"Stop the Violence" co-founder celebrates 21 years of service

LITTLE ROCK, AR - Sunday marks twenty-one years of service for one of Little Rock's most recognizable faces fighting violence. Reverend Benny Johnson co-founded "Stop the Violence" in 1991, and Sunday afternoon, his friends threw a celebration service for him at Little Rock's Church of the Living God.

"He never seeks to ask for anything for himself," says attorney and friend John Walker.

"Instead of violence, let's have more education and more help. Benny congratulations on the beautiful job you've done, and I'm glad to be your friend," says business owner David Martinous.

"There is no way to say how many lives Benny Johnson has saved, but there is no question Benny Johnson has influenced many young people," said Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay.

From giving bikes to kids at Christmas, to making sure families get support after losing a loved one to violence, Johnson keeps fighting crime.

Since he founded "Stop the Violence" in 1991, Benny Johnson has worked tirelessly with church leaders on both sides of the river to help keep kids on the right track.

"Benny is a man that gives of himself, gives of himself, gives of himself. You know what I'm saying?" said one church leader.

Sunday's celebration took an emotional turn when Johnson's youngest sister took the mic and sang. The Johnson family grew up poor, but with strong role models in their parents, and Joyce Johnson says her brother never forgot where they came from.

"We didn't have bicycles. Benny is making sure children can have bicycles whose parents can't afford them," says Joyce Johnson. "We love you, we're proud of you, and just keep it up."

Johnson's two other sisters could not be there Sunday because one of them has stage three breast cancer, and they are in Houston.