Greensboro Transit Agency has long held the belief that Black history is American history. The achievements obtained by African Americans under challenging circumstances not only benefited the African American race, but all of humankind. GTA honors the heroes annually with a featured display on a GTA transit bus kicking off each Black History Month. For 2025, the honoree is Former Mayor/Mayor Pro Tem/Councilwoman Yvonne J. Johnson.

Yvonne J. Johnson

Greensboro native Yvonne Jeffries Johnson was a prominent political leader, non-profit director and community advocate in the Gate City.  Born on October 26, 1942, Yvonne was a proud Tribal Member of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. She graduated from Dudley High School in 1960 and Bennett College in 1964, with a BA in Psychology. She also received a Graduate Fellowship from Howard University and a Master of Science degree in Guidance Counseling from North Carolina A&T State University.

Following five years working in a for-profit with her husband Walter, in 1983, Johnson became the Director of One Step Further, Inc., a non-profit agency that aided non-felony offenders. She served as Executive Director for more than 40 years until her retirement in June 2024. Under her administration, 11 programs were developed to serve the citizens of Greensboro.

Johnson’s political career began when she was elected to the Greensboro City Council in 1993. In 1998, she was elected Mayor Pro Tem and served in this capacity for six years before becoming Greensboro's first African American mayor in 2007. During her single term as mayor, she continued to work for policies that addressed long-term poverty in her city, increasing public transportation in many sectors of the city, promoted economic development and was instrumental in the creation of the Greensboro Aquatic Center. After her tenure as mayor, Yvonne took a two-year hiatus from public office but returned in 2011 to win an at-large seat on the Greensboro City Council. She continued to serve on the council as Mayor Pro Tem until her death in 2024.

In addition to her service on the Greensboro City Council, served as a founding member of The Greensboro Drifters, Inc., an organization of dynamic women focused on social and humanitarian endeavors. She also served as the youngest National President of the National Drifters, Inc. Along with membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Johnson served on the board of several local organizations and served as Chair of the Bennett College Board of Trustees for 10

 years.

In 2017, Yvonne Johnson received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest recognition in the state by Governor Roy Cooper for the work she has done, joining such prominent North Carolina recipients as Maya Angelou, Shirley Caesar and Dale Earnhardt.

 

Previous Black History Spotlight Honorees

2024 - Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown and Garrett A. Morgan
2023 - Dr. Charles Drew and Gerald Lawson