Johnson, John Harold (1918-2005), was one of the leading publishers in the United States. He published books and magazines directed mainly to black readers. The magazines included Ebony, a monthly picture and news magazine, and Jet, a weekly news magazine. Johnson began his publishing career in 1942 when he founded the Johnson Publishing Co. in Chicago and started Negro Digest, a literary magazine. He started Ebony in 1945. His firm began publishing books in 1962. It became the world’s largest African American-owned publishing company. In 1973, the firm also began making Fashion Fair cosmetics, a brand targeted to African American women.
Johnson was born on Jan. 19, 1918, in Arkansas City, Arkansas. His family moved to Chicago to allow Johnson to attend high school, and he graduated from DuSable High School in 1936. He worked in insurance while attending the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. In 1966, he won the Spingarn Medal, awarded annually to an African American for outstanding achievement. In 1989, he published his autobiography, Succeeding Against the Odds. In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ebony, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. He died in Chicago on Aug. 8, 2005. In 2016, Johnson Publishing Co. sold Ebony and Jet to Clear View Group, an Austin, Texas-based private equity firm.
