Melissa Hennings
Audio By Carbonatix
Following the funeral of former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the Dallas skyline will glow yellow Tuesday night as a tribute to her memory.
Johnson was 89 when she died on Dec. 31. The Democratic representative had served Dallas in the U.S. Congress for 30 years.
On Monday night, Reunion Tower’s lights blazed in honor of Johnson’s life and legacy, FOX 4 reported. The Dallas skyline will shine yellow on Tuesday night, a color chosen to represent resilience and the “Yellow Rose of Texas,” according to a city news release.
President Joe Biden visited Big D on Monday to commemorate the late Congress member at her South Dallas wake. Biden heralded Johnson as an “icon” and praised her for her “immense courage.”
Concord Church served as the site for Johnson’s wake and funeral service, and her body will be laid to rest in Austin’s Texas State Cemetery on Wednesday.
Johnson’s funeral on Tuesday included virtual messages from former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris. Other prominent politicians and local leaders attended in person.
U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic minority leader, recalled meeting Johnson when he was a new member of Congress. He praised “her wisdom, her warmth, her welcoming spirit.”
Jeffries also credited her with starting him down the path of Congressional leadership.
“But while Brooklyn has Shirley Chisholm, Houston has Barbara Jordan, North Texas has Eddie Bernice Johnson, and we’re thankful for it,” he told funeral-goers. “We’re thankful she showed up. We’re thankful she spoke up. We’re thankful she stood up, and America is better off because of EBJ. God bless her memory.”
Voters elected Johnson as the first Black woman in public office in Dallas, the city noted in a news release. Before her three-decade career in Congress, she served in the Texas Legislature.
In addition to the gold-colored skyline, the city has flown banners at EBJ Union Station showing the representative throughout pivotal moments in her pioneering political career.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s family is reportedly preparing to sue Baylor Scott & White Health System for “medical negligence” at the hospital’s rehab center. They allege that the former Congresswoman, who was recovering from back surgery, died of an infection after being left to lie in her own urine and feces.
Rest in peace, my dear friend, @RepEBJ. pic.twitter.com/VcMMpiAdjF
— Mayor Eric L. Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) January 9, 2024
But local officials continue to remember happier days with Johnson.
State Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, shared a message to X honoring the late politician, who preceded him in the state Legislature’s upper chamber. Dallas’ mayor on Tuesday also posted several photos of him with Johnson on X.
“I am stunned and saddened to learn of the passing of my dear friend, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson,” Mayor Eric L. Johnson wrote in a previous post. “Congresswoman Johnson was a groundbreaking leader for this country and for our state and city, and there really are no words to express my profound sense of grief and loss at the passing of this legendary American.”
