John H. Johnson, who created Ebony and Jet magazines
Go Brotha! Late Ebony Magazine Founder Gets Postage Stamp
By theGrio
From NBC Chicago: Publisher John H. Johnson, who created Ebony and Jet magazines, will be honored on this year’s Black Heritage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
SEE ALSO: Obama Defends Drone Strikes
A Tuesday ceremony is planned in Johnson’s hometown of Arkansas City, where he lived until moving to Chicago with his family at age 15.
Johnson founded Johnson Publishing Co. on a $500 loan using his mother’s furniture as collateral. At the time, he was working as a clerk at a black-owned life insurance company.
He created Ebony in 1945 with a press run of 25,000 copies. Its circulation topped 1.6 million at the time of Johnson’s death in 2005 at the age of 87. Johnson also founded the newsweekly Jet in 1951.
For more on this story, go to theGrio.
SEE ALSO:
