IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 605 
Honoring John H. Johnson, a renowned and loved figure not only around 
the world but in the 7th Congressional District and Chicago, whose 
astonishing life and contributions have a lasting influence. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 24, 2021 
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring John H. Johnson, a renowned and loved figure 
not only around the world but in the 7th Congressional 
District and Chicago, whose astonishing life and con-
tributions have a lasting influence. 
Whereas, on November 1, 2019, the Friends of John H. 
Johnson, the curators of the John H. Johnson Day and 
the John H. Johnson Museum, led the effort to establish 
a special holiday to honor John Harold Johnson in the 
State of Arkansas for his accomplishments in the pub-
lishing industry in spite of tremendous challenges for Af-
rican Americans; 
Whereas John Harold Johnson, born Johnny Johnson on 
January 19, 1918, in Arkansas City, Arkansas, to Ger-
trude and Leroy Johnson, was a direct descendent of 
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•HRES 605 IH 
slaves and rose to international acclaim as owner and 
publishing icon of Chicago’s Johnson Publishing Com-
pany, publisher of Ebony and Jet magazine, in the 7th 
Congressional District of Illinois; 
Whereas Johnson was born into poverty, and he lost his fa-
ther at a young age to a sawmill accident and was forced 
to start working; 
Whereas Johnson’s mother remarried James Williams, who 
became an important figure in Johnson’s life; 
Whereas Arkansas City had no opportunities for education 
beyond the eighth grade for African Americans, and 
schools were overcrowded and segregated; 
Whereas these were difficult times for African Americans in 
rural Arkansas, and Johnson’s passion to overcome dis-
advantages and for learning laid the foundation for his 
eventual rise as the founder of the largest African-Amer-
ican publishing company in the world; 
Whereas after a trip to Chicago to attend the World’s Fair, 
the Johnson family realized opportunities for African 
Americans were far greater in the North than they had 
experienced in the South, and they stayed in Chicago; 
Whereas Johnson was more determined than ever to excel, 
and even though he was teased by his classmates at 
DuSable High School on the South Side of Chicago for 
his ragged clothes and Southern manner, he was empow-
ered by the knowledge of the existence of an African- 
American middle class, something he had never experi-
enced; 
Whereas Johnson excelled at DuSable High School, was elect-
ed class president, and graduated in 1936; 
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Whereas Johnson spoke at the Urban League that same year 
and started courses at the University of Chicago, while 
also working at Supreme Liberty Life Insurance as editor 
of the company magazine; 
Whereas the owner of Supreme Liberty Life Insurance was 
impressed with Johnson after hearing him speak at the 
Urban League and gave him a job and money for college 
tuition; 
Whereas at 24, Johnson became inspired while working at 
Supreme Liberty and came up with the idea for his first 
magazine, Negro Digest, published in November 1942; 
Whereas, in 1941, John H. Johnson married Eunice Walker, 
from Selma, Alabama, who, along with his mother, was 
his constant support, and she later helped him run other 
business pursuits, most notably Fashion Fair Cosmetics, 
and they adopted two children, Linda and John, Jr.; 
Whereas John H. Johnson was a man of exemplary character 
and extraordinary will with a powerful determination to 
succeed; 
Whereas Johnson was in the inaugural class of inductees into 
the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, and he was the first 
African American to receive the Young Man of the Year 
award by the United States Chamber of Commerce; 
Whereas Johnson received the Spingarn Medal from the 
NAACP and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he 
was the first African American to be on the Forbes 400 
and the first to own a building on Michigan Avenue in 
Chicago; and 
Whereas Johnson’s legacy will be treasured through the posi-
tive influence he had on his community and his commit-
ment to covering race relations: Now, therefore, be it 
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Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors 
John H. Johnson, a renowned and loved figure not only 
around the world but in the 7th Congressional District 
and Chicago, whose astonishing life and contributions 
have a lasting influence. 
Æ 
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