In Recognition of Eunice W. Johnson

IN RECOGNITION OF EUNICE W. JOHNSON -- (Extensions of Remarks - April 27, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. MIKE ROGERS
OF ALABAMA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2004

Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Eunice W. Johnson, a nationally known business leader and humanitarian. On May 2, 2004, she will address the 129th Commencement Exercises at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama.

Eunice Johnson is a graduate of Talladega College with a B.A. degree in sociology and a minor in art. She grew up in Selma, Alabama, where her father, Dr. Nathaniel Walker, was a physician, and her mother, Mrs. Ethel Walker, was the principal of the high school and taught education and art at the college level at Selma University. Following graduation from Talladega College, Eunice Johnson earned her Master's degree in social work from Loyola University in Chicago. She also studied journalism at Northwestern University and interior decorating at the Ray School of Design.

Mrs. Johnson is the secretary-treasurer of Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., which was founded by her husband, John H. Johnson, in 1942. Johnson Publishing Company publishes Ebony and Jet magazines and is the largest Black-owned publishing company in the world. Since 1961, she has been producer and director of Ebony Fashion Fair, the world's largest traveling fashion show, which has donated over $49 million to the United Negro College Fund and other African-American charities. Out of her involvement in Ebony Fashion Fair, Mrs. Johnson created Fashion Fair Cosmetics, which is a world leader in cosmetics and skin care for women of color.

Eunice Johnson has been an active member of many community organizations in the Chicago area where she lives. She has received the Outstanding Black College University Alumnus Award from the Alabama A&M University Alumni Association and the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Talladega College and Shaw University. She is a Golden Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta and a member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

I am proud to recognize one of the most distinguished and successful alumni of Talladega College, Eunice W. Johnson, as she addresses the graduating class of 2004, and appreciate the House's attention to this important matter today.

END