(Deuteronomy 28:44 Reflection)
“He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.”
—Deuteronomy 28:44
John H. Johnson rose in a generation that proved Black excellence could build institutions even in a closed economy. He created Ebony and Jet when no one would print Black success, and through ownership, he became a lender of vision, culture, and capital. For decades, Black America did not borrow its image from others—it saw itself through its own pages.
The wealth was real. The buildings stood. The magazines circulated worldwide. The family held the headship of the enterprise while Johnson lived and led.
But Scripture reminds us that prosperity without permanence is fragile.
After Johnson’s passing, the power to lend—economically and culturally—slowly shifted. Advertising dollars dried up. Print declined. The structures built in one era were forced to borrow relevance in another. By 2016, Ebony and Jet were sold outside the family. The headquarters changed hands. What was once owned became licensed, then transferred.
The wealth did not vanish in a single moment. It eroded—quietly, respectably, and without scandal. The family retained dignity, memory, and some resources, but not the engines that generated generational dominance.
This is not a story of failure. It is a warning written in history.
Deuteronomy 28:44 does not speak of intelligence or effort—it speaks of position. John H. Johnson reached a position few Black men of his era were allowed to touch. Yet even that height proved temporary when ownership could not outlive the system that opposed it.
The legacy remained.
The wealth did not.
And so the lesson stands:
To build is one victory.
To keep is another.