That’s what it’s all about
Excellent article. Thanks. Grooming and preparing future generations to succeed.
They passed away in 2023.
In March
In December
Black Enterprise company of the year 1989 article
The South Side’s 87th Street, for instance, was a stronghold of Black businesses, particularly during the 1980s.
During its heyday, there was Soft Sheen Products, a $100 million-a-year manufacturer of Black hair care products near 87th and Dobson. The company’s Care Free Curl product line turned Soft Sheen into a $55 million a year business by 1982. And its owners, Ed and Bettiann Gardner, proved to be political powerhouses, funding campaigns and voter registration drives. Meanwhile, at 87th and Cottage Grove, there was Black-owned Seaway National Bank, which, at its height, boasted more than $400 million in assets. Among its first depositors when it opened in 1965 was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, headed by Martin Luther King Jr.
Then there was Johnson Products, which made Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen hair care products from its factory at 87th and Lafayette. Owned by George E. Johnson, Sr., the company was a main sponsor for “Soul Train,” helping the program rapidly grow from a local TV show here to a nationally syndicated cultural icon in the ’70s. Filling in the gaps between these businesses were Black-owned clothing stores, insurance companies, restaurants, gas stations and more.
The view along S. Cottage Grove Avenue and 64th Street, a couple miles away from Independence Bank, in Dec. 1987. | Library of Congress
Most are gone now. Soft Sheen’s plant is now a self-storage facility. And while the company is still in businesses, it’s no longer based on 87th Street, or even Chicago. It’s now owned by French cosmetics giant L’Oreal.
This network of Black-owned businesses was responsible for the rise of Black political power in Chicago, laying out the cash that funded political campaigns, most notably Harold Washington’s successful 1983 bid to become Chicago’s first Black mayor.
Great story. Sad Black Chicago's business empires are declining. Hopefully us down South can take overNever met any of the Gardners but they lived a few houses down from my great grandparents in the South Side neighborhood of West Chesterfield. My gg-parents had passed in the early 00's but the Gardners had been in the same house up into their deaths this year. Had 24/7 security posted up outside as the neighborhood wasn't what it used to be.
Soft Sheen headquarters were right around the corner on 87th St, on the same street as three black owned banks - Independence Bank/Shorebank (Founded by Alvin Boutte), Seaway Bank, and Illinois Service Federal, Johnson Products (Ultra Sheen, Afro Sheen), and a multitude of other black businesses. Harold Washington lived in the area. The Chatham neighborhood was really the crown jewel of black Chicago business.
Unfortunately, it's all gone.
And all the business people of Gardners generation are all dead.
With the children not carrying on the legacy.
And we ain't ever getting that back.
SoftSheen will always be special to my generation of black men in Chicago for giving us....
Jason Black did a broadcast on this topic about a year ago. They are getting gentrified hard.Great story. Sad Black Chicago's business empires are declining. Hopefully us down South can take over
Also the Luster's pink oil, another Chitown classic, was my go to.
I actually have some Chinese friends who tell me the same is happening now to the old school (not recent but several generations old) Chinese-American family businesses in the old Chinatowns etc. Kids have no interest.
The gold container, huh? Oh, an aristocrat.SoftSheen will always be special to my generation of black men in Chicago for giving us....
