By Marlissa Collier
The year 2024 took an early turn from celebration to somber as the news spread that Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas political titan, had passed early Sunday morning. The first of much, Johnson’s reputation as a phoenix, rising from underdog to trailblazer would follow her from Dallas to Washington D.C., and around the world.
Born December 3, 1934, the Waco native was no stranger to hard work or being ahead of the curve. Graduating from A.J. Moore High School at just 16, Congresswoman Johnson’s first exploration into uncharted waters would come as she moved to Indiana to attend Saint Mary’s College of Norte Dame. Johnson would later transfer to Texas Christian University (TCU), where she would earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing. Her nursing career would soon land her in Dallas, and Dallas would serve as the birthplace of her trailblazing political career that would last half a century.
In 1972, running as the underestimated underdog for a Texas House seat, Representative Johnson would take the election in a landslide victory, making her the first Black woman to ever be elected to public office from Dallas and a new champion for regular, everyday working people. Soon, she’d become the first woman in Texas history to lead a major Texas House Committee, as the head of the Labor Committee. Eventually she would also become the first Black Congressional servant from Dallas, the third woman from Texas to serve in the U.S. House, and the first Black woman to chair the House Committee of Science, Space and Technology.
Hailed by President Biden as “an icon and mentor to a generation of public servants,” and Vice President Harris “a visionary, a pioneer, and a fighter”, Congresswoman Johnson was as much a local gem as she was a national treasure. In Dallas, officials remember the Congresswoman as an inspirational leader who would go to bat for her constituents with vigor.
Dallas City Council Member Adam Bazaldua (District 7) mourns what he says is a “great loss to our country.” Bazaldua describes Congresswoman Johnson as “a trailblazer in Texas and national politics.” “Her extraordinary leadership was an inspiration to all those she encountered, but especially those at home in District 7, who she was a champion and advocate for.”
Cheryl Smith, Publisher and Editor of Messenger Media remembers the Congresswoman’s essence as a person more than a politician. “Covering the Congresswoman for decades provided me with insight into her character, commitment, and compassionate heart. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson cared about the work she did and the people it impacted. She wasn’t a model playing a role. She was a real role model; inspiring others to achieve higher heights and lifting as she climbed,” Smith would say.
Johnson was known for doing real, tangible, quantifiable work for the people. This work included securing resources and services for residents of Dallas. By the time the Congresswoman retired from her post in the U.S. House, she’d helped to secure close to $1 billion in federal funding for DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit), working to make public transportation in Dallas more accessible and equitable for residents.
Social Justice Activist and Former Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem, Diane Ragsdale, reflected on what she described as Johnson’s “internalized commitment.” “She worked and worked and worked,” Ragsdale would say. “From State Representative to U.S. Representative. From DART, which honestly wouldn’t exist without her, to the local things for her constituents. For more than half of her life, 50 years, she served. And she always brought home the bacon! She brought the money home to the people.”
The trailblazing Johnson may have been the first of much, but she made certain she wouldn’t be the last of anything. A mentor to many, the Congresswoman would hand-select her torch bearer upon her retirement. Representative Jasmin Crockett, who was recruited back in 2022 to run for Johnson’s U.S. House seat, remembers Congresswoman Johnson as a fearless mentor, prone to kicking and propping open doors that had once been locked. “I was lucky enough to know Congresswoman Johnson not just as an inspirational figure and a mentor, but as a friend. I was and will always be struck by her work ethic. She saw the need in our community and wouldn’t rest until she met that need. She dedicated her life to the work, and it was clear from our first conversation she saw and expected that same dedication from me. I do not intend to let her down.”
The Congresswoman will be memorialized in her beloved Dallas before being laid to rest in the state’s capital. Johnson’s viewing will be held at the Hall of State in Fair Park from 10am to 3pm on Monday, January 8, followed by a prayer service at Concord Church from 6:30 to 8:30pm. The Congresswoman’s funeral service will be held at 10am on Tuesday, January 9 at Concord Church followed by a final graveside service at 2pm on Wednesday, January 10 at Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
The Congresswoman’s final arrangements have been entrusted to the Golden Gate Funeral Home.