Doris Sands Johnson

Dame Doris Sands Johnson (19 June 192121 June 1983) was a Bahamian teacher, suffragette, and politician. She was the first Bahamian woman to contest an election in the Bahamas, the first female Senate appointee, and the first woman granted a leadership role in the Senate. Once in the legislature, she was the first woman to be made a government minister and then was elected as the first woman President of the Senate. She was honored as Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Born on New Providence Island, she completed her secondary education and became a teacher. After teaching for 17 years, Johnson returned to school to earn a master's and doctorate degree in educational administration. During this period, she traveled back and forth between school and her Bahamian home organizing labor and suffrage efforts. Upon graduation, Johnson was unable to find work because of her activism. She made a compelling speech to the Bahamian legislature in 1959, pleading for women's suffrage and subsequently made a similar plea to the Colonial Office in London. Once the right to vote had been secured, Johnson immediately entered politics in 1961, running in the first election in which women were allowed to participate. Though she lost her bid, she worked with the Progressive Liberal Party to gain Bahamian independence. When the country gained its freedom from colonial rule, Johnson was appointed to the Senate and served the government until her death, a decade later.

Background and education Doris Louise Sands was born on 19 June 1921 in St. Agnes, New Providence, The Bahamas, to Sarah Elizabeth (née Fyne) and John Albert Sands. After completing her secondary education, Sands began teaching at the age of 15. On 3 January 1943 at Zion Baptist Church in Nassau, Sands married Ratal Allen Johnson. They subsequently had one son and Johnson worked for 17 years to earn the money to further her education. Around 1953, she was able to enroll at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, graduating with a bachelor's degree in education. She returned to the Bahamas in 1956 Granted a four-year government scholarship to further her education in Canada, Johnson enrolled in a master's degree program in educational administration. The following year, PLP had a landslide victory in the 1968 election and Johnson was reappointed to the Senate, and appointed as the first woman to lead government business. and her appointment was the first time a woman had served in the Bahamian Cabinet. In 1977, shortly after being reelected to the presidency, Johnson received Queen Elizabeth II. In 1979, she was honored as Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Besides her official roles, Johnson served as a founding member of the Bahamas Folklore Group and spoke at various women's groups in the Bahamas and United States. She also served as president of the National Women's Housing Association and coordinator of the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention's Women's Auxiliary.

Johnson died aged 62 on 21 June 1983.

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