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Mrs. Johnson lives across the hall from the Youngers in their Chicago apartment, and while she attempts to act like a concerned neighbor, she has a way of drawing attention to herself. This self-absorbed quality is evident to everyone except Mrs. Johnson herself, making her visits a rather irritating experience for those involved. Mama and Ruth dread her arrival at the door because they know that her inauthentic positivity will only add tension to their already volatile situation. The news that Mrs. Johnson brings during this particular visit, which she withholds until after she offers her opinions about the Younger’s move and Ruth’s baby, involves a recent bombing that forced a Black family out of their home in a predominantly white neighborhood. While this event has very serious implications for the Younger family, Mrs. Johnson casually presents it as if it were a piece of gossip before redirecting the conversation back to herself. This delivery not only reiterates her self-interest, but it also implies a lack of genuine concern about the safety and success of her own community. In fact, Mrs. Johnson even goes on to suggest that she will see the Younger’s names in the next newspaper after their new white neighbors bomb them, an offensive comment which suggests that she almost wants misfortune to befall them.
The real breaking point for Mama, however, occurs when Mrs. Johnson explains that there is nothing wrong with a Black man working in a role of servitude. This perspective, which essentially advocates for complacency, goes against everything that Mama and her family work toward. Showing the conflict between Mama and Mrs. Johnson serves as a powerful reminder that white people are not the only ones acting to prevent Black progress. Some individuals in the Black community, like Mrs. Johnson, do not see the importance of fighting for social and economic advancement, and this resistance makes the upward journey even more difficult for those who choose to pursue it.
