Dayton trailblazer was ‘unmatched’ as a leader
Johnson was first woman to lead Greater Dayton RTA and hold other key positions.
Minnie Fells Johnson, who was described as a role model, pioneer and trail blazer in the Black community, and a catalyst for change in the Dayton region, died Nov. 23. She was 80. Johnson was the first Black woman to break the barriers into a number of high-ranking government positions, including heading the Montgomery County Welfare Department and being director of the state Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and executive director of the Miami Valley
Regional Transit Authority, which is now known as the Greater Dayton RTA.
“What she brought to this community in her leadership abilities was unmatched. She was a trend setter, who never tolerated outside influences in making her decisions. She left an indelible mark on the Dayton community,” said Derrick Foward, president of the Dayton Unit NAACP.
Johnson led the RTA for just over 10 years, and during that time the agency completed the countywide transit hub network and lined up federal transit funds for important downtown projects including Riverscape, the Dayton
Dragons ballpark, and the Schuster Center, according to CEO Robert Ruzinsky.
“Dr. Johnson left the agency in 2004, and almost 20 years later, RTA has continued her vision of having the agency be a valued community asset. RTA remembers Dr. Johnson for her service and vision,” Ruzinsky said.
Her work on bringing funding to help enhance the Wright Dunbar area has been praised in the community.
Johnson began standing up for the rights of the Black community in college at Tuskegee University in Alabama, where she pledged Delta Sigma Theta.
She pursued social change since her student days in the early 1960s, as a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Dayton Alliance for Racial Equality (DARE), Black Umoja Society, and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
She participated in sit-ins and the famous March on Washington in 1963 that confronted racial segregation in the South, according to her ex-husband Floyd Johnson, who once served as president of the Dayton Unit NAACP.
Floyd Johnson was stationed at the Army base Fort Benning in Georgia when the couple met.
“She was courageous and fought for the Black community in many efforts. Her work with the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission when neighborhoods were segregated should not be forgotten,” Johnson said.
Johnson was named a Ten Top Women in Dayton recipient in 1976.
But according to a Dayton Daily News article, despite her public successes, Johnson’s greatest accomplishment was a very private one. Over the years, her career success allowed her to put four of her sisters through college and to buy a home for her parents. She was described as having singlehandedly moved her immediate family into the ranks of the middle class.
“I’ve lifted my family out of poverty. That’s my greatest achievement,” she told the Dayton Daily News.
A Delta Sigma Theta Omega Omega service will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11, at Believers Christian Fellowship Church, 3010 McCall St., Dayton. Visitation will follow from 10 to 11 a.m., and the funeral service begins at 11 am. Interment will be at West Memory Gardens.
Donations are requested to be made to the Minnie Johnson Memorial Scholarship with the South Florida Tuskegee Alumni Club to help support South Florida students who attend Tuskegee University.