For years, Danva Johnson has stood outside a gas station near North 68th Street and West Villard Avenue in Milwaukee, singing gospel songs to whoever happened to be pumping gas or walking by. Johnson, who is blind, never set out to go viral. But this summer, a video of him singing did exactly that, racking up millions of views and setting off a wave of community support that included a GoFundMe campaign topping $8,000.
The clip that changed things came from Quierra Imani, who joined Johnson in singing outside the gas station and later shared the moment online, according to CBS 58. Imani said she had been having a difficult day when she heard Johnson singing the lyrics “you've got to treat everybody right and love one another,” and the encounter left an impression on her. She said Johnson communicated with and empowered her through his music, and that he touches many people in the community and around the world.
Once Imani's video spread, people began reaching out to her asking how they could help Johnson, which led her to start a GoFundMe campaign for his living expenses and new equipment. The fund brought in more than $8,000. In a video update posted to Facebook on July 31, Imani confirmed she had officially delivered the raised proceeds to Johnson, who advised her to set aside a portion in a savings account for her child.
A Voice Rooted In Delta Blues Tradition
Johnson's musical instincts trace back to family. He is the son of Mississippi Delta blues legend James “Super Chikan” Johnson, an award-winning musician and custom guitar builder known for crafting instruments out of recycled materials, who was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes in November 2023, according to the Music Maker Foundation. That same 60 Minutes report described how Delta blues traditions faced economic pressures in rural Mississippi, pushing artists from that region toward industrial cities like Milwaukee, where many carried their gospel and blues heritage with them.
Johnson has his own recording history in the city. He released an original single, “You Never Really Know,” in August 2021, produced by Milwaukee-based musician Chris Crain, per Apple Music. Crain, who founded the non-profit The Better Project Awareness Inc. in 2011 to empower youth and individuals with disabilities through music, created the organization after living with Brachial Plexus Palsy, according to the Milwaukee Jazz Institute. Johnson's street performances are not a new phenomenon, either — local clips of him singing outside Milwaukee retail locations on Hopkins Avenue and 35th Street had already attracted hundreds of thousands of views as far back as 2021 and 2022, with residents frequently posting videos praising his impromptu performances.
Singing With Purpose
Johnson describes his music in spiritual terms. “I don't sing songs, I sing messages,” he said, according to CBS 58's report. He uses gospel music to share messages of positivity, and has spent several years sharing uplifting messages through his singing near the gas station where he also practices his craft. Johnson said he aims to help change at least one person's life through his music, and believes that helping and strengthening others gives his life purpose. He said community members have embraced him and his work over the years.
The Corridor Where He Performs
The gas station where Johnson regularly sings sits within Milwaukee's Havenwoods neighborhood, inside the Villard Avenue Business Improvement District #19, a commercial corridor undergoing active revitalization, according to City of Milwaukee records. It's a modest, everyday setting for what has become a citywide story of connection.
Johnson's blindness also places his story within a broader picture of vision loss across the region. The Milwaukee-based Vision Forward Association, citing figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates that roughly 60,000 residents in the Greater Milwaukee area live with blindness or severe vision impairment. Statewide, U.S. Census Bureau data highlighted by the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired shows 1.4 percent of Wisconsin adults aged 18 to 64 — more than 50,000 people — report vision difficulties, a share that climbs to 5.1 percent among residents 65 and older.
For those navigating vision loss in Wisconsin, the state Department of Health Services operates the Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which sends specialized staff directly into residents' homes to provide free daily living instruction, mobility training, and adaptive technology assistance. Programs like that underscore the kind of institutional support that exists alongside the grassroots generosity that carried Johnson's GoFundMe campaign well past its goal.
