Nellie Stone Johnson, the late civil rights and labor leader who died in 2002, would be honored with a bust displayed in the state Capitol, under a bill introduced by state Rep. Joe Mullery of Minneapolis.
She's known for influencing Hubert H. Humphrey in his civil rights battles.
If passed and implemented, a bust of Johnson would be the first plaque, statue or bust of a woman of color to be installed in the Capitol, says a story by House Public Information Services.
Says the story:
Johnson was the first black woman to hold citywide office when she was elected to the Minneapolis Library Board in 1945. And on a national level, she was the first woman to serve on a contract negotiation committee.
Mullery is pushing the bust idea, even though he was stymied once before by a rule that apparently requires 25 years to pass after a person's death before getting such an honor, the story says.
"She is the most important civil rights leader in Minnesota history that actually stayed in Minnesota," Mullery said.