My mother was the influence in my life. She was strong; she had great faith in the ultimate triumph of justice and hard work. She believed passionately in education.

In 1995 Johnson received the Communication Award on the occasion of Ebony magazine's 50th anniversary. Legacy
Johnson Publishing Company also has a book division and employs more than 2600 people with sales of over $388 million. Negro Digest
Once the idea of The Negro Digest occurred to him it began to seem like a "black gold mine" Johnson stated in his autobiography Succeeding against the Odds.

He was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company. In 1982 he became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400. John Harold Johnson (January 19 1918 – August 8 2005) was an American businessman and publiJohn H. Johnsonr.