Ebony Magazine owner recalled as a legend

Magazine publisher recalled as legend
John H. Johnson, who died Monday, is remembered fondly as black media pioneer.
By Leia Baez
August 10, 2005

Several issues of Ebony magazine were stacked on a small end table Tuesday in Paradise Palace Hair Salon near 21st and Meridian streets.

Although the magazine's founder, John H. Johnson, died Monday of heart failure at age 87, some Hoosiers said his life and publications would have a lasting impact.

"We can never repay him for the debt we owe because of the trail he blazed," said Amos Brown, Radio One host and a columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. "He was a pioneer."

Brown said he remembers Johnson being persistent with his magazines' advertisers to use black models. He met Johnson, a longtime Chicagoan, in the 1980s when Johnson came to Indianapolis to be honored for his contribution to the media at an Indiana Black Expo luncheon.

"I remember him as an imposing figure, a towering figure, but a very warm and gracious gentleman," Brown said. "He was a tough businessman and a competitive businessman."

A few years later, Brown met with Johnson at Johnson Publishing Co. in downtown Chicago regarding promotion of the 1990 census.

"I was just in awe of him because you are there with a legend, someone who created an industry," Brown said.

"Ebony and Jet are a lifeline. To anyone who is black in America, there's an emotional connection between Ebony and Jet. For those who are not African-American, when you read those magazines, you are introduced to a world you didn't know."

Bill Mays, 59, president of Mays Chemical Co., said he admired Johnson for many years.

He met Johnson at a convention for ethnic hair care in the mid-1980s in Palm Springs, Calif.

"After a morning session, he took everybody to his home for lunch," Mays said. "He was so gracious in opening his home. I couldn't believe it."

Mays, who also owns the Indianapolis Recorder, said he could relate to Johnson as a businessman and a publisher.

"What I really admire is how Johnson made the transition where he passed on the Johnson empire to his daughter," he said.

"I can relate very much to him for what it took for him to build his business and most personally on transitioning to the next generation."

Johnson's impact goes beyond the people who have met him.

Dennis Futrell, 32, a barber at Kenny's Barber Shop, near 38th Street and College Avenue, said that although he didn't know Johnson, the publisher's positive influence has reached him.

"It was always inspirational seeing black faces coming up from poverty to be successful," Futrell said of stories in Ebony and Jet.

"It makes you feel like anything is attainable."

Lequetta Fletcher, 38, owner of Paradise Palace, said she enjoys reading Ebony because its images and stories are family-oriented and inspirational. Fletcher wasn't aware of Johnson's death, but she does know that his hard work is motivating for her own business.

"It takes patience," Fletcher said of being a black business owner. "(Johnson has) been patient and never given up, even when he's struggled."