In 1892, Johnson founded
The Lexington Standard (1892–1912), a weekly
African American newspaper published in
Lexington, Kentucky. He sold the newspaper to
R. C. O. Benjamin in 1897, and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. In his writings, Johnson was a
civil rights activist and wrote against the crime of
lynching. Johnson was a Kentucky
delegate-at-large in the
1908 Republican National Convention in Chicago, and he campaigned for President
William Howard Taft. In 1908, Johnson returned to
The Lexington Standard, after the murder of R. C. O. Benjamin the newspaper was financially struggling. Johnson battled in court for control of
The Lexington Standard from school teacher Daniel I. Reid and newspaper landlord Wade H. Carter, and won his case. Johnson decided to sell the newspaper in 1912 to three local men: Rev. A. W. Davis, pastor of Constitution Street Christian Church in Lexington, who became editor; Daniel I. Reid, a teacher who served as secretary; and Ed Willis, the superintendent of the famed Patchen Wilkes Farm, who acted as treasurer. The new newspaper management changed the name of the paper to the
Lexington Weekly News, with the first issue published on March 15, 1912. It is unclear when publication ceased, or why but only three issues remain. == Late life ==