Founder of a pioneering black hair care business dies
Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks at the PUSH Expo businessmen's breakfast as, from left, Richard G. Hatcher, mayor of Gary, Ind., Emmitt Dedmon, and George E. Johnson Sr., listen, in Chicago, on Sept. 19, 1973. (Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
CHICAGO (AP) — George E. Johnson Sr., a pioneer in black hair care whose multimillion-dollar business was the first black-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange, has died at age 99, according to his family.
Johnson died Monday at his home in downtown Chicago. A cause of death was not released.
Johnson and his late wife and high school sweetheart, Joan, started Johnson Products Company in 1954 on Chicago’s South Side after securing a $250 loan. It grew into a hair care empire catering almost exclusively to black people, with brands like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen.
People who remember Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen in their heyday also remember the brands’ marketing campaigns and their association with the “Black is Beautiful” movement, which promoted cultural and racial pride among black people. The iconic 1970s commercials, which featured variations of the “Watu Wazuri” (“Beautiful People”) jingle, have enjoyed a resurgence on social media in recent years.
The commercials aired primarily during the hit music-and-dance television show “Soul Train,” which his company was a national sponsor of and once owned.
“It was just a wonderful opportunity for Don Cornelius to be able to go national. He wouldn’t have been able to do that without George Johnson’s partnership,” said John W. Rogers, the founder of Chicago-based Ariel Investments who was a mentee of Johnson.