Thomas L. Johnson was born August 7, 1836 in Rock-Rayman, Virginia to a slave mother and free father who was one-eighth black. When he was three, Thomas and his mother moved to Alexandria, Virginia with their master, who had refused to sell them to Thomas's father. His father died when Thomas was nine. Johnson was eventually sold to his master's brother in Richmond in 1852, at which time he was reunited with his mother after a separation of six years. Johnson became increasingly interested in the ministry, and after Emancipation, he moved to New York, Chicago, and eventually Denver, Colorado, where he was ordained and ministered to a small African-American congregation. Throughout his adult life, Johnson's primary goal was to be a missionary in Africa, and he and his wife moved to England to prepare for that calling. He attended Charles H. Spurgeon's Pastor's College in London, where he received his first formal education and began his theological training. The Johnsons traveled and worked briefly in Africa, but Mrs. Johnson died while there, and illness required Thomas to return to England and America. Although he struggled with poor health after he left Africa, Johnson remarried and continued to travel throughout the United States and Europe giving lectures and working to spread the gospel.

In his autobiography, this sixth edition titled Africa for Christ. Twenty-Eight Years a Slave (1892), Thomas Lewis Johnson describes his life and ministry in the United States, Europe, and Africa. He begins by giving a brief account of his early childhood in slavery. However, his primary focus is on his conversion, early religious training, and attempts at education. Because much of his autobiography concerns his goal to be a missionary in Africa, his various relationships, work environments, and educational opportunities that helped pave the way for his travels abroad are discussed in that context. Correspondence and letters of recommendation are interspersed throughout the work.

Monique Prince