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On June 24, 2021, the Board of Supervisors officially designated Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson as the new eponym 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, and 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.
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 to be educational, historically accurate, respectful, and creative.
The exhibit will be located near the Johnson County Administrative Building at 913 S. Dubuque Street, across the street from the historic Tate Arms and in an historically Black neighborhood.
It will occupy the linear grassy strip that separates the public parking area from the employee parking lot.
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