John H. Johnson built a publishing career around Black readers and their lives. Born in Arkansas City, Arkansas, in 1918, he moved to Chicago and attended DuSable High School. He later took university classes while working for an insurance company, where editing its monthly newspaper drew him into publishing.
Johnson launched *Negro Digest* and established his publishing company in 1942. A $500 loan, secured against his mother's furniture, helped finance the beginning. *Ebony* followed in 1945 and *Jet* in 1951. The magazines took different shapes: *Ebony* offered illustrated features, while *Jet* delivered news in a smaller publication. Both covered Black lives and public issues that got little attention elsewhere. Advertising kept the business alive, and Johnson worked to persuade major companies to place their products in these magazines.
The publications depended on more than their founder. *Ebony*'s editorial staff included Era Bell Thompson and historian Lerone Bennett Jr.; photographer Moneta Sleet Jr. shaped its visual record. *Jet* reported on the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, placing that event within the national coverage of civil rights.
Eunice Walker Johnson was a co-founder of Johnson Publishing Company. Her signature work included the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling show that presented fashion and raised money for charity. The Smithsonian also credits her with introducing Fashion Fair Cosmetics.
The company's Chicago headquarters gave the work a physical home. Completed in 1972 at 820 South Michigan Avenue, it was designed by architect John Warren Moutoussamy. The Chicago Architecture Center describes interiors with bold colors, furnishings and art.
Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and died in 2005.
