Eunice Walker Johnson (April 4, 1916 – January 3, 2010) was an American businesswoman. Johnson was the wife of publisher

John H. Johnson John Harold Johnson (January 19, 1918 – August 8, 2005) was an American businessman and publisher. Johnson was the founder in 1942 of the Johnson Publishing Company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson's company, with its ''Ebony' ...

and an executive at

Johnson Publishing Company Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by African-American businessman John H. Johnson. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was privately held company, privately held and run ...

. Johnson was the founder and director of the ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

Fashion Fair Fashion Fair is a medium-sized, enclosed shopping mall in Fresno, California, anchored by two Macy's stores, JCPenney, and Forever 21. Originally opened in 1970, Fashion Fair was expanded in 1983 (to accommodate Macy's and a new food court) and in ...

, which began in 1958 as a hospital fundraiser and became an annual worldwide fashion tour that highlighted fashion for African-American women, running until a year before her death.

Early life and education

Eunice Walker was born on April 4, 1916, in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, to Nathaniel Walker, a physician, and Ethel Walker (née McAlpine), a high school principal. She was one of four children. She graduated with a degree in sociology from

Talladega College Talladega College is a private historically black college in Talladega, Alabama. It is Alabama's oldest private historically black college and offers 17 degree programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Hi ...

in 1938. During college, Johnson joined Delta Sigma Theta. Johnson met her future husband, John H. Johnson, in 1940 while she was attending

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, Catholic univers ...

and was married after she earned her master's degree the following year.Hevesi, Dennis
"Eunice Johnson Dies at 93; Gave Ebony Its Name"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 9, 2010. Accessed January 9, 2010.

Career

Johnson Publishing Company

Together with her husband, she established ''

The Negro Digest The ''Negro Digest'', later renamed ''Black World'', was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, ''Negro Digest'' was first published locally in Chicago, Illin ...

'' in 1942, a magazine styled after ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his w ...

''. The rapid growth of their first publication encouraged them to create ''

'', a monthly designed to emulate ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' and its style of boldly-photographed front covers. Johnson was the one who suggested that the magazine be named for the dark wood. By the time of her death, ''Ebony'' reached a readership of 1.25 million, and its weekly companion ''

Jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

'' reached a circulation of 900,000. She was a great influence to a lot of African Americans.

Ebony Fashion Fair & Cosmetics

Johnson began the ''Ebony'' Fashion Tour (which later became known as Ebony Fashion Fair) as a fundraiser in 1958 for a hospital in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

January 3, 2010, at the age of 93 at her home in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. She was buried with her husband in a private family mausoleum at

Oak Woods Cemetery Oak Woods Cemetery is a large lawn cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 1035 E. 67th Street, in the Greater Grand Crossing area of Chicago's South Side. Established on February 12, 1853, it covers . Oak Woods is the final resting place of ...

, in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. She was survived by her daughter Linda Johnson-Rice, chairwoman and chief executive of Johnson Publishing, as well as by a granddaughter. Her son, John H. Johnson Jr., died in December 1981 after a long battle with an illness related to

sickle cell Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red blo ...

at age 25. In 2010, the Noble Network of Charter Schools and

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, third ...

opened Johnson College Prep High School, a public charter high school in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, in honor of Johnson and her husband John H. Johnson.History & Campus Partnerships.
/ref>

References

External links

*
Find A Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Eunice Walker 1916 births 2010 deaths African-American journalists American magazine publishers (people) Deaths from kidney failure Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Selma, Alabama Businesspeople from Alabama Businesspeople from Chicago African-American businesspeople Eunice Walker Journalists from Alabama 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women