Hundreds of mourners — including U.S. and state lawmakers — crowded into Concord Church in Dallas Tuesday for the funeral of former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Speakers included Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, state Sen. Royce West and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, with video messages from Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Bill Clinton.
“She was always fighting for the people of Dallas, for the people of Texas, and for the people of America,” Harris said in her video message. “Her life will inspire generations to come.”
Johnson — a nurse, state legislator, and congresswoman — died Dec. 31 at 89 from a spinal infection while in hospice care.
Mourners remembered Johnson, who was the first Black woman elected to public office in Dallas County, as a trailblazer.
Johnson’s family members were some of the last speakers of the afternoon. Her grandchildren shared memories of their grandmother — or “Granny” — while lauding her dedication to public service and the values she instilled in them as kids.
“We begged Granny for years to retire,” said David Johnson, the second of her three grandsons. “We just wanted her to ourselves. But she felt obligated, and she appreciated the trust that the people that supported her put in her.”
Eddie Bernice Johnson’s son Kirk Johnson described his mother’s early path to becoming a nurse. He said she sought an education at St. Mary’s College in Indiana, leaving her native Waco because Baylor University didn’t accept Black students at the time, and no accredited nursing school accepted Black students either.
And although he was an only child, Kirk Johnson said there were plenty of people throughout Dallas who were like children to his mother.
“She loved this city, and I want to thank this city and the mayor,” Kirk Johnson said. “I want to thank this city for showing her, on her way out, what she has done for this city.”
He called his mother’s death “untimely and unnecessary,” but said her death before the new year was divine timing.
“She leaves you without the burden of having to try to equal her accomplishments,” Kirk Johnson said. “She leaves you to start anew, take up the mantle.”
President Joe Biden was among the mourners who came to Dallas for her wake Monday night. Biden spoke with Johnson’s family privately but did not make a public statement at the wake and prayed alone in front of her casket.
Johnson will be buried Wednesday at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, which is reserved for governors, members of Congress and other significant figures in Texas government.
At Monday’s wake, speakers repeatedly stressed many of the qualities Johnson was known for throughout her decades in office as an influential public servant with a knack for lifting up others.
“If you were a mentor, she was going to mentor you,” said former congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. “And she was a woman who said what she meant and meant what she said.”
State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whom Johnson endorsed to replace her in the 30th Congressional District, said Monday night Johnson’s influence can be seen across North Texas through her contributions to public transportation, science and technology.
“Everything that y’all touch or look at, you can probably think about Eddie Bernice Johnson, and recognize that you are still connected to her,” Crockett said.
In an interview with KERA, Texas Sen. Royce West remembered meeting Johnson — then in the Texas House of Representatives — in the 1970s. She was touring the University of Texas at Arlington while West was a student. It was his first-ever encounter with a politician.
The two went on to form a relationship lasting more than 40 years, with Johnson rising to the state Senate before heading to Congress in 1992, and West becoming her successor in Texas Senate District 23.
"There are generations that are not born yet to hear the story of Eddie Bernice Johnson and the contributions that she's made, not just for the African American community, but for the state of Texas,” West said. “And we need to make certain that we — doing my tour of duty — that I keep that alive, that I talk about some of the things that she's done here and make certain that we honor her at the state government, which I know that we will.”
Despite grim allegations surrounding the circumstances of her death, Johnson's legacy as a trailblazing Dallas congresswoman is already cemented in history.
A Dallas focus
Johnson, born in Waco, began her career as a nurse, eventually becoming the chief psychiatric nurse at Dallas’ VA hospital.
Johnson was elected to Texas’ 30th congressional seat in 1992, now a predominantly Hispanic and Black district which represents parts of Dallas, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, DeSoto, Lancaster and other cities. She held the position for 30 years before she stopped seeking reelection, stepping down in 2023.
West said an elected official can only remain in office as long as Johnson did by doing right by her constituents.
“She was staying in contact with them, making certain they understood what she was doing,” he said. “She was awarded with their continued support, based on the longevity that she served as a U.S. congressperson, as a state senator, as a state representative.”
Even while in Washington, Johnson continued to push for change in Dallas. Among other things, she secured funding for Dallas’ Southern Gateway Project, the Greater Downtown Dallas Master Plan, and incorporation of mental health into pediatric care at Children’s Health in Dallas.
Attention to transportation
Johnson also served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where she made efforts to funnel funding toward Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
In its statement of condolence, DART acknowledged her role in securing funding for its bus operations and light rail systems, specifically the Red, Blue and Green Lines, totaling almost $1 billion, in addition to hundreds of millions more for the agency.
“Talk about an individual who comes along once in a lifetime who has just this wide view of the benefits of serving our people, serving the residents of North Texas, serving their needs, putting their needs above her own,” Gordon Shattles, DART’s assistant vice president of external relations, told KERA. “She is one in a million.”
For her efforts, DART renamed Union Station, Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station in her honor in 2019. DART also awarded Johnson its first Legacy Award in August 2023 as the organization celebrated its 40th anniversary.
“The decision was very simple,” Shattles said. “Eddie Bernice Johnson, over 30 years in government, but truly a friend of Dallas Area Rapid Transit and, through us, a friend of all of the residents of North Texas who rely on public transportation every day.”
Opening the door in STEM
In 2019, Johnson became the first Black and first female chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. During her tenure, Johnson helped pass the CHIPS and Science Act, which put billions of dollars toward semiconductor research and development.
Locally, Johnson hosted an annual lecture series in partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas to expose high school students to STEM subjects. In 2019, Dallas ISD named a STEM-focused elementary school in Wilmer after Johnson.
Shirley Malcom, director of STEM Equity Achievement Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was also a longtime friend of Johnson’s. She called Johnson a “tireless” advocate for science.
“Not just for science ... but for science that could support equity, science that could benefit from having the voices of underrepresented people that were present in the work that was to be done,” Malcom said.
Malcom herself experienced years of being the only Black woman in academic and scientific environments. She said she connected with Johnson not only because they shared that struggle, but because Johnson seemed determined to change that narrative for others.
And Malcom said while Johnson strived to make contributions that benefited the world, Dallas remained a priority.
“I was always kind of envious of [Dallas] having Congresswoman Johnson ... as a person who understood and valued the work that was to be done in order to prepare the next generation for careers in science and engineering,” Malcom said.
At Monday’s wake, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins remembered her legacy in politics, her kindness and her giving spirit.
“She was a true legend and a mentor to me,” Jenkins said. “As county judge, as a parent, and as a person.”
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