Embracing Our Future' that will be available on Amazon.
