Erika Barris

And eventually, George writes a check for it to become a national program.

And part of the deal is that ads for Afrosheen and Ultrasheen are going to be on every show.

So Johnson Products became Soul Train's sponsor.

In 1971, Johnson Products Company made its debut as the first Black-owned company listed on the American Stock Exchange.

Did that feel like a big deal?

Ooh, fancy.

Did it feel like that was the moment you had made it?

It wasn't just the buttering.

The stock was doing really well.

George had never paid himself an actual salary before going public.

And now, for the first time, he had real money in his pocket.

He bought a boat, purchased property, a nice house with a pool.

He took up tennis and skiing.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, things were good.

That kid who had sold balls of aluminum in the alley for pennies was big time.

His Black customers had never identified more with his products, and his company was on Wall Street.

What that meant was way more money, but way less control.

Did you ever start regretting it?

Up until going public, George and Joan Johnson had built their company by giving their customers what they wanted.