At the age of eight, while attending Doolittle Elementary School, Johnson also started work as a shoe shine boy.

Johnson later attended Wendell Phillips High School but dropped out to work full-time jobs.

[7] In 1944, Johnson took a job working for Samuel B. Fuller, who owned a cosmetics firm, as a production chemist.

[5] Afro-Sheen, one of Johnson's best-known products, was released in the late 1960s, at a time when the "Afro" became a popular hairstyle for African Americans.

In 1964, Johnson founded Independence Bank, and during the 1970s he became the exclusive sponsor behind the nationally syndicated dance show Soul Train.