Afro Sheen: How I Revolutionized an Industry, from Soul Train to Wall Street

From the creator of the iconic hair product, Afro Sheen, and the first Black company to be traded on Wall Street comes the story of multi-millionaire George E. Johnson

You might already be familiar with Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, but have you heard of the man behind the company that produced those products? George Ellis Johnson, Sr., the acclaimed self-made businessman--along with Hilary Beard--reveals his inspiring and captivating rise from humble beginnings to the top of the haircare industry.

At just 27 years old, after years of traveling the country and going from barbershop to barbershop, Johnson created the Johnson Products Company. JPC was the first Black-owned company to trade on a major stock exchange, the financial sponsor of Soul Train, and once considered the largest Black-owned manufacturing company in the world. At the height of its success, JPC was worth $37M (almost half a billion dollars today). In this coming-of-age story, Johnson uses the life skills and strong character built from working odd jobs as a teenager to create a business that would both nurture and advance the Black community. Without a formal education, he filled a gap in the Black haircare industry and created a high-quality formula for straightening hair without the toxic ingredients and widely hated emulsification process.

For decades, Johnson has been an inspiration to Black entrepreneurs, setting an example of Black wealth and providing a safe space for Black people to work.

Afro Sheen is a timely, impassioned look at both an industry and cultural moment; Johnson's impact is finally on full display, as he brilliantly highlights how having perseverance and a daring vision can create both change and a lasting legacy.

George Ellis Johnson, Sr., is the founder of the Johnson Products Company, the maker of Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen, the first Black-owned company to trade on a major stock exchange, the financial sponsor of Soul Train, and once likely the largest Black-owned manufacturing company in the world. Known for his generosity around Chicago and nationally, Johnson has received numerous honors for the philanthropic contributions of the George E. Johnson Foundation and the George E. Johnson Educational Fund, which awarded more than 1000 college scholarships. In 1964, he co-founded Independence Bank, the first Black-owned financial institution to operate in Chicago in more than 30 years after the Great Depression, and became its chairman. He served on the boards of the Chicago Urban League, Commonwealth Edison, Lyric Opera of Chicago, MetLife, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University, and Operation PUSH. The recipient of nine honorary doctorate degrees, including several from HBCUs, Johnson received the Harvard Medal, Stanford Graduate School of Business's Marketing Man of the Year recognition, and Chicago Mayor Harold Washington's Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1999, the Wall Street Journal included him in its Special Report "10 Who Made a Difference: The minds that transformed entrepreneurship in the 20th century."

• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
  Publish Date: February 04, 2025
  Pages: 320
  Dimensions: 0.0 X 0.0 X 0.0 inches | 0.0 pounds
  Language: English
  Type: Hardcover
  EAN/UPC: 9780316577342
  BISAC Categories: Cultural, Ethnic & Regional - African American & Black - Personal Memoirs - Entrepreneurship