“Anthony Johnson is not really a great example if you’re trying to make some sort of racial equality about slavery. “
Yes, he is. He started it all in 1655. Slavery was outlawed prior to his demand to enslave a fellow African.
That's nonsense. His was the first (civil) judicial decision affirming the right to own a slave (there had been previous criminal cases where defendants had been sentenced to slavery), but it is simply not the case that slavery was "outlawed" prior to his case.