Eddie Johnson, Longtime Community Activist, Passes Away at 72

Local community activist Eddie Johnson has passed away.

His family tells WBSM News Johnson passed away at his home overnight, following a lengthy illness.

The 72-year-old Johnson was a familiar face and voice throughout the local community, attending various City Council meetings and School Committee meetings. He was the President of CLEAN, and also the President of Parting Ways, an organization dedicated to education about and trying to get a memorial for the four African-Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War and are now buried along the Plymouth/Kingston line.

Johnson was a candidate for political office a handful of times in New Bedford.

He’s also remembered as a longtime caller to WBSM, and served as a talk show host at the station in the 1980s.

Johnson leaves behind his longtime partner, Anita Dutra, two sons, a daughter and three grandchildren.