A new statute in Iowa City commemorates the county’s eponym — the first Black woman to graduate with a doctorate from the University of Iowa.
The seven-foot tall, 1,500-pound bronze statue of Lulu Merle Johnson was unveiled outside the Johnson County Administration Building during a dedication ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 29 in Iowa City.
The statute is reminder of the county’s new eponym — a person after which the county is named — and Johnson’s accomplishment as a key figure in the academic movement to recenter Black history…