On June 24, 2021, the Board of Supervisors officially designated Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson as the new eponym (namesake) of Johnson County. She grew up in Gravity, Iowa, and in 1941 became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Iowa from the University of Iowa. Dr. Johnson went on to build a distinguished career in higher-education teaching and administration at multiple historically Black colleges and universities.
During the nationwide movement in 2020 to rethink the names on monuments and memorials, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors formed a community task force to review the county’s eponym. The Eponym Task Force identified accomplished people with the last name Johnson who had a direct historical connection to Iowa and the local area. Following this study, the Board selected Dr. Johnson as its new eponym (namesake).
In 2022, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors initiated a project to create an outdoor public exhibit commemorating the life and accomplishments of Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson. This commemorative exhibit is educational, historically accurate, respectful, and creative, with outdoor and indoor components.
The outdoor component, the Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson Plaza, will be located at the front entrance of the Johnson County Administrative Building at 913 S. Dubuque Street, across the street from the historic Tate Arms. A seven-foot sculpture of Dr. Johnson will stand in the plaza, which is in an historically Black neighborhood in Iowa City.
The indoor component will be inside the Johnson County Administrative Building and will include visual elements, interpretive panels, and a short film about Dr. Johnson. The two installations aim to educate future generations about Dr. Johnson’s impact and resilience, serving as a tribute to her groundbreaking contributions to American history, including Black and Iowa history.
