DULUTH, Minn. — Longtime Duluth activist Portia Johnson died over the weekend at the age of 88. Tuesday afternoon, family members, friends, and community members gathered for a special ribbon cutting extending Portia Johnson Drive down the hill from the Duluth Public School District’s administrative offices.
“She listened to the people of Duluth, their feedback and gave voice to their concerns,” said Rick Johnson, her eldest son. “I know that many people quickly learned that she was a force to be reckoned with.”
Portia was a advocate, an educator, and a mother of four. She first arrived to Duluth from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio in 1966. What followed was decades of fighting for people’s civil rights across the city of Duluth.
Over the years, Portia worked for the Copeland Daycare Center Head Start and Kindergarten programs. Portia also served on the Desegregation Integration Council, now Education Equity, for over 20 years. She also co-founded the Institute for African American Awareness at the Central Hillside Center. In the 1970s, Portia was elected to the Duluth School Board and helped other people of color break barriers in joining the school system.
Portia also served as Vice Chair on the Arrowhead Regional Correctional Advisory Board for upward of 20 years, was a board member of PAVSA (Program to Aid Victims of Sexual Assault), and joined the League of Women Voters in Duluth. Portia was also active in Duluth’s local politics, serving in Duluth’s 7th Senate and the 8th Congressional District. She was also the President of the Duluth branch of the NAACP from 1980 to 1983.
“She just did everything,” said Daylan Johnson, the youngest son of Portia. “I would hope that as time goes by, the things that she fought for in the education part continues. That is doesn’t slide backwards. Because I mean, there’s a lot of kids out there that are not getting the education they need.”
Portia’s life work is deep in the roots of Duluth. She was a pioneer for the start of the Clayton, Jackson, McGhee memorial on West First Street.
She was also noted by family members for having a welcoming heart, often times opening her doors for struggling children in the community. A daughter of Portia told FOX 21 she ensured, “someone cared and believed in them.”
“She’s my mom. If you think about your own parents, it’s like you know. They’re your parents. They do what they do because that’s what they know,” said Daylan. “And my mom had four kids, raising them on her own. She worked two jobs. Then she also had all of these meetings, which I didn’t know she was part of half the things that I heard tonight. It’s raises her status in my eyes higher. She’s not just a super woman with the big “S” on her chest, she like super-super woman. But she’s also my crazy mom.”
A separate service is planned for Portia in the coming weeks for family and friends.
