他的家人在给ABC新闻的一份声明中证实，创建了一个黑发护理帝国的美国先驱商人和企业家乔治·约翰逊于周一在芝加哥的家中去世。约翰逊享年99岁。
约翰逊去世后，家人表达了“深切的悲伤”，并庆祝他“非凡的企业家精神、信仰、毅力、慈善事业和家庭遗产”
约翰逊和他已故的妻子琼于1954年在芝加哥南部创立了自己的公司——约翰逊产品公司(JPC)，他的家人说，他用250美元贷款和“一个不可动摇的信念，即机会应该为每个人而存在”。
约翰逊产品公司为黑人消费者生产了一系列名为Afro Sheen和Ultra Sheen的护发产品，这些产品成为家庭和沙龙的主要产品，也是“整个美国黑人的骄傲，”约翰逊家族的声明补充道。
该公司作为标志性的音乐综艺电视节目“灵魂列车”的第一家全国赞助商而声名远扬，并于1971年成为第一家在美国证券交易所上市交易的黑人企业。
“乔治是一位有远见的商业领袖，他建立了一个护发帝国，打破了华尔街的壁垒，并帮助推动了民权斗争，”约翰逊的家人说。“最重要的是，他是一个热爱家庭的男人，他的榜样激励了几代人，他的企业家精神、社区领导力和慈善事业的遗产通过他的后代延续到了今天。”
约翰逊1927年出生于密西西比州的里奇顿，后来在他还是个孩子的时候搬到了芝加哥，他很小的时候就在那里工作，擦鞋和擦桌子来帮助支撑他的家庭。
“那些早期的经历塑造了指导他一生的价值观:谦逊、决心、个人责任和黄金法则:以他希望被对待的方式对待每个人，给予尊严和尊重，”他的家人说。
约翰逊身后留下了他的第二任妻子马德琳·墨菲·拉布，以及他的子女、孙辈和曾孙辈。
Black hair care pioneer George E. Johnson Sr. dies at 99
George E. Johnson Sr., the pioneering American businessman and entrepreneur who built a Black hair care empire, died at his home in Chicago on Monday, his family confirmed in a statement to ABC News. Johnson was 99.
The family expressed their “profound sadness” after Johnson’s death and celebrated his “extraordinary legacy of entrepreneurship, faith, perseverance, philanthropy, and family.”
Johnson founded his company, Johnson Products Company (JPC), in Chicago’s South Side in 1954 with his late wife, Joan, using a $250 loan and “an unshakable belief that opportunity should exist for everyone,” his family said.
Johnson Products Company manufactured a line of hair care products for Black consumers named Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, which became staples in homes and salons and “a source of pride throughout Black America,” the Johnson family statement added.
The company gained notoriety as the first national sponsor of Soul Train -- the iconic musical variety TV show -- and in 1971 became the first Black-owned business listed and traded on the American Stock Exchange.
“George was a visionary business leader who built a haircare empire, broke barriers on Wall Street, and helped fuel the fight for civil rights,” Johnson’s family said. “Above all, he was a devoted family man whose example inspired generations and whose legacy of entrepreneurship, community leadership, and philanthropy continues through his descendants today.”
Johnson was born in 1927 in Richton, Mississippi, and later moved to Chicago as a child, where he worked at a young age, shining shoes and bussing tables to help support his family.
“Those early experiences shaped the values that guided him throughout his life: humility, determination, personal responsibility, and the golden rule: treating everyone the way he wished to be treated, with dignity and respect,” his family said.
Johnson is survived by his second wife, Madeline Murphy Rabb, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
