Illinois Hall of Fame: The Johnson Family

By Mark Rhoads

Illinois is fortunate to have hundreds of examples of successful self-made business leaders.  But the story of John H. Johnson is one of the most inspirational.  He travelled a very long way from a poor family in Arkansas to become a nationally recognized leader in the fields of publishing, cosmetics, and fashion.  He was the founder of a publishing company that proved to advertisers there was a specific market for products that appealed to African American families.  In 1942, starting wiht a $500 loan that was secured by his mother's furniture, John started Johnson Publishing Company on the south side of Chicago while only in his mid-twenties.  His first publication was called Negro Digest, wich was modeled after Reader's Digest but for the black audience.  Negro Digest reached a circulation of 50,000 readers during World War II.  Then, in 1945, he launched Ebony as a general-interest monthly magazine.  In 1951, he started Jet, a weekly news magazine.  Today, both Ebony and Jet have millions of readers.  Johnson Publishing also has a book division, a cosmetics division, and sponsors a traveling fashion show.

Mr. Johnson was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas in 1918.  His mother, Gertrude Johnson, wanted to move the family to Chicago for better educational opportunities since there was no high school for black students in 1932 in Arkansas City.

Gertrude encouraged John to repeat the eighth grade again rather than be idle for a year.  The family moved to Chicago in the same year as the opening of the Century of Progress World's Fair in 1933.  John made the most of the opportunities he was given during his three years at DuSable High School in Chicago.  He was the school's newspaper editor, an honor roll student, the yearbook editor, and class president. Among his classmates at DuSable in 1934 was singer Nat King Cole, who transferred and graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in 1935.  John graduated from DuSable in 1936 and went to work for Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company then owned by black business leader Harry H. Pace who heard John speak at a meeting of the Chicago Urban League.  John was editor of the in-house magazine for Liberty employees and many years later, John himself would beome president and Chairman of the Board at Liberty.  John married Eunice Walker, the daughter of a doctor from Alabama, in 1941.

The commercial success of Ebony and Jet, in the early 1950s, like the success of any general subscriber and newstand sales publication, depended on persuading advertisers that ad placement in the magazines would pay off by reaching a new audience that could not be reached in any other way. Johnson emphasized from the start that by focusing the content of the magazines on positive role models for the emerging black middle class, advertisers would also get positive exposure with the readers they were looking for.  John Johnson was a friend of several Presidents of the United States.  He accompanied Vice President Richard M. Nixon on a trade mission visit to Moscow, USSR, in 1959.  It was during this trip in front of the American kitchen exhibit that Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Krhuchev engaged in the spantaneous and famous "kitchen debate" about the vlues of capitalism vs. communism.  In 1972, John H. Johnson was named "Publisher of the Year" by the Magazine Publishers Association.  John was a leader in many charities inlcuding the United Negro College Fund and The Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago.  He won numerous awards and died in 2005.

Eunice Walker Johnson, pictured at right, is the widow of John H. Johnson.  She is Secretary-Treasurer of Johnson Publishing Company and the producer and director of Ebony Fashion Fair, the world's largest traveling fashion show.  Eunice was born in Selma, Alabama.  Her father was Dr. Nathaniel D. Walker and her mother was Ethel McAlpine Walker who was a high school principal who also taught education and art at Selma University.  Eunice graduated from Talladega College in Alabama and earned her master's degree in social work from Loyola University of Chicago.  She also took courses in journalism at Northwestern University and studied interior decorating at the Ray-Vogue School of Design.  Mrs. Johnson has written articles on fashion for Ebony for many years. Mrs. Johnson was also active in the creation of Fashion Fair Cosmetics in 1973.  That division today is the world leader in cosmetics for African-American women and is carried at 2,500 stores in many countries.

Linda Johnson Rice, pictured at right, is a native of Illinois. She is the daughter of John H. and Eunice W. Johnson and is one of top business leaders in America.  Linda received her B.A. degree from the University of Southern California and her M.B.A. degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.  She became CEO of Johnson Publishing Corporation in 2002.  Since taking over as CEO, she has concentrated on updating the design of Ebony and Jet.  Linda has been active in the leadership of a wide variety of organizations inlcuding the Young President's Organization, The National Association of Black Journalists, and The Economic Club of Chicago.  Rice is a strong believer in supporting education initiatives.  Johnson Publishing, through the Ebony Fashion Fair division, has donated more than $50 million to charitable and education projects.  Linda Johnson Rice serves on the Board of Directors of Bausch & Lomb, Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, MoneyGram International, the Northwestern Memorial Corporation, the Art Institute of Chicago and other companies and organizations.

By Mark Rhoads

Illinois is fortunate to have hundreds of examples of successful self-made business leaders.  But the story of John H. Johnson is one of the most inspirational.  He travelled a very long way from a poor family in Arkansas to become a nationally recognized leader in the fields of publishing, cosmetics, and fashion.  He was the founder of a publishing company that proved to advertisers there was a specific market for products that appealed to African American families.  In 1942, starting wiht a $500 loan that was secured by his mother's furniture, John started Johnson Publishing Company on the south side of Chicago while only in his mid-twenties.  His first publication was called Negro Digest, wich was modeled after Reader's Digest but for the black audience.  Negro Digest reached a circulation of 50,000 readers during World War II.  Then, in 1945, he launched Ebony as a general-interest monthly magazine.  In 1951, he started Jet, a weekly news magazine.  Today, both Ebony and Jet have millions of readers.  Johnson Publishing also has a book division, a cosmetics division, and sponsors a traveling fashion show.

Mr. Johnson was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas in 1918.  His mother, Gertrude Johnson, wanted to move the family to Chicago for better educational opportunities since there was no high school for black students in 1932 in Arkansas City.

Gertrude encouraged John to repeat the eighth grade again rather than be idle for a year.  The family moved to Chicago in the same year as the opening of the Century of Progress World's Fair in 1933.  John made the most of the opportunities he was given during his three years at DuSable High School in Chicago.  He was the school's newspaper editor, an honor roll student, the yearbook editor, and class president. Among his classmates at DuSable in 1934 was singer Nat King Cole, who transferred and graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in 1935.  John graduated from DuSable in 1936 and went to work for Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company then owned by black business leader Harry H. Pace who heard John speak at a meeting of the Chicago Urban League.  John was editor of the in-house magazine for Liberty employees and many years later, John himself would beome president and Chairman of the Board at Liberty.  John married Eunice Walker, the daughter of a doctor from Alabama, in 1941.

The commercial success of Ebony and Jet, in the early 1950s, like the success of any general subscriber and newstand sales publication, depended on persuading advertisers that ad placement in the magazines would pay off by reaching a new audience that could not be reached in any other way. Johnson emphasized from the start that by focusing the content of the magazines on positive role models for the emerging black middle class, advertisers would also get positive exposure with the readers they were looking for.  John Johnson was a friend of several Presidents of the United States.  He accompanied Vice President Richard M. Nixon on a trade mission visit to Moscow, USSR, in 1959.  It was during this trip in front of the American kitchen exhibit that Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Krhuchev engaged in the spantaneous and famous "kitchen debate" about the vlues of capitalism vs. communism.  In 1972, John H. Johnson was named "Publisher of the Year" by the Magazine Publishers Association.  John was a leader in many charities inlcuding the United Negro College Fund and The Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago.  He won numerous awards and died in 2005.

Eunice Walker Johnson, pictured at right, is the widow of John H. Johnson.  She is Secretary-Treasurer of Johnson Publishing Company and the producer and director of Ebony Fashion Fair, the world's largest traveling fashion show.  Eunice was born in Selma, Alabama.  Her father was Dr. Nathaniel D. Walker and her mother was Ethel McAlpine Walker who was a high school principal who also taught education and art at Selma University.  Eunice graduated from Talladega College in Alabama and earned her master's degree in social work from Loyola University of Chicago.  She also took courses in journalism at Northwestern University and studied interior decorating at the Ray-Vogue School of Design.  Mrs. Johnson has written articles on fashion for Ebony for many years. Mrs. Johnson was also active in the creation of Fashion Fair Cosmetics in 1973.  That division today is the world leader in cosmetics for African-American women and is carried at 2,500 stores in many countries.

Linda Johnson Rice, pictured at right, is a native of Illinois. She is the daughter of John H. and Eunice W. Johnson and is one of top business leaders in America.  Linda received her B.A. degree from the University of Southern California and her M.B.A. degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.  She became CEO of Johnson Publishing Corporation in 2002.  Since taking over as CEO, she has concentrated on updating the design of Ebony and Jet.  Linda has been active in the leadership of a wide variety of organizations inlcuding the Young President's Organization, The National Association of Black Journalists, and The Economic Club of Chicago.  Rice is a strong believer in supporting education initiatives.  Johnson Publishing, through the Ebony Fashion Fair division, has donated more than $50 million to charitable and education projects.  Linda Johnson Rice serves on the Board of Directors of Bausch & Lomb, Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, MoneyGram International, the Northwestern Memorial Corporation, the Art Institute of Chicago and other companies and organizations.