Johnson Publishing
Encyclopedia
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. is an American
publishing
company founded in November 1942 by John H. Johnson
, headquartered in Chicago
, Illinois
, The company is privately held
, and its chief executive officer is Desiree Rogers
.
, Johnson Publishing is the largest African-American-owned publishing firm in the United States
. It also publishes Jet
magazine and operates a book division. In addition, Johnson Publishing produces a line of hair care products (Supreme Beauty) and cosmetics (Fashion Fair) marketed for African-American women, and each year it hosts the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show that raises money for scholarships and charities in cities across the US and Canada.
The company's book division features titles such as The New Ebony Cookbook and the more controversial Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream
.
The company also produced the 1954 film The Secret of Selling the Negro Market
, which was designed to encourage advertisers to promote their products and services in the African American media.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company founded in November 1942 by John H. Johnson
John H. Johnson
John Harold Johnson was an American businessman and publisher. He was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company. In 1982 he became the first African-American to appear on the Forbes 400.ÀčĐċĎ- Biography :...
, headquartered in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, The company is privately held
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...
, and its chief executive officer is Desiree Rogers
Desirée Rogers
Desirée Glapion Rogers is an American business executive who is the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company. In November 2008 she was selected by Barack Obama's office as the White House Social Secretary for the incoming administration, the first person of African American descent...
.
Background
Led by its flagship publication, EbonyEbony (magazine)
Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
, Johnson Publishing is the largest African-American-owned publishing firm in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It also publishes Jet
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine and operates a book division. In addition, Johnson Publishing produces a line of hair care products (Supreme Beauty) and cosmetics (Fashion Fair) marketed for African-American women, and each year it hosts the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show that raises money for scholarships and charities in cities across the US and Canada.
The company's book division features titles such as The New Ebony Cookbook and the more controversial Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream
Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream
Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream is a book by the African American scholar and historian, Lerone Bennett, Jr., published in 2000. It attacks Abraham Lincoln and claims that his reputation as the "Great Emancipator" is undeserved....
.
The company also produced the 1954 film The Secret of Selling the Negro Market
The Secret of Selling the Negro Market
The Secret of Selling the Negro Market is a 1954 film financed by Johnson Publishing Company, the publisher of Ebony Magazine, to encourage advertisers to promote their products and services in the African American media...
, which was designed to encourage advertisers to promote their products and services in the African American media.
Publications
- EbonyEbony (magazine)Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
- monthly general interest magazine, founded November 1945 - JetJet (magazine)Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
- weekly newsmagazine, founded November 1951 - EbonyJet.com - branded web presence
- Negro Digest, later renamed to Black World
- Ebony Jr - discontinued in 1985
Divisions
- Fashion Fair, LLC – cosmetics line
- Ebony Fashion Fair – traveling fashion show
- JPC Book Division – book publishing
- JPC Consumer Products, LLC – Ebony lifestyle branding
- Ebony/Jet Entertainment Group, LLC – branded multimedia entertainment
External links
- Johnson Publishing Company official website
- Ebony Fashion Fair official website
- Fashion Fair Cosmetics official website
- John H. Johnson's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project