New University of Minnesota fellowship advances work of scholar, civil rights leader Josie Robinson Johnson

They called out her name, lifted their cameras and whispered thanks in her ear.

Longtime civil rights leader Josie Robinson Johnson stood ringed by admirers Monday at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, turning to them one by one. She grabbed their hands, touched their faces, pulled them into hugs.

About 200 of her fans, including former Vice President Walter Mondale, jockeyed for a moment of her attention at a celebration to honor Johnson, who led the U's minority affairs and diversity efforts in the 1990s and became the first African-American to serve on the school's Board of Regents.

As a tribute to her work, university officials announced a new fellowship to support full-time Humphrey graduate students who are focused on tackling racial inequities and injustices — the crux of Johnson's lifetime work.

It's the kind of work that began when Johnson was a teenager, helping her father gather signatures in Texas for an anti-poll-tax petition. It continued through the civil rights movement after she moved to Minnesota, where she lobbied for bills on fair housing and employment and helped organize the state's delegation to the March on Washington in 1963.

"Josie, you are the Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman of our time," said Vernon Jordan, a fellow civil rights activist and former president of the National Urban League. "You stand alongside greats. ... You have taken the torch from our ancestors and have carried it through the 20th century and over the threshold into the 21st."

A soon-to-be-remodeled community room at the Humphrey School will bear Johnson's name, and a new portrait of her will hang inside it.

The portrait, unveiled Monday, captures Johnson in warm hues with her familiar grin. Minnesota artist John House photographed Johnson with an array of expressions for reference, settling on her smiling.

"Happy [Johnson] looked so glorious," House said. "She's just marvelous."

When the burgundy cloth covering the painting was pulled aside, Johnson clasped her hands beneath her chin and beamed, mouthing "thank you."

Efforts have begun to raise funding for the fellowship, with a goal to raise $2 million, said Laura Bloomberg, dean of the Humphrey School.

"I am usually not lost for words," Johnson said at the event. "I feel deeply humbled, unworthy, grateful and appreciative and hope the good Lord gives me a few more years to live up to something that Vernon [Jordan] expects me to do."

During his tribute to Johnson, Jordan recounted her decades of work, including her effort in the 1960s to take a group of women from Minnesota to Mississippi "to help others see and participate in this struggle for civil rights."

It's a struggle that continues, he said.

"While many things happening in Washington and around the country are not normal, they also are not new," Jordan said. "Because we have been here before, we know what we need. We need more Josie Johnsons."

After the speeches, many lingered. They pressed toward the petite woman in the pink blazer, hoping for a word. Johnson, still smiling, spoke to them all.

Hannah Covington • 612-673-4751