CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� George E. Johnson Sr., a pioneer in Black hair care whose multimillion-dollar business was the first Black-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange, has died at age 99, according to his family.
Johnson died Monday at his home in downtown Chicago. A cause of death was not released.
Johnson and his late wife and high school sweetheart, Joan, started Johnson Products Company in 1954 on Chicago鈥檚 South Side after securing a $250 loan. It grew into a hair care empire catering almost exclusively to Black people, with brands like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen.
People who remember Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen in their heyday also remember the brands鈥� marketing campaigns and their association with the 鈥淏lack is Beautiful鈥� movement, which promoted cultural and racial pride among Black people. The iconic 1970s commercials, which featured variations of the 鈥淲atu Wazuri鈥� (鈥淏eautiful People鈥�) jingle, have enjoyed a resurgence on social media in recent years.
The commercials aired primarily during the hit music-and-dance television show 鈥淪oul Train,” which his company was a national sponsor of and once owned.
鈥淚t was just a wonderful opportunity for Don Cornelius to be able to go national. He wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do that without George Johnson鈥檚 partnership,鈥� said John W. Rogers, the founder of Chicago-based Ariel Investments who was a mentee of Johnson. 鈥淎nd so, to see it work out for everyone and for our community all together was part of his genius.鈥�
A legacy worth celebrating
During its annual gala in November, the Chicago Urban League celebrated Johnson as the Edwin C. 鈥淏ill鈥� Berry Civil Rights Award honoree, named for the League鈥檚 iconic leader. Berry joined Johnson Products when he left the organization, according to Karen Freeman-Wilson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. She said the honor was a full-circle moment for Johnson, who was a longtime board member.
“Just 12 or 14 days ago, he was standing with Barack Obama in the presidential library, dedicating a room for he and my mother,” Eric George Johnson, the eldest of Johnson’s four children, told The Associated Press. 鈥淚t’s a wonderful life to celebrate.鈥�
Johnson’s trajectory started from humble beginnings.
He was born in 1927 in Richton, Mississippi. Johnson鈥檚 mother, Priscilla Dean Johnson, was just 18 when she left her husband, took her children to Chicago and found a job at a local hospital, said Hilary Beard, a Philadelphia-based author who worked with Johnson on his memoir.
Their move occurred during what鈥檚 known as the First Great Migration, between 1910 and 1940, when tens of thousands of southern Black people moved to northern and Midwestern cities for jobs and to escape racial oppression.
鈥淭here was just enough money for food, clothing and shelter, but not for anything extra,鈥� Beard said.
Johnson and his older brother, John, would collect cigarette packages, peel out the aluminum linings, roll them into balls and sell them to people who collected junk for resale, Beard said. Johnson also shined shoes, cleared tables in eateries and set up pins in a bowling alley.
A source of pride and inspiration
As an adult, Johnson worked for the Black-owned Fuller Products Co. in Chicago. Beard said Johnson met a barber who was distraught because he couldn’t convince Fuller to back a product he was developing that straightened men’s hair. The drawback was the product burned the scalp.
Johnson worked with Fuller’s chemist to revamp the barber’s formula and started his business after ultimately convincing a bank he needed a $250 loan to take his wife on a vacation, Beard said. That business would become Johnson Products.
Johnson’s company offered above-market salaries, profit-sharing for its workers, healthcare and other benefits at a time when many companies didn鈥檛 provide such perks, Beard added. Johnson Products was sold in 1993 to a pharmaceutical firm in a deal worth more than $60 million.
Johnson later founded Independence Bank and became the first Black person to serve on the board of directors of the Illinois electric utility Commonwealth Edison. The George E. Johnson Educational Fund awarded more than 1,000 college scholarships.
Rogers remembers his father taking him to Independence Bank to open a checking account and being awed that Johnson owned it.
鈥淭hat was just so impressive to me that he would start the largest Black bank in the country” which helped Black entrepreneurs, homeowners and anyone who needed assistance as they were building their lives, Rogers said.
The Golden Rule
Though Johnson is gone, the lessons he imparted continue to shape the family鈥檚 future.
Eric Johnson, who served as CEO, left Johnson Products Company in 1992. He said he purchased Baldwin Ice Cream in 1997, intending to keep the company in the family for generations to come. Eric Johnson officially retired from Baldwin Richardson Foods on May 9 after successfully transitioning ownership to his daughters, Erin Tolefree and Cara Hughes.
鈥淗e saw his children come along and be successful, and now his grandchildren being successful,鈥� Eric Johnson said.
Eric Johnson isn’t the only one who sees that legacy continuing. Rogers points to the company鈥檚 third generation of leadership as evidence.
鈥淓ric鈥檚 positioned his kids who are now running the business day-to-day. So it鈥檚 a third generation, which is remarkable. They鈥檙e doing so well,” Rogers said.
Johnson鈥檚 memoir, 鈥淎fro Sheen: How I Revolutionized an Industry with the Golden Rule, from Soul Train to Wall Street,鈥� in 2024.
Being fair and treating people the way you want to be treated was Johnson’s golden rule, according to his son. And it’s a cherished piece of advice that Eric Johnson said his father instilled in him.
“And it鈥檚 a foundation that was established in him as a child by his mother, that he established in all of us,鈥� he said.
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This story has been updated to restore the first reference to John W. Rogers.
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Williams reported from Detroit.
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