Texas Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson Dead at 88
A woman who literally made congressional history is gone.
Eddie Bernice Johnson, the first registered nurse to have ever served in Congress, is dead.
Johnson, a Texas Democrat, is dead at the age of 88.
Longtime Service
Johnson is arguably the most influential Democrat from the Dallas area who has ever taken a seat in Congress.
She died unexpectedly on Sunday, with the family giving no cause of death.
Long before she served in Congress, Johnson was making history in the medical field.
She was born in Waco, a child who grew up during segregation, but somehow managed to rise above it all, becoming a registered nurse and eventually becoming the first Black chief psychiatric nurse at Dallas' Veterans Affairs hospital.
That was the first time she made history, and she started the road to making history again in 1973 when she was elected to the Texas House.
She was elevated to the Texas Senate in 1987, serving the 23rd District.
In 1993, she was elected to Congress to serve in the House for TX-30, serving the city of Dallas, as well as parts of Dallas County and Tarrant County, the first registered nurse ever elected to Congress.
In all but one of her elections, she won at least 70% of the vote, with 1996 being the exception when district lines were redrawn, where she won 55% of the vote.
During her time in Congress, she led the Congressional Black Caucus as well as being the first black woman to chair the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who was elected as a Democrat and has since changed parties to be a Republican, stated, "She was the single most effective legislator Dallas has ever had.
"Nobody brought more federal infrastructure money home to our city. Nobody fought harder for our communities and our residents' interests and safety. And nobody knew how to navigate Washington better for the people of Dallas."
