“I’m just raising money through tapping.” Tap dancing on the #2 express train is no easy feat but Joshua is tapping for his Penn State College tuition; thus,for him, its just another stage. I filmed his performance as we weaved from 72nd to 42nd street and had a quick chat. He was featured in yesterdays New York Times newspaper. I was on the right train at the right time.
MY SMALL STORY
Over the past 15 years I have traveled, filmed and and acquired a library of over 6,000 hours. From the recording studio in NYC to South African Safari’s, I have filmed my conversations and watched my library grow. On April 26, 2010, I launched www.MySmallStroy.com in NYC as a way to share insight. My Small Story contextualizes life through a collection of unscripted filmed conversations with small businesses, entrepreneurs, artists and everyday people filmed, edited & shared weekly by LaRon Batchelor – a videographer/ethnographer with 15 years experience filming conversations in 4 continents.
MY SMALL STORY: Over 300 Filmed New York Stories 
14 responses to “Joshua Johnson: Tap Dancing on NYC Subways To Pay For College”
How can I get in touch with Mr. Joshua Johnson. I just saw the report on World News with Diane Sawyer. I am from Canada. I was very moved by the story. I would like to help him pay for his tuitions. Please connect us. I am very sincere. Please have him email me at madruby@live.com. Thank you.
Mady
I was looking to find him too, I want to send him something.
Thank you for viewing My Small Stories and thank you for supporting people’s dreams. Here is Joshua’s info joshua.johnson17@gmail.com or call him 718-915-1137.
Thanks for the story. I also want to help him.
I’m so proud of this young man, and, no, I don’t know him at all. He just gives me GREAT HOPE for his generation. I’m so glad to know that others rally in his support…there is enough negativity in this world to beat down people that folks tend to overlook the GOOD out there. This was GREAT MEDIA to be subjected to in my nightly channel surf.
I hope he gets GREAT INTERNATIONAL attention…and, lots of it!! He IS what ALL OF US want to be and what we should all want for others, especially when they are trying and working so hard to better themselves.
He IS so VERY TALENTED!!!
“Inspire to aspire.”
And, if you get time and you FB, we began a FB page in support of him, too!!! Come join us!!!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/252279461527612/
Josh is a great young man. I have the pleasure of being the campus minister where he goes to school. Please get the word out about him. What an awesome young man!!
I’m sure trying!!! We’ve got a group of Josh supporters here in the south spread across a few states and even some of our family members overseas are sharing his story and sharing the love, too. WHAT AN INSPIRATION!!!! Many times, Lions Club and Toastmasters also have small, but not uncountable, scholarships. CocaCola has some AWESOME scholarships out there. Maybe folks closer to him there at the campus (in his church family, even) could help with rallying some of those! I KNOW he’s going to do great things in life!!!!
There is a lady on another news article who has posted for him to contact her on FB and that she lives at the campus and has an extra room and loves to have people to cook meals for, too!!
You are all beautiful people and I really appreciate your love and support. I would like to clarify two things:
1)I am no different from anyone else, just a regular kid from Harlem, New York with my mind set on a goal – to graduate from college
2) Sure I know tap dancing but we all have talents that God’s given us. I always said if talent and work ethic got into a fight I would bank all my money on work ethic because he just can’t loose. I work very hard to to set an example for all those who are struggling to make it
3) To God be the glory in everything that I do. I was born and raised in church and with God on my side impossible is nothing. I CAN DO ALL THING THROUGH CHRIST THAT STRENGTHENS ME. I live by those words. So stay blessed and take the time to bless someone else and thanks for your support
You are all beautiful people and I really appreciate your love and support. I would like to clarify two things:
1)I am no different from anyone else, just a regular kid from Harlem, New York with my mind set on a goal – to graduate from college
2) Sure I know tap dancing but we all have talents that God’s given us. I always said if talent and work ethic got into a fight I would bank all my money on work ethic because he just can’t loose. I work very hard to to set an example for all those who are struggling to make it
3) To God be the glory in everything that I do. I was born and raised in church and with God on my side impossible is nothing. I CAN DO ALL THING THROUGH CHRIST THAT STRENGTHENS ME. I live by those words. So stay blessed and take the time to bless someone else and thanks for your support
(( HUGS )) Amen, sugar!! And, don’t you let anything or anyone steal that thunder from you!! God got you to it, and, he will get you through it! You just keep on believing and keep on working at it!!
Here are a couple of ways you can contribute.
-You can write a check out to me Joshua J Johnson and mail it to 50 walnut street floor 1, montclair NJ 07042 that is the house of Ramon Ray (my friend, family member, and mentor)
-you can use the paypal account set up on this website: http://www.tapping2college.com email address for that is Ramon@smallbiztechnology.com
– you can send a check to my school address 2307 9th street Altoona, PA 16601
-or you can contact the school (814)949-5028 tell them you would like to make payment to Joshua J Johnson and give them my Penn state user ID number 901-186-469
Those are all the ways you can pay, I hope at least one of them is suitable for you. Once again I want to thank you for be certain you reached out to the right Joshua Johnson thank you and God Bless
WITHDRAWING SUPPORT: Were YOU duped by Joshua Johnson?
READ THE STORY at http://www.TapDanceExpress.com
(TapDanceExpress.com) – “I’ve been duped,” said veteran reporter DC Livers – who is known for her bleeding heart when it comes to underdogs. “When I met Joshua Johnson he gave me this song and dance about his mom being in shelter and just wanting to help get her out of shelter. He told me he was in danger of leaving school because he couldn’t afford it. He asked for my help and I gave it to him. I didn’t do the standard background check that I should have done on him. I sincerely set out to help a “poor Black kid from Harlem,” as he told me. I fell for his story hook, line and sinker.
Fresh off helping create national buzz for the MILLION HOODIE March for Trayvon Martin, secure truth for Whitney Houston’s family, nearly shutting down TMZ’s switchboard after they turned Heavy D’s death into a joke and leading the campaign to rid Amazon from the Pedophile’s Guide to Love, Livers is shocked to find herself caught in a nightmare in the form of a hustler disguised as a college student.
For over a year Livers, who has been published in over 200 publications in the U.S. and abroad, has been going underground on New York City subway trains to produce the “Subway Music Series” a podcast series that aims to help unsigned artists get exposure. Joshua seemed like the perfect fit for the series and was quickly included.
“Last week, I discovered that Joshua may have bent the truth, misrepresented the facts and is not a man of honor as I’d hoped. He’s not the type of guy to pay it forward or to help the next person. He’s simply out for self. I was devastated to learn that because of the countless hours I’ve personally poured into a PR campaign to help him ensure that he graduate college and get his mom out of shelter – a campaign might I add that he requested. It seems that Joshua was playing a few people – so I guess I feel a little better knowing I wasn’t the only person to be taken in by him.
“Unfortunately, it seems Joshua thinks that having a mom in shelter in the ultimate hustle because despite receiving over $50,000 in donations including a $35,000 check from Chegg, he continues to let his mother sit in a shelter while he lives it up. That’s not the guy I vowed to help. He hasn’t applied the Chegg money to cover the remainder of his college education and it’s starting to feel that he might not even be interested in staying at Penn State.
“After winning America’s heart with his “creative” down-on-my-luck-but-not-giving-up story, it seems Joshua is about to leave school behind to pursue a career in Hollywood. Ain’t that a kick in the head. He’s starting to remind me of the modern day Jayson Blair who made up big stories for fame. We the public may never know exactly what or how much of Joshua’s story was made up and how much was real, but thank goodness that he’ll have to disclose it soon.
“It just goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished.
“Who’s advising this kid? Is he seriously thinking that the IRS won’t want to know where the money goes? Does he really believe he can milk his mom’s hard-knock-life story for much longer before people will wonder why he hasn’t taken her out of shelter and put her in a hotel – at the very least a motel until he can get her an apartment? Is that the guy you reached into your pockets to help?
“I was truly unaware of Joshua’s true motives when I set out to help him. I truly believed he was what he said he was: A starving college student who thirsted for knowledge. I even called the school and discovered that his hustle is bigger than anyone thought.
“It’s funny too how many White media company’s are pimping out this kid’s story. As one media organization said to me when I reached out to get him an apartment for his family, “Joshua never said ‘Thank you’ – not even once did he say ‘Thank you’ during the interview with Ellen” and they went on to say, “Did you see the look on his face when he realized JC Penny was giving clothing not money? We’ll pass.” I guess others saw what I couldn’t see…or may be didn’t want to see,” Livers said.
Livers spent many, many hours working on Joshua’s case even securing a production deal for Joshua to appear in his own reality TV show and endorse products. She began working on a book entitled, “Tap Dance Express: The Joshua Johnson Story” about Black college students that also features Joshua’s story. To date, Joshua’s interview with DC is the longest he has ever given.
“I’m still writing the book, “Tap Dance Express” but unfortunately it will have a different ending than expected. We won’t be able to continue to root for Joshua but it’s still a good story and lesson for young kids to read. It is important that the world see this story for exactly what it is. Kids today need to know there are consequences when they do things like Joshua is attempting to do. You just can’t say you want money to finish school and to get your mom out of shelter then neglect to do what you said. Hopefully this young man was romanced by his 15 minutes of fame. Hopefully, all the attention he got on TV overwhelmed him and made him act stupidly. Hopefully, he is not truly the type of person it now appears he is. No one wants their kid looking up to someone like that. But maybe he’ll pull a Kim Kardashian and attempt to keep the wedding gifts instead of returning them like a real man would do. After all, if he’s truly on the up-and-up, he’ll make enough money to buy the gifts back and then some.
That’s why DC has decided to use some of the proceeds from “Tap Dance Express” to help authentic Black college students stay in college. If you’re one of them, reach out to us. Let us know your story so that we can connect you to some people who might be able to help you.
If you gave money and other support to Joshua Johnson after reading about him through any of the 200 outlets where DC Livers’ column appears or online, please accept our apology. We are asking Joshua to return the money and to make public to EVERYONE how much money has been donated to date. We’re asking that the media outlets pull the articles from their archives and websites.
Everyone needs a little help sometimes, so maybe Joshua really did when DC first met him. But clearly he’s taken a wrong turn somewhere. If he’s reading this, hopefully he’ll finally realize that integrity is all that anyone has. Once he’s willing to trade that, everything will go downhill from there.
Needless to say, we’re withdrawing our support of Joshua Johnson. Please stop giving money to him immediately.
Tried to get to the site but something is preventing me from doing so. If what you’re saying is true, how about giving us your name as well, so that I can do a little bit more digging myself to find out what’s true and what’s not?? The fact that this guy lied to so many people (a well-known celebrity at that, stupid and foolish to boot) is more than sad, because now (hopefully that is) folks will know not to trust him any more when they see him. In the mean while, is there another way for us to get to your website? Thanks for the ‘heads up’ anyway though.
Sierra Leone