Carol L. Cook
John Johnson was born on January 19, 1918 in Arkansas City, Arkansas. His mother was the second generation from slavery. She only completed the third grade. She worked hard in the fields and kitchens of Arkansas. Mrs. Johnson was a strong woman who had many dreams for her son. Both John’s family and community included many caring adults, who closely monitored the actions of the young. There was much discipline and love all around John.
John attended Arkansas City Colored School through the eighth grade. Then, there was no more schooling available in Arkansas City. John’s mother heard that Chicago offered education, good jobs and freedom. She, therefore, worked extra jobs to get enough money together to go to Chicago. Since John’s stepfather refused to move to Chicago, his mother had to make a decision. Although she loved her husband very much, she decided that freedom and education for her son were most important. She and her son moved to Chicago alone.
For one thing, Chicago offered many Black role models for John Johnson. Many Black Chicagoans had a history of political and economic independence. For instance, Oscar De Priest from Chicago was the first Black Congressman in the United States. There were many Black teachers who were outstanding role models. These teachers believed that Black students as well as white could do anything that they wanted to do.
John ran into many obstacles as a young man. However, he soon found that a negative in your life can soon be switched into a positive. For instance, his fellow students found his accent very funny. Every time he opened his mouth, they would laugh at him. John, therefore, decided that he must do something about this. He spent many hours in front of his mirror while he practiced speaking properly. As time went on, he volunteered to speak in school so that he could further improve his presentation of himself. This talent would help John Johnson during his whole life.
John also spent much of his time reading self-help books. Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” was one of his favorites. In addition, he read all the Black literature that he could get his hands on. UP FROM SLAVERY by Booker T. Washington was one of his favorites. John’s skill in speaking won him the junior and senior class presidencies. He was also editor of the school newspaper.
In 1933, John’s mother, stepfather, and sister all lost their jobs. They had to apply for welfare but got turned down. Mrs. Johnson wrote to President Roosevelt and got some results. This quality of never giving up was a quality that John inherited from his mother. Being on welfare was a great embarrassment to John. One he never forgot!
Soon, John got a job with the National Youth Administration. Mary McLeod Bethune was another strong woman and a powerful role model to John. She helped John to get a scholrship to the University of Chicago.
At an Urban League luncheon for outstanding students, one of John’s heroes, Harry H. Pace, President of Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company (a Black Business) spoke. When John told him that he didn’t have enough money to go to college, Pace offered John a job. Pace served as a mentor to many young Blacks.
John Johnson was so fascinated by what he was learning at Supreme that he dropped out of college. Harry Pace believed in teaching the young Blacks about the many successful Blacks in history. In many cases, Black entrepreneurs were confined to Black consumer markets. It had been the hope of most Black people that Black entrepreneurs participate at everyday level in all economic institutions. These words of Booker T. Washington were ingrained in John Johnson: “One farm bought, one house built . . . one man who is the largest taxpayer or has the largest bank account, one school or church maintained, one factory running successfully . . . one patient cured by a Negro doctor, one sermon well preached, one office well filled . . . these will tell more in our favor than all the abstract eloquence that can be summoned to plead our cause.”
Soon, John was made an editor of the newspaper at Supreme and he learned a great deal in this position. As his professional life began to build, he met a charming young woman from a wealthy Southern Black family and he married her. As part of his job, John had to collect news about Black Americans. This gave him an idea. Why not put together a magazine that would include all of this information? He would call this magazine NEGRO DIGEST. Why not use the list from Supreme in his advertising campaign for this magazine?
John would constantly draw on his personal strength when things would seem impossible for him. When he tried to find a distributor for his magazine, he was turned down. He didn’t give up, however. He had some of his friends go to all of the news stands and ask for the magazine until the distributor decided the he needed to have the magazine. He wanted to have Mrs. Roosevelt write an article for his magazine, and he wrote to her. She answered that she was just too busy. He kept asking until she finally agreed.
Johnson forbid anybody around him to mention the word, failure. It was not in his vocabulary. His mother told him “Whenever you’re trying hard, you’re never failing. The only failure is failing to try.”
After John’s success with NEGRO DIGEST, John’s associates convinced him that an entertainment magazine was needed. Thus, EBONY began. In this magazine, Johnson built up the idea that “Black is beautiful.” He showed good looking Black men and women: bright Black people; successful Black people. After EBONY, Johnson and his wife developed the EBONY FASHION SHOW, which now travels through the U.S. In addition, he developed “Fashion Fair Cosmetics,” a company with cosmetics for Black women.
Although John Johnson has run into prejudice in his life, he has always tried to switch things around. He would make the white people see what advantage it would be for them to help him. Most of the time, he would win in the end.
In his whole career, John has always believed that you constantly try until you succeed. You never give up. He did this when he wanted to get nice offices for his company. At first, the real estate people forced him to get housing in Black neighborhoods. But, John came back again and again. Finally. he succeeded in getting what he wanted. This is the strongest message that his autobiography sends to its readers.
UP FROM SLAVERY was one of the favorite books of John Johnson. What are the likenesses of Booker T. Washington’s life and John H. Johnson’s life?