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13 July 2007
Lady Bird Johnson, an Activist First Lady, Mourned by America
Conservationist, supporter of civil rights and education, dies at 94
Washington – Lady Bird Johnson, who died at the age of 94 on July 11 at her home in Austin, Texas, gave new meaning to the role of U.S. first lady. As wife of the 36th president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, her well-organized and vigorous support of important causes made her an indispensable asset to his presidency.
Mid-20th-century sightseers had been frustrated by the profusion of billboards that obscured the view along many American highways, but thanks to this soft-spoken lady from the South, spectacular vistas were re-opened and native wildflowers adorned roadsides. She led a campaign that resulted in the Highway Beautification Act of 1965.
Nature was Lady Bird Johnson’s lifelong love, but her activism was not confined to conservation. Her grassroots dynamism had not been seen in the East Wing -- the offices of the first lady -- since her inspiration, Eleanor Roosevelt, left the White House in 1945. During the Johnson administration, the first lady’s office for the first time acquired a press secretary, a chief of staff, speechwriters and a staff dedicated to public outreach, all appointed by Lady Bird Johnson. She strengthened links to Congress, something for which her decades as a political wife had prepared her well.
Lady Bird Johnson was thrust into the post of first lady by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. She and her husband were two cars behind John and Jacqueline Kennedy when shots were fired at the motorcade in Dallas.
“So I felt like I was walking on to a stage for a part I had never rehearsed, hadn’t even read,” she says in an audio diary about becoming first lady. The years of her tenure, from 1963 to 1969, she described as “like shooting the rapids, every moment a new struggle, every moment a new direction -- trying to keep the craft level and away from the rocks.”
This was particularly true as protests against the Vietnam War mounted.
She stood in the shadow of her husband, but nonetheless threw her considerable energy into issues that became key achievements of the Johnson presidency: civil rights and the War on Poverty.
Braving the unpopularity of the Civil Rights Act in the South, the first lady made a whistle-stop tour – dubbed the Lady Bird Special -- to eight southern states, speaking in her southern drawl to people about the importance of the bill.
“You may not agree with all I say, but at least you can understand the way I say it,” she told one audience. She persevered in her support for civil rights despite threats and verbal abuse from opponents. Her dignity was a great asset to Lyndon Johnson, a man whose short temper was legendary.
Lady Bird Johnson campaigned for the Head Start program, which still provides educational, nutritional and other assistance to children of poor families. She served as the program’s honorary chairman.
SOUTHERN LADY, POLITICAL WIFE
Born Claudia Alta Taylor, “Lady Bird” was a childhood nickname that stayed with her throughout her life. She married Lyndon Johnson in 1934, when he was a congressional aide. He was not always an easy man, but she was devoted to him and became an exemplar of wifely support. From a wealthy family, she used some of her inheritance to bankroll her husband’s first congressional election campaign.
She said that her chief duty was to “make a comfortable area, an island of peace” in which he could “do his best work.”
Lady Bird Johnson was a business entrepreneur in her own right, buying a radio station and building it into a successful broadcasting, real estate and investment equity business, LBJ Holding Company.
Likely, this first lady will be remembered most for her commitment to the environment. Her efforts to beautify the United States were reflected in her large-scale planting of trees and flowers all over Washington. Today, those cherry trees, azaleas, dogwoods and daffodils planted at her urging help make the nation’s capital one of the most appealing American cities. Not content with simply planting flowers and tearing down billboards, she helped promote more than a hundred environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, during the Johnson administration.
Her passion spread across the country. “The native wildflowers that bloom along roadsides today are part of her lasting legacy,” President Bush said in a July 11 statement. He described her as “our good friend, and a warm and gracious woman.”
Lady Bird Johnson remained active in environmental conservation work after her husband died in 1973. In 1982, she co-founded the National Wildflower Research Center in Austin, Texas, which later was named for her. The center researches native and invasive plant species, sustainability and other conservation issues. It is a participant in the global Millennium Seed Bank Project.
Lady Bird Johnson received many honors in her life, including the United States’ highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom, which was presented to her by Gerald Ford in 1977. The Congressional Gold Medal was presented to her by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
Three days of memorial ceremonies honoring the late Lady Bird Johnson began July 13. A private funeral will be held July 14, followed by a burial July 15 at the LBJ Ranch next to the body of the former president.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
