Jesse Johnson
This is a millionaire town. People come from all over the world here. My little area is heaven to me.”
Cement finisher Jesse Johnson came to Sarasota in 1963 to escape hangings in Greenwood, Mississippi. Outspoken about the issues of the day there, he feared for his life. After living in Miami for a year, he came to Sarasota because “the people showed outsiders love.”
Behind Town Hall, the Brass Rail and on the side of Can Major’s store, he gambled and shot dice daily, sometimes earning $3,000 to $4,000. While standing on the corner after hustling for three years, a man came by in a truck asking for laborers who knew construction. Johnson was convinced he could quickly learn the trade and did. His new job was heading to work sites at 3 a.m. to pour cement, frame up buildings and tie steel in condominiums on the barrier islands of Siesta Key, Longboat and Bradenton Beach. “I used to hate coming down from being 10 floors up.”
By 3 p.m. Johnson was back on the corner socializing. He helped to construct the Siesta Key bridge, Sarasota commercial properties and public housing facilities. “I found jobs just standing on the corner. Everybody ain’t doing wrong that you see standing on the corner. I stood up on that corner and worked every day.”
