[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING GEORGE E. JOHNSON

  (Mr. JACKSON of Illinois asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, there are some people who build 
companies, and there are others who build confidence. George E. Johnson 
did both.
  He understood something this Nation too often refused to see--that 
Black people did not need permission to be beautiful, brilliant, or 
prosperous. We simply needed the opportunity to define ourselves.
  Through Afro Sheen, he did more than create a successful business. He 
challenged a culture that had spent centuries teaching Black men and 
women to doubt the beauty that they saw in the mirror.
  Every bottle that left his factory carried more than a product. It 
carried a declaration that Black enterprise could flourish and that 
Black excellence could employ thousands, inspire generations, and 
transform neighborhoods. His success was not measured merely in 
dollars, but in dignity. He proved that ownership is more than 
economics. It is self-determination.
  George Johnson, a beloved family friend, invested not only in hair 
care, but in human care. He invested in communities, education, 
churches, and young dreamers who needed someone to believe that 
greatness could look like them.
  He understood that wealth finds its highest purpose when it creates 
opportunities for others. His legacy reminds us that freedom is 
incomplete if it cannot produce opportunity. It reminds us that 
equality is unfinished if it cannot nurture enterprise, and justice 
remains unfinished if the gifts of a people are ignored.
  Today, we honor not simply a businessman but a visionary who helped 
America become more fully itself by insisting that Black genius 
belonged not on the margins of its history but at its very center core.
  Mr. Speaker, may we remember George E. Johnson not only for what he 
sold but for what he restored: confidence, possibility, and pride.
  May his life continue to remind every child who dares to dream that 
the greatest investment one can ever make is in the limitless potential 
of one's own people.
  To a beloved friend and an outstanding American, I love you, and I 
honor you, the honorable George E. Johnson.

                          ____________________