GEORGE ELLIS JOHNSON

George Johnson displayed the entrepreneurial spirit that would lead to his success at an early age. While in his early twenties, Johnson parlayed a small loan into a multi-million dollar cosmetics business, beginning the Johnson Products Company in 1954 with $500. In 1971, Johnson Products became the first African American-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange. That same year Johnson became the first African American to be elected a director of the board of Commonwealth Edison. Johnson has dedicated himself to cultural and civic organizations, including Junior Achievement of Chicago, the Chicago Urban League, the Lyric Opera, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Operation PUSH. Ebony magazine honored Johnson in 1978 with its American Black Achievement Award, and in 1979 Johnson received the public service award of the Harvard Club for the work of the George E. Johnson Foundation and the George E. Johnson Educational Fund.

MAJORIE STEWART JOYNER

Marjorie Stewart Joyner began studying cosmetology as a teenager. She quickly became associated with Madame C. J. Walker and went on to become an inventor and educator in black beauty culture. In 1926, she invented the first permanent hair-waving machine and became one of the first black women to receive a patent. Joyner also worked closely with Mary McLeod Bethune, raising funds for black colleges. For over 50 years, she chaired the Bud Billiken Parade, the largest African American parade in the United States. She is often called the "Grand Dame of Black Beauty Culture" and the "Godmother of Bethune-Cookman College."