Economic impact
Founded Johnson Products Company in Chicago in 1954 with US$250 in start-up capital; the company's Afro Sheen hair-care line generated revenues of approximately US$37 million by 1975, per company filings and contemporaneous reporting in Black Enterprise magazine. In 1971, Johnson Products became the first Black-owned business to list on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), a milestone that expanded access to institutional capital for the company and drew national attention to Black entrepreneurship in manufacturing. The company sponsored the long-running syndicated television programme 'Soul Train' beginning in 1971, creating one of the first sustained advertising-to-audience feedback loops for Black consumer products. Sold to IVAX Corporation in 1993 for approximately US$67 million.