Law Professor Cheryl Wattley Authors Autobiography of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

A new book by UNT Dallas College of Law professor Cheryl Wattley documents Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson's remarkable life and legacy.

Desire to Serve: An Autobiography of Congresswomen Eddie Bernice Johnson recently went on sale. It chronicles Johnson’s trailblazing journey from childhood to college, followed by nursing and public service careers. Johnson died in December at the age of 89.

“She was an insistent voice that this country, which she firmly believed was the best in the world, still had major work to do to fulfill its potential,” said Wattley. “Johnson had strong support across the spectrum of diversity. As she frequently said, she represented all people in her district, and her districts were redrawn multiple times.”

The UNT Dallas College of Law, through Dean Ed Hart, who serves as librarian, contributed $3,500 toward publishing costs, allowing more photos than expected to be used in the book. UNT Press published Desire to Serve.

Johnson, known affectionately by many as EBJ, was a visionary leader and pioneering public servant. She achieved many historic firsts, boldly broke barriers, and passionately represented the people of Dallas in the Texas legislature and U.S. Congress.

Professor Wattley noted that EBJ lived through a significant time of change for our country and was at the forefront of that change most of the time. The book puts that monumental change into perspective. “Especially today, it is more than just a portrayal of her significant accomplishments,” said Wattley. “It is a presentation of two things: the impact that someone can have who is focused on identifying problems and developing solutions and the importance of governing; politics may be the route to being in a position to govern, but you cannot effectively govern when you can’t have meaningful and civil discourse, discussion, and exploration of possible solutions.”

In 1972, Johnson was the first Black woman from North Texas elected to public office. She served as a state representative, where she became the first woman to chair a major committee in the Texas House, the Labor Committee. She was later elected to the Texas Senate, becoming the first African American from Dallas to serve in that body since Reconstruction.

Johnson was also the first African American nurse at the VA Medical Center in Dallas, the first registered nurse elected to Congress and the second Black woman elected to Congress from Texas. While serving in the Texas statehouse and the U.S. Congress, Johnson fought against racism, bigotry, and discrimination. She advocated for social justice, civil rights, and empowering women, minorities, and the underserved.

Wattley and Johnson’s connection began in the 1980s. They lived in the same Dallas neighborhood, and Wattley was the attorney for EBJ’s first state Senate campaign. Decades later, in 2018, after Wattley wrote the biography of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, Johnson asked for help in completing her own autobiography.

As the book progressed, they spoke almost every Sunday evening for a couple of hours. “I was extremely honored by the trust and faith she gave me. It was an awesome responsibility, and I simply could not disappoint her,” said Wattley. “In fact, I became even more in awe of all that she had accomplished.”

Wattley remembers that EBJ was very unassuming and refused to brag about herself. “I had to learn about things and then ask her,” said Wattley. “One afternoon, after her retirement, I visited her at her home. She fixed me lunch, air-frying us chicken wings. I sat there thinking this 30-year Congresswoman just fixed me lunch — and it wasn’t a big deal to her.”

Countless North Texans benefited from Johnson’s generosity, collaboration and bipartisanship. She championed multiple major projects that improved STEM education, healthcare, and infrastructure, bringing the region billions of dollars in investment.

Through Johnson’s leadership, respect and accomplishments, she was elected chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and selected to chair the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, the first African American and first woman to hold the position, after also being the highest-ranking Texas representative on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Her strong support of education and healthcare led the Dallas Independent School District to name its STEM Academy the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy and Parkland Medical to name a garden at the hospital the Eddie Bernice Johnson Garden in her honor. The Dallas Amtrak station also bears her name.

At a time when American politics is so polarized and the partisan divide in Congress is so severe, Desire to Serve makes the critical point that EBJ’s accomplishments didn’t happen overnight. There’s a chapter entitled “Some Things Take Decades.” Wattley noted that Johnson worked on infrastructure to address South Dallas flooding for decades. “The same for DART, Amtrak, highways, STEM, and more,” said Wattley. “Her tenacity, determination, and focus sustained her over the years in the pursuit of legislative and governmental responses.”

Johnson was also a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, as dedicated to her constituents as she was to her family.

Her passion, resilience and commitment served the citizens of Texas’s 30^th Congressional District well for 30 years, through 15 consecutive terms, until she retired in 2023 at the age of 88. Johnson passed away in late December that same year, shortly after her 89th birthday. Following her death, multiple emotional tributes and memorials were held, including one attended by President Joe Biden.

“EBJ’s success rested in her willingness to work with anyone. She understood negotiation, especially with people of the other political party,” Wattley said. “But she was not afraid to call out racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination. She had lived through segregation and gender-based discrimination and knew those enforced limitations were wrong. Her life experiences gave her steely determination and focus.”

Desire to Serve captures Eddie Bernice Johnson’s legacy of exceptional achievements, meaningful contributions, and distinguished public service that have and will affect generations of fellow Texans and Americans. It is available through UNT Press, Amazon and major book retailers.