John H. Johnson

In 1940, Johnson met his would-be wife, Eunice Walker, a postgraduate student at Loyola University, Chicago. They got married on June 21, 1941. Eunice later became Secretary-Treasurer and Director of Ebony Fashion Fair.

They adopted two children, Linda Johnson and John Harold Johnson Jr. In 1981, 25 year old John died from sickle-cell anemia. Linda grew up to become President and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company while her father remained the Chairman.

In his later years Johnson also served on the board of directors of several major business houses such as Greyhound Corporation, Dillard's Inc., First Commercial Bank, Little Rock, Dial Corporation, Zenith Radio Corporation, and Chrysler Corporation.

John Harold Johnson was born on January 19, 1918 as Johnny Johnson in Arkansas City, USA. His father, Leroy Johnson, son of a slave, died in a sawmill accident when Johnny was six years old. Thereafter, he was raised by his mother, Gertrude Johnson, who worked as a camp cook.

His father’s death forced Johnson to start working from an early age. In an interview to Jim Hoskins, author of ‘Black Stars: African-American Entrepreneurs’, he had later said, "I was a working child. I learned how to work before I learned how to play."

Despite hardship, his mother was fully aware of the importance of education. Therefore, she insisted that Johnson attend school, enrolling him into an elementary school, meant for black students. Meanwhile in 1927, she married James Williams, who later became a dominant force in Johnson’s life.

The school he attended was only up to eighth grade. Since there was no high school for blacks in the racially segregated Arkansas, Gertrude decided to move to the north, which offered better prospect for the blacks. Therefore, she concentrated on earning more while Johnson repeated his eighth grade.

In 1933, Johnson and his mother traveled to Chicago, visiting the World Trade Fair being held there. The city was then considered a Mecca for the emigrating blacks and seeing the opportunity, Gertrude decided to stay back. His stepfather, James William, also joined them at Chicago.

Initially John H. Johnson’s job was to read all the available periodicals, selecting articles that might interest SLL’s clientele, mostly belonging to the African-American community. Pace would then review those articles and have them printed at the company’s monthly magazine, ‘The Guardian’.

Gradually, he became closer to Pace, utilizing the opportunity to learn business techniques from him. In 1939, as he was promoted to the post of the editor of ‘The Guardian’, he dropped out of college to work fulltime at SLL, preferring to learn on the job.

While working as the editor, it occurred to Johnson that the African-Americans might enjoy an exclusive magazine, catering only to their needs. He then decided to create an African-American version of ‘Readers Digest’, tentatively calling it ‘Negro Digest’.

He first approached Chicago’s First National Bank for a business loan. But the loan officers told him straightaway that no institution would ever loan money to any African-American. When he approached the established African-Americans, they too discouraged him. Only three people stood by him at this juncture.

Apart from his wife, the first person to support him was his mother, a woman with deep religious conviction and undying faith in her son. She agreed to let him use her furniture as collateral for a loan, amounting to $500.

Pace also helped him by granting him access to the mailing list of his company’s 2000 policyholders. Johnson wrote to them asking for $2 subscription, generating $6,000 solely from SLL policyholders. His wife helped in mailing chores, later participating in editorial and circulation.

In 1942, Johnson opened his ‘Negro Digest Publishing Company’, running his office from a corner of the law library, located inside the SLL building. The first issue of 5000 copies appeared in November 1942.