Johnnie Hines Watts Prothro

Johnnie Hines Watts Prothro (February 28, 1922 – June 6, 2009) was an American nutritionist in the Southern United States whose career spanned the eras of racial segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. She was one of the first African American nutritionists and food scientists. where she received a BS degree with honors in Home Economics in 1941.

Awards and honors During her time at the University of Chicago, Prothro received several awards, including the Laverne Noyes Scholarship (1948-1950), the Evaporated Milk Association Award (1950-1951), the Borden Award from the American Home Economics Association (1950-1951), and a research assistantship (1951-1952). to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, with whom she had a daughter.

In her book African American women chemists, Jeannette E. Brown explains that upon her retirement, Prothro dedicated herself to "cultural activity, volunteerism and exercise. She awoke at 4:30 every morning except Sunday to walk three miles in the park near her house. She also enjoyed the theatre, tended to her flower beds, and spent several hours a day at the public library reading for pleasure."

She died of cancer on June 6, 2009, in Decatur, Georgia.