Johnson Publishing Company
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by African-American businessman John H. Johnson. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was privately held and run by Johnson until his death in 2005. His publications "forever changed the popular representation of African Americans."[4] The writing portrayed African Americans as they saw themselves and its photojournalism made history.[4] Led by its flagship publication, Ebony, Johnson Publishing was at one time the largest African-American-owned publishing firm in the United States. JPC also published Jet, a weekly news magazine, from November 1951 until June 2014, when it became digital only. In the 1980s, the company branched into film and television.
Company type
Privately held company
Mass media
November 1942
April 2019
200 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]
(chief executive officer)
- Books
- Magazines
- Television
- Cosmetics
The company's last chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) was the founder's daughter, Linda Johnson Rice. In its final years, Johnson Publishing Company sold off assets including its historic 820 S. Michigan Avenue headquarters in 2011, and its publications in 2016. In April 2019, JPC filed for liquidation, ending the company's 76-year run. The historic Ebony/Jet photo archives, which JPC retained after the sale of its Ebony and Jet magazines, were sold in July 2019 for $30 million to a group of art and educational foundations to make them available to the public.[5]
Publications[edit]
In 1942, The company published their first magazine, Negro Digest. Negro Digest, which was modeled after the Reader's Digest was published from November 1942 until 1951 when it was discontinued in favor of Ebony and Jet magazines. The magazine returned to circulation in June 1961 and was later renamed Black World in 1970. Under the new name, the magazine was published for six years until it was canceled again in 1976. The company began publishing Ebony magazine in November 1945. Ebony focused on African-American community, culture, and achievements. The magazine quickly became successful, at one time gaining more than 1.3 million readers. After the instant success of Ebony, Johnson created another publication, named Jet in 1951. Jet, dubbed "The Weekly Negro News Magazine",[15][16] was a mini-size weekly magazine that featured African American entertainers, community issues, public figures and a woman (predominately black) featured as "Jet's Beauty of the Week". Beginning in 2011, Jet magazine went from a weekly publication to bi-weekly, later converting into digital only in July 2014; publishing its last print magazine in June 2014. The company operated a book division, which published books such as The New Ebony Cookbook and the more controversial Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream.
Other ventures[edit]
Ebony Fashion Fair and Cosmetics[edit]
For over 40 years beginning in 1958, The company hosted the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show started by Eunice W. Johnson. The show raised money for scholarships and charities in cities across the United States and Canada. The fashion fair held its last show in 2009 due to the illness and later death of Johnson. In addition, Johnson Publishing produces a line of cosmetics marketed to women of color. Named Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the line was founded in 1973 and was formerly available in over 2,500 stores worldwide.[22] A United Kingdom creditor petitioned a judge to force the company to sell its Fashion Fair Cosmetics UK assets in April 2019.[23] In 2022, FFC was relaunched in over 250 Sephora stores,[24] as well as online.[25]
WJPC radio[edit]
Johnson Publishing Company purchased WGRT radio station in May 1973 for $1.8 million from Atlass Communications Inc. The company later renamed the station WJPC and began broadcasting on November 1, 1973. WJPC was the first Black-owned radio station in Chicago.[26] WJPC-FM, a predominately R&B and soul station operated from November 1973 until it was sold in December 1994.[27]
Legacy and tributes[edit]
In 2010, Chicago Public Schools and Noble Network of Charter Schools opened Johnson College Prep, a public charter high school in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood which was named in honor of John H. and Eunice Johnson.
The Chicago History Museum created an exhibition titled Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years Of Ebony Fashion Fair, which was on display from March 2013 until May 2014.[45][46] The exhibition traveled around the country, including stops at the Museum of Design Atlanta and the Milwaukee Art Museum.[47]
The Rebuild Foundation held an exhibition for the company called A Johnson Publishing Story at The Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, Illinois. The exhibition, which featured paintings, books, sculptures, furnishings and interior design elements from the 820 S. Michigan Avenue headquarters ran from June 28, 2018, until September 30, 2018.[48][49] In 2018, An exhibition called The Black Image Corporation featured photos from the company's archives. The exhibition, which was held at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, ran from 2018 until July 28, 2019.[50]
In 2020, the educational charity consortium which obtained the historic photo archives during the dissolution of the company, appointed an advisory committee, headed by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. The committee will oversee their organization and availability to the public.[51]
