Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson was the first black woman to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. She was born in Gravity, Iowa in 1907, and went on to build a distinguished career in higher education. In 2020, she was made the new namesake of Johnson County.
On this episode, we talk with her great-niece Sonya Jackson, the lead consultant on the Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson project, and project historian Rebecca Conard. Johnson County will dedicate the commemorative Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson Plaza featuring a bronze sculpture of Johnson and six panels that will tell her story and the history of Black Iowans in Iowa City. The unveiling takes place Saturday, Aug. 29 at 10 a.m.
Then, poet and artist Dave Morice, known to many as Dr. Alphabet, died after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. We speak with his son Danny Maurice about the impact of his words including, “Is this Heaven? No it’s Iowa,” and how he is being remembered in Iowa City.
Guests:
- Sonya Jackson, lead consultant, Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson project, Lulu Merle Johnson's great-niece
- Rebecca Conard, project historian, Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson project, emeritus professor of history, Middle Tennessee State University
- Danny Maurice, son of Dave Morice, operations manager based in Raleigh, NC
