San Jose Vigil and Protest for Gregory Johnson Puts Pressure on Sigma Chi Fraternity

Family calls for justice in the wake of their son’s death

On Oct. 10, activists in San Jose organized a candlelight vigil in honor of the death of Gregory Johnson Jr., a student at San Jose State University and member of Greek life who was found dead in 2008. 

At least 100 members of the community, all with masks,  showed up at 7p.m. at San Jose City Hall, and proceeded to march with signs and drums to the San Jose State Sigma Chi fraternity house where Johnson was found dead.  

The demands of the protest were to disband Sigma Chi’s fraternity chapter at San Jose State University, hold the university administration accountable in the deaths of Johnson and several other Black students, and the reopening of Johnson’s case with the allowance of full evidence to his parents.

Johnson was a sophomore at San Jose State University and lived in the Sigma Chi fraternity house up until his death. The protest was well-organized with plentiful water bottles and hand sanitizer available. 

It has almost been 12 years since November 22, 2008, the day that brothers of the Sigma Chi chapter at San Jose State University reported to the police that they found their brother, Johnson, hanging in their fraternity house’s basement. 

Only after seven hours of discussion between the San Jose police department and Sigma Chi chapter leaders and advisors were Johnson’s parents called.Even the university administration was notified before them. 

After 30 days, the family finally received their son’s body only to discover a six inch crack on the back of his skull. There were no strangulation marks on his neck that would normally be on a body that had been hanging for two hours before it was discovered. 

The FBI investigated the matter as a hate crime and produced a report that Johnson’s mother eventually only received 10 out of the 300 pages of, with the reason for this being explained as “a matter of national security.” Johnson’s death was ruled a suicide, despite the FBI investgation and the blood found on his belongings. 

Upon arrival at the fraternity house, protestors noticed its windows were boarded up and the message “Trespassing is illegal” was scribbled in red graffiti on one of the boards. The rest of the street, lined with other Greek life houses, was a ghost town other than the participants of the protest. After a few moments, people began setting up a small vigil with candles and images of Johnson. 

Denise Johnson, Johnson’s mother, began to speak about her son and held up a bloody pillowcase which she had discovered once she went to pick up her son’s belongings. 

“They had packed everything up into boxes, and there was a brand new mattress on his bed,” Denise said. 

Most of Johnson’s belongings from his bedroom were covered in blood even though his brothers claimed the death had occurred in the basement. Even Johnson’s phone had been wiped clean. 

The basement where Johnson was found hanging had a ceiling at 5 feet 10 inches, while Johnson was 6 feet 2 inches tall.

Denise and other members of the community claimed that based on the circumstances, Johnson was murdered. 

After Denise, other members of the community spoke out against Sigma Chi, San Jose State University, and the San Jose Police Department. Many brought up other names of Black members of the community whose deaths have been covered up. 

The San Jose Police Department was nowhere to be seen at the protest until a helicopter flew overhead and pointed bright spotlights at the crowd, with “Get off the property and disperse” ringing out through the speakers. 

Members of the protest began to draw out a mural on the street in front of the fraternity house as speakers were talking to the crowd. Big red and green letters read “Justice 4 Gregory Johnson,” a clear message to the fraternity, university and city police department to reevaluate the events that lead up to Johnson’s death. 

The crowd then marched back to city hall and dispersed. The entire event was peaceful and maintained CDC guidelines to prevent spreading the coronavirus during the gathering. 

Mary Papazian, San Jose State University’s President, has said little about Johnson’s suspicious death despite renewed outrage. To this day, Sigma Chi and the University maintain that his death was a suicide, and the fraternity still remains active on campus.