John H. Johnson

John Harold Johnson built the most influential Black media empire in American history with a $500 loan secured by his mother's furniture. In 1942, he founded Negro Digest, followed by Ebony in 1945 and Jet in 1951 — magazines that became the mirror in which Black America saw itself reflected with dignity, beauty, and aspiration. At its peak, Ebony reached a monthly readership of over 11 million.

Born in Arkansas City, Arkansas, in 1918, Johnson moved to Chicago as a teenager during the Great Migration. He attended DuSable High School, where a teacher's encouragement and a scholarship from the Urban League changed his trajectory. While working at Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company, he noticed that Black readers had no magazine that covered their achievements and culture — and decided to create one.

Johnson's publishing empire made him the first Black person to appear on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. Ebony and Jet didn't just document Black life — they shaped it, celebrating achievements, challenging stereotypes, and providing a platform for voices that mainstream media ignored. Jet's publication of Emmett Till's open-casket photograph in 1955 was one of the most consequential editorial decisions in American journalism. Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.