‘Uniter’ Johnson honored at Dallas funeral
‘Wonder woman from Waco’ overcame barriers
DALLAS — Former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson was remembered Tuesday as the “wonder woman from Waco” who broke barriers in her professional and political career while using her clout to move Texas forward.
“How did she do this? We know all of the obstacles that came in her way, from Jim Crow to sexism and racism,” said Ron Kirk, former U.S. trade representative and former Dallas mayor.
“Eddie Bernice Johnson did the work,” Kirk said during funeral services at Concord Church that were frequently inspirational but punctuated with somber moments. “She brought her passion and her excellence and the love of the people to the task and never took her eye off the ball.”
Johnson, who retired last year after 30 years representing Dallas-anchored Congressional District 30, died Dec. 31 of a post-surgery infection in her lumbar spine.
Johnson was the first African American to serve as chief psychiatric nurse at Dallas’ VA hospital; the first African American from Dallas to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction; the first registered nurse elected to Congress; and the first Black woman to chair the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. As chairwoman of that committee, she shepherded the CHIPS and Science Act, which contained provisions for science technology, engineering and math education funding for historically Black colleges and universities.
“She leaves a lasting legacy of selfless service in our public and private life,” said Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of the late President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
“Somehow I thought she would always be with us,” she added. “Eddie Bernice Johnson was the uniter we needed in this very divisive time.”
During a prayer, the Rev. Frederick
Haynes III, pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, called Eddie Bernice Johnson the “wonder woman from Waco.”
Great-granddaughter Elizabeth “Lily” Rose Johnson said her great-grandmother told her “always do the right thing, even if it’s not fun.”
“She was my grandmother, my granny,” said Johnson’s oldest grandson, Dawrence Kirk Johnson II, fighting back tears. “My grandmother never once had to spank me. … It was the thought of disappointing her that was all I needed.”
The funeral also included video remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Bill Clinton. Twenty-five members of Congress attended the funeral, according to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DNew York.
Former NATO ambassador and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, RDallas, and former White House counsel Harriet Miers also attended the service.
Tuesday’s tribute was the focal point of three days of tributes to Johnson.
On Monday, President Joe Biden had joined mourners at her wake and prayer service at Concord Church after Johnson had lain in state at Fair Park’s Hall of State.
The pioneering political leader was buried Wednesday afternoon in Austin at the Texas State Cemetery.