Eddie Bernice Johnson, who represented North Texas in the U.S. Congress for 30 years, dies at 88

Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993 and retired in January 2023. She previously served in the Texas Senate and Texas House.

DALLAS — Eddie Bernice Johnson, the trailblazing legislator who represented North Texas in Congress for the last 30 years, has died at 88 years old, her family has confirmed on social media.

Johnson was elected to represent Texas’ 30th District in the House of Representatives in 1992. She would hold that seat for 30 years — winning reelection 15 times — before retiring from her post, as promised, in January 2023.

Prior to serving in Congress, Johnson also served three terms in the Texas Senate, where she represented Dallas County and the 23rd District from 1987 until she took national office in 1993.

Before moving to the Texas Senate, Johnson served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and represented House District 33 from 1973 to 1977.

When she won that seat in 1972, she became the first Black woman ever elected to public office in the City of Dallas’ history.

Later, as the leader of that chamber’s Labor Committee, she would also become the first woman ever to lead a major Texas House committee.

Johnson — known to many in the community simply as “EBJ” — was born in Waco in 1935 when very few people who looked like her held positions of power. She would later go to nursing school and become the first registered nurse to be elected to the United States Congress.

As she rose up the ranks in the United States House of Representatives, Johnson secured millions of dollars in federal investment in North Texas — with a special focus on Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), which she called her “baby.”

“I’m proud of what I’ve done,” she once said, reflecting on her time spent in office. “Because there is no Texan in the history of this state that has brought more home.”

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In 2019, the DART board voted to rename Downtown Dallas’ Union Station — a major stop for the DART Rail’s red and blue lines, as well as the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line and Amtrak — to EBJ Union Station in her honor. That same year, the City of Dallas voted to rename the physical property of Union Station to Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station.

In a December 2021 appearance on WFAA’s Inside Texas Politics, Johnson reflected about her time in office, her efforts in representing the people of North Texas, and the pride she took in fighting for voting and women’s rights throughout her tenure.

“I believe strongly in fairness and justice, and I believe our nation also does,” Johnson told WFAA at the time. “We might be divided on some of the details, but as long as I’m around I’m gonna be pushing those issues.”

Johnson said she wanted her legacy to just be seen as she was.

“Someone who got into office for the sole purpose of trying to see what I could add, what I could do to make things better,” she said. “It’s never been a glamour position… and I say to people all the time, if I made it look easy, I apologize. It is not easy. [It] takes all you got, but it’s worth it.”

Johnson’s seat in the U.S. House was filled earlier this year by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whom Johnson quickly endorsed after first announcing her retirement. Even after her successful campaign, Crockett spoke of hoping to continue the legacy of the hard work and advocacy that Johnson brought to representing Texas’ 30th in Congress.

Johnson, for her part, very much lived that legacy right up until her final breath — just as she promised she would when joining Inside Texas Politics in 2021 to discuss her retirement plans.

Said Johnson: “I will always, as long as I’m breathing, work to see if we can get a little closer to what we all dream about.”

In a social media post announcing her passing, Johnson’s son Dawrence Kirk Johnson said funeral services for his mother would be announced soon.

“I am heartbroken to share the news that my mother, Eddie Bernice Johnson, has passed away,” Johnson’s son wrote. “She was a remarkable and loving mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great grandmother, as well as a trailblazer and public servant. While we mourn the loss of an extraordinary woman, we celebrate her life and legacy. She will be deeply missed.”