[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 68 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO THE CAREER OF JOHN H. JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and honor the life 
of John H. Johnson. Born in 1918 in Arkansas City, Arkansas, Mr. 
Johnson has set an example for us all by being both an entrepreneur and 
a philanthropist. I would like to recognize Mr. Johnson's contributions 
to Arkansas and our Nation.
  Mr. Johnson is the founder, publisher, and chairman of Johnson 
Publishing Company, the world's largest African-American owned 
publishing Company. He is also the publisher of Ebony and Jet 
Magazines. Ebony alone has a circulation of 1.7 million people and 
reaches 11 million readers monthly.
  In 1982, Mr. Johnson was the first African American to be named on 
Forbes' list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Mr. Johnson's long list 
of awards and achievements include: the Black Journalists' Lifetime 
Achievement Award in 1987, the Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones 
Entrepreneurial Excellence Award in 1993, the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom in 1996--the highest honor this nation gives to a citizen, the 
Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Award in 2001, The Vanguard Award in 
2002, and The Trumpet Award in 2002.
  Arkansas City and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff have 
worked together to create the John H. Johnson Cultural and Education 
Museum. On Saturday, May 21st this museum will be dedicated in Desha 
County, Arkansas. This museum will capture Mr. Johnson's life by 
restoring his boyhood home and will include period memorabilia, printed 
material, and video chronicles about Mr. Johnson's life.
  In addition to the museum, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 
is in the planning stages of opening a learning center in Arkansas City 
and an academic complex at the University of Arkansas of Pine Bluff. 
These institutions will undoubtedly become a tremendous asset and 
staple of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
  I am honored to recognize Mr. Johnson, and am delighted that the John 
H. Johnson Cultural Education Museum will be open for Arkansans to see 
firsthand Mr. Johnson's lifetime of work and contributions to our 
nation. His dedication, entrepreneurial spirit, and legacy will 
continue in Arkansas for the years and decades ahead.

                          ____________________