Movita Johnson-Harrell

Movita Johnson-Harrell (born April 21, 1966) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 190th district from March to December 2019.[3][4] She is the first female Muslim member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.[5]

Movita Johnson-Harrell
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 190th district
In office March 25, 2019 – December 13, 2019
Preceded by	Vanessa Lowery Brown
Succeeded by	Roni Green[1]
Personal details
Born	Movita Johnson-Harrell April 21, 1966[2]
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Philadelphia
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Politician

She resigned after pleading guilty to various criminal acts related to a charity she worked for. She was sentenced to 3 months in jail followed by 8.5 months on house arrest, 11 months on parole, and 2 years probation.

Early life and career

Johnson-Harrell was raised in poverty in a family that suffered from generations of substance abuse.[6] She received support from welfare and lived in public housing.[6] She earned an associate's degree in behavioral health in 1999. She also earned a bachelor's degree in applied science in 2002 and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.[7]

Johnson-Harrell worked as supervisor of victim services for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.[2] She is the founder of the CHARLES Foundation (Creating Healthy Alternatives Results in Less Emotional Suffering) which was established in 2011 after the mistaken identity shooting death of her 18-year-old son, Charles André Johnson.[8] The CHARLES foundation is focused on improving the lives of young people, their neighborhoods and "common-sense" gun control legislation to reduce violence.[9]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Johnson-Harrell was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 190th district on March 12, 2019 during a special election held after Vanessa Lowery Brown resigned due to her conviction on corruption and bribery charges.[10] She was sworn into office on March 25, 2019.[11] During her swearing in, she made headlines after state Representative Stephanie Borowicz made a Christian prayer that invoked Jesus 13 times, praised Trump, praised Israel, and said, "God forgive us — Jesus — we’ve lost sight of you, we’ve forgotten you, God, in our country, and we’re asking you to forgive us, Jesus." Johnson-Harrel criticized this as "weaponized prayer" and as an example of Islamophobia. [12]

Criminal Charges

In December 2019, Johnson-Harrell pled guilty to charges of perjury, tampering with public records, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception and contributions of corporations related to her personal use of $500,000 over the course of a decade from a non-profit organization Motivation Education and Consultation Associates. She announced that she would resign from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives due to these charges.[13] In August 2020, Johnson-Harrell was released from prison to begin serving house arrest.[14]

References

1. Brennan, Chris. "Democrat Roni Green wins special election to Pa. House from West Philly". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
2. Brennan, Chris. "Movita Johnson-Harrell wins state House special election in West Philly". www.philly.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
3. Stamm, Don. "Historic Win in West Philly Special Election Sees Muslim Woman Claiming Victory in State First". www.nbcphiladelphia.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
4. "Movita Johnson-Harrell". www.ballotpedia.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
5. Scolforo, Mark. "Muslim lawmaker offended by colleague's prayer: 'To use Jesus as a weapon is not OK'". www.washingtontimes.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
6. Feller, As told to Madison (April 4, 2019). "Her Father and Brother Were Murdered. When Her Son Was Too, She Ran for Office". ELLE. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
7. "Movita Johnson-Harrell". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
8. "Movita Johnson Harrell". www.senatorhughes.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
9. "The CHARLES Foundation". www.thecharlesfoundation.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
10. D'onofrio, Michael. "W. Philly voters elect Movita Johnson-Harrell to represent 190th Pa. House District". www.phillytrib.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
11. "Johnson-Harrell sworn in, set to begin first term as state representative". www.pahouse.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
12. Keneally, Meghan. "Islamophobia: Critics decry Christian prayer at swearing-in of Muslim lawmaker". www.abnews.go.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
13. "West Philadelphia State Lawmaker to Plead Guilty to Stealing $500,000 from Non-Profit". www.nbcphiladelphia.com. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
14. Shaw, Julie. "Former State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell ordered to house arrest in her nonprofit theft case". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 11, 2020.