Media Giant John H. Johnson Paved the Way for Black-Owned Press

On Monday, the funeral for African-American publisher and entrepreneur John H. Johnson was held in Chicago. Johnson, who died last week at the age of 87, was widely regarded as the most influential African-American publisher in American history and a pioneer in media and business. In 1942, Johnson launched the Negro Digest, which later became Black World. He took a $500 loan out on his mother's furniture to start the magazine when banks refused to loan him the money. Three years later he started Ebony magazine, which was the first magazine to show the full range of African-American life. At a time when African-Americans rarely saw positive images of themselves in the media, Ebony celebrated the successes and achievements of black movie stars, athletes and businessmen while also chronicling the civil rights struggles of the time. The first issue of the magazine sold 25,000 copies, instantly making it the largest-circulated black magazine. It continues to be a top-seller today.

In 1951, Johnson started Jet magazine which became the largest African-American news weekly. Jet was known for its featured female centerfold but like Ebony, it was a forum for airing black issues and concerns. In 1955, Jet galvanized African-Americans throughout the nation when it published the battered and bloated body of Emmett Till, the black teenager who was lynched in Mississippi for supposedly whistling at a white woman.

Johnson continued to expand his publishing and business empire by buying radio stations, publishing books and producing television shows. In 1973, he launched Fashion Fair Cosmetics, which was designed for women with darker skin. Today, it is the largest black owned cosmetic company. Johnson was also the first African-American to build a major building in downtown Chicago where his publishing empire is housed. In 1982, he became the first African-American to appear on the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was a close friend of Johnson's said to the Chicago Defender newspaper a day after his death, "The tallest tree in the history of African American journalism has fallen, but has fallen gracefully. The tree that stood tall for over 60 years and a tree that planted a forest, a tree with widespread limbs and full of fruit. He connected to Africa and African Americans. He shared the pain of Emmett Till, the development of Martin Luther King Jr., and was a source of information and inspiration. He was the number one black publisher for 60 years. His impact had been felt through the whole world of journalism."

* Roland Martin, executive editor of the Chicago Defender, the nation's only black daily newspaper.

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