  We let the mapping class group $\Gamma_{g,1}$ of a genus $g$ surface
$\Sigma_{g,1}$ with one boundary component act on the homology
$H_*(F_{n}(\Sigma_{g,1});\mathbb{Q})$ of the $n^{th}$ ordered configuration
space of the surface. We prove that the action is non-trivial when restricted
to the $(n-1)^{st}$ stage of the Johnson filtration, for all $n\ge 1$ and $g\ge
2$. We deduce an analogous result for closed surfaces.
