Afro Sheen

January 15, 2025
A pioneering Black entrepreneur recounts a life of invention and innovation. Nearing 100, Johnson looks back on a long life shaped early on by the entrepreneur S.B. Fuller, whom he met in 1944, and who preached a gospel that proclaimed, "God did not intend for you to be poor." Johnson went to work for Fuller, convinced that, as Fuller said, "Anything a White man can do, so can you!" Johnson eventually developed his own product line that Fuller could have taken as competition but didn't: A specialty good in a time when natural hair was out of favor, it straightened the hair of Black men without burning the scalp, as other products did. He entered a partnership that taught him a thing or two about vetting your associates. Upon dissolving it, Johnson steadily built an extensive line of grooming products, always remembering Fuller's example: "The money I made in Chicago, I invested in Indianapolis. The money I made in Indianapolis, I invested in Cleveland. The money I made in Cleveland helped me open Detroit." That line came to include more natural products that became iconic, such as the Afro Sheen of the title, for a time the engine driving an empire that allowed Johnson to underwrite another iconic expression of Black pride, the syndicated TV showSoul Train, which "conveyed contemporary Black youth hair, music, clothing, and culture...organically conveying positive messages." The positive racial messages notwithstanding, Johnson found himself so successful that white businesses crowded into his market, so that, he writes, "according to some sources, by 1988, White manufacturers dominated more than half of the Black haircare market." In this detailed, anecdotal memoir of business, Johnson notes this detail without rancor, closing with a shrug: "As much as it pained me to witness, that's capitalism." A book full of lessons for budding entrepreneurs, wise and empathetic.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from February 1, 2025
Afro Sheen tells the story of a successful, principled businessman's evolution, a history of our country, and the impact of national events on business conditions. The storytelling pulses with energy, ambition, failure, heartbreak, and resilience. Readers will be drawn into the personal and professional aspects of the journey which contain a veritable who's who of Black entertainers and influencers from Afro Sheen's launch in the '50s to its sale in the '90s. Business lessons relayed over several decades of beauty product development and business building will serve entrepreneurs of today in establishing an ethical foundation from which to operate. Nonagenarian Johnson's goal with this book was to inspire; his goal is solidly met as he recounts the evolution of Johnson Products, explores respecting employee contributions with profit-sharing (even when going public), and reflects on requiring early product users to be trained in product application to ensure a satisfactory client experience. Building a business with integrity should never go out of style, and if the guidance gleaned from this realistic, rocky journey is taken to heart, perhaps it never will. Highly recommended for all library business and social science collections.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.