The story
Founded by Eunice W. Johnson and John H. Johnson in 1942.1
Johnson Publishing Company was founded in 1942 by John Harold Johnson, who was working as an office clerk for Chicago-based Supreme Life Insurance Company of America. Using money from a $500 loan that was secured with his mother's furniture, Johnson mailed $2 charter subscription offers to members who had life insurance through Supreme Life. In return, he received more than 3,000 completed subscription offers and with that money he printed his first publication, Negro Digest, in November 1942. By mid-1943, the monthly circulation of Negro Digest had reached 50,000 copies.
Headquarters
820 S. Michigan Avenue, the iconic building constructed for the Johnson Publishing Company, publishers of Ebony and Jet magazines, was designed by John Moutoussamy, and was the first African-American-owned building in Chicago's downtown area. It remains the only Chicago high-rise to be designed by an African American.
Johnson Publishing had several locations throughout its history. The first headquarters from 1942 until 1943, was inside the Supreme Life Building at 3501 S. Parkway Ave (later renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). As the company grew, Johnson then purchased a building at 5619 S. State Street in 1943. Six years later, in 1949, it relocated to 1820 South Michigan Avenue, a former funeral home. In December 1971, the company moved to 820 S. Michigan.
In Fall 2017, the City of Chicago designated the Johnson Building as a city landmark. Shortly thereafter, 3L Real Estate, a developer that specializes in the repurposing of classic real estate, bought the former headquarters from Columbia College Chicago and converted the office space into 150 rental apartments.
The iconic, psychedelic Ebony Test Kitchen, used by the magazine's food editors to test recipes, was donated by 3L Real Estate to Landmarks Illinois which in turn transferred it to New York's Museum of Food and Drink. The original Ebony/Jet sign that sits atop the building has been preserved and serves both as a welcome sign from the air and an anchor for the rooftop deck with sweeping views of Grant Park, Lake Michigan and Chicago's Museum Campus.
3L Real Estate CEO Joe Slezak said it was important to maintain original features when possible and worked with interior designer Elizabeth Watters to keep subtle reminders of the initial decor designed by Arthur Elrod and William Raiser. "From the lobby, with large swaths of original wood wall paneling, to ottomans reupholstered using material (curtains/rugs) from the Johnson Publishing days, the vibe is oh so ’70s."
Staff
In the early 1970s, the company's staff consisted of 300 people; 175 of them were located at the Chicago headquarters while the others worked at branch offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. The company had grown to 1400 employees by the end of 1980. Johnson's family held roles within the company. His wife, Eunice W. Johnson, was the founder, secretary, treasurer, and director of the Ebony Fashion Fair. His son, John H. Johnson Jr., served as a staff photographer for both Ebony and Jet magazines from 1975 until his death in December 1981. Johnson's daughter Linda Johnson Rice served as fashion coordinator of the Ebony Fashion Fair before becoming the company's CEO in 2003.
The Johnson Publishing Company hired a number of notable photographers, including Bryan Berteaux.
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Impact
Johnson once stated, "I wasn't trying to make history, I was trying to make money." According to media historian Brenna Wynn Greer, he managed to do both. His publications both filled a niche in the market and "forever changed the popular representation of African Americans." It portrayed African Americans as they saw themselves. Its photographs created for photojournalism made history.
From Wikipedia’s article on Johnson Publishing Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3