How Black hair care grew Black power
Planet Money
- Published
- January 7, 2026
- Duration
- 29:16
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Jun 7, 2026
Discusses The Afro is one of the most iconic hairstyles of the last century. And one of its main ingredients w…
Summary
The Afro is one of the most iconic hairstyles of the last century. And one of its main ingredients was a hair product – Afro Sheen. But Afro Sheen did so much more than make Black afros shine. It was the money behind the television show Soul Train, it helped fuel the civil rights movement – all because of an entrepreneur named George Johnson. For decades,…
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Show notes
The Afro is one of the most iconic hairstyles of the last century. And one of its main ingredients was a hair product – Afro Sheen. But Afro Sheen did so much more than make Black afros shine. It was the money behind the television show Soul Train, it helped fuel the civil rights movement – all because of an entrepreneur named George Johnson. For decades, Joan and George Johnson owned and ran Johnson Products Company, a Black hair care company out of Chicago. Their intimate understanding of what