Dorothy Hodge Johnson

1950 portrait of Dorothy Hodge Johnson.

Born in Kansas City, Kansas Dorothy Hodge Johnson attended Stowe Elementary School, Northeast Junior High School, and was a graduate of Sumner High School. In 1936 she graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. degree in journalism. In 1937 she married Dowdal Davis Jr. and began her endeavors community service. After college, she served as a reporter for the Kansas City Call, a local Kansas City newspaper, and a community liaison for the NUL. From 1944 to 1951, Hodge-Johnson was the public relations specialist for the ULKC. For the next two years, she served as an information specialist for the federal government. In 1953, she was appointed to Director for the Florence Crittenton Home for Colored Girls, and held the position until 1958. In 1960, Dorothy Hodge Johnson would graduate from KU with a Maters in Social work. She then became a became a social welfare caseworker for Family and Children’s Services in Kansas City, Kansas. Of her last community positions, Hodge-Johnson was the director of the Jackson County, Missouri, Department of Health and Welfare from 1973 to 1976.