The Other Johnson and Johnson | From Planet Money

The episode opens with Olivia Joan, a young Black TikTok creator, showcasing her grandmother's extensive vintage couture collection from designers like Chanel and Givenchy. Her grandmother, Joan Johnson, was married to George E. Johnson, the founder of Johnson Products Company and creator of Afrosheen, one of the most iconic Black hair products of the 20th century.

George Johnson's story begins during the Great Depression in Chicago, where as a six-year-old he scavenged for materials to sell, eventually collecting tinfoil from cigarette packages for money. Despite dropping out of high school to work, he gained chemistry knowledge on the job at a Black-owned cosmetics company. In an elevator at work, he met Orville Nelson, a barber and Nat King Cole's hair specialist who had developed a chemical hair straightener but couldn't perfect the formula. George, recognizing the chemistry problem, spent nine months experimenting in the company's lab until he created an emulsified, shelf-stable version. In 1954, George and Orville launched Ultra Wave Hair Culture, which became hugely successful in barbershops across Chicago.

When George and Orville's partnership dissolved, George and his wife Joan took over, forming Johnson Products Company. Joan proved to be a fierce businesswoman, personally collecting debts from delinquent customers. The couple expanded market by market, eventually building a factory headquarters on Chicago's South Side that became a symbol of Black entrepreneurship and prosperity. George hired predominantly Black employees at all levels and paid them well. Beyond the business, George and other Black businessmen took over a failed neighborhood bank, Independence Bank, to provide loans to Black entrepreneurs and families.

By the mid-1960s, as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, Black consumers rejected hair straightening as incompatible with Black pride and natural hair acceptance. Johnson Products quickly pivoted, launching Afrosheen, a moisturizer for afros. In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited George's facility seeking financial help for his organization. Impressed by the Black talent and leadership he saw, King famously said the building represented "Black Power." Independence Bank loaned King's organization over $100,000, and George cried when giving the check.

To reach young Black consumers, George sponsored Soul Train, a television show featuring Black musicians and dancers with natural afros. George financed a color pilot and became the show's major sponsor, with Afrosheen and Ultrasheen ads on every episode. The strategy was wildly successful: sales grew from $11.2 million in 1971 to $39 million by 1975, a growth George directly attributes to Soul Train.

In 1971, Johnson Products became the first Black-owned company listed on the American Stock Exchange. George experienced newfound wealth—buying boats, property, a house with a pool, and eventually a white Rolls-Royce convertible with red interior for Joan. However, going public came with significant costs. George had to answer to a board of shareholders rather than making decisions based solely on his Black customers' needs. The company hired a white marketing director, after which sales stalled for the first time. More critically, by publishing detailed financial reports showing the profitability of each product line, George inadvertently provided a blueprint to larger white-owned companies like Revlon, who then entered the Black hair care market with established resources and distribution.

The company faced further challenges with the rise of the jerry curl in the 1980s, popularized by Michael Jackson on the Thriller album cover. Johnson Products was too slow to market a competitive jerry curl product, and another Black-owned company captured this trend with marketing specifically emphasizing Black ownership. Additional pressures included new regulatory requirements for warning labels on relaxers due to health risks, personal troubles between George and Joan leading to divorce and remarriage, and the company beginning to feel dated.

Joan eventually took charge of the company and attempted to turn it around. In 1993, she made national news by selling Johnson Products to a white-owned pharmaceutical company for $70 million, earning $32 million personally. The sale raised questions about whether Black-owned businesses should remain independent or sell to larger white-owned companies for financial security.

Today, the global Black hair care market is worth approximately $4 billion. George expressed pride in opening doors for subsequent Black entrepreneurs, particularly women. However, for his granddaughter Olivia Joan, the legacy is complicated: while her grandparents pioneered the industry, most Black hair care products on shelves today are owned or operated by white people, despite being marketed to Black consumers. Olivia still uses Ultra Sheen, the original Johnson Products formula, but feels heartbroken seeing how few Black-owned products dominate an industry her grandparents created.