It was decided by students, staff and the community to rename the school to remind future generations of Ms. Johnson's contributions.

Guidance for the project was given by Doris M. Johnson's principal Tricia Rock, a history teacher Michael Douglas, and Jennifer Yaremczak from the Maryland Historical Society.

The after-school performing arts program started in the 2004 school year by volunteer Christina Youngston, and the club was given the name Unchained Talent by students.

[8] The first theatrical production Unchained Talent did occurred in December 2004 in front of an audience of 100 and it made front-page news in the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

In 2005, Unchained Talent had a big milestone in that it was awarded an Open Society Institute-Baltimore Community Fellowship to stabilize the program for 18 months.