John Amos may be his real name, but even though its been more than 30 years since the last new episode of Good Times aired, he’s still James Evans to most of us. Over the years, he’s also been deemed the ideal Black father, with his take-no-mess persona. He was known as the dad who’ll love you through the rough times and give you a serious beatdown if you came at him wrong.
Most of us Old Schoolers (especially those of us who didn’t have our real dad’s around) wanted a Pops like ‘James Evans’ back in the day. Years after Good Times, he was still known for his no-B.S. dad. That’s partly due to some of the classic scenes from Good Times that are still circulating through cyber world and ‘James Evans’ is even the face of many comical memes about Black parenting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT7NdnCszZ4
Another cool, yet honorable fact about the ‘James Evans’ character, was his relationship with his children. C’mon now, y’all know ‘James didn’t play when it came to his kids. He was also extremely protective of his only daughter, ‘Thelma.’ But apparently, actor, John Amos,’ relationship with his REAL daughter, Shannon Amos, isn’t much different. Like ‘James Evans,’ John Amos was and continues to be very involved in his children’s lives.
Meet John Amos’ Daughter, Shannon Amos
It looks like Shannon Amos is following in her Pops’ footsteps, by being entrenched in the entertainment field. Fans may not know, but Shannon is heavily involved in production and she also has a love for film and acting, just like her father.
Shannon owns the Atlanta and Los Angeles-based production company, Afterglow Multimedia, LLC.. Afterglow is is actually responsible for several national TV commercials for brands like The Gap, Nike, and Lincoln Mercury. As a former Creative Executive for Warner Bros., Shannon also contributed to the success of films like the Academy Award-winning Blood Diamond and Letters from Iwo Jima , along with box office hits, like Harry Potter and The Bucket List.
As a certified vendor for a number of major television networks, Shannon’s production company’s client list ain’t too shabby neither, it consists of popular television networks, such as TV One, ESPN, BET, MTV, and Turner Originals. Shannon even had the privilege of directing her Pops. Back in 2008, the two were working together to launch a reality series and Shannon was named the Executive Producer of the series.
Meet Her Mother…And The Racism They Endured
Shannon is a product of the veteran actress’ second marriage with his ex-wife, Noel J. Mickelson. Together, they had Shannon and her brother, K.C.
In an Instagram post, she shared a loving photo of her parents (above), with the following caption:
“IT WAS ILLEGAL IN 16 STATES FOR WHITES TO MARRY BLACKS WHEN MY PARENTS GOT MARRIED IN 1965.
My Dad met & fell in love w/ my Mom while attending college at Colorado State University. He was from the inner city of Newark, NJ — she was from the small mid-west town of Esterville, Iowa. For them, it was love at first sight. However, it was a tumultuous time in the world around them.
On Feb 21st, 1965, just 2 months after their marriage, Malcom Ex would be assassinated. 2 years later, on April 4th 1968, Martin Luther King would be gunned down. In the midst of it all, their love would produce a child (me). I was born a year before my parents would be recognized as a legal couple in 16 states…
Shannon continued:
By 1968, Loving vs. The State of Virginia, became a landmark civil rights case. The U.S. Supreme court struck down laws banning interracial marriage. The case involved Mildred Loving, a black woman, and her white husband, Richard loving, who in 1958 were sentenced to a year in prison for marrying each other. Their marriage violated Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which criminalized marriage between people classified as “white” and people classified as “colored.” The Lovings appealed their conviction to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which upheld it. They then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear it. On June 12, 1967, the court issued a unanimous decision in the Loving’s favor and overturned their convictions.
As a child I didn’t know my parents were different colors. I only saw them as my parents— the two people who loved me. All I knew was their love. One day, when I was 5 years old, that all changed. My parents took me on cross country road trip. As we pulled into a gas station in Arizona, a white man came out of the service station w/ a loaded shot gun. He aimed it at my Dad & told him to get his White trash and their nigger child off his property. Everything changed that day. My parents would have no choice but to explain to me the man’s frightening behavior. They would be forced to introduce me to the existence of racism and my innocent view of the world was forever changed.”
Pretty sure John Amos must be proud of the woman his daughter has become.
