Robert L. Johnson

Johnson was born in 1946 in Hickory, Mississippi, the ninth out of ten children to Edna and Archie Johnson. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father was a farmer. His parents moved the family to Freeport, Illinois, when he was a child. He was an honors student in high school. Johnson graduated from the University of Illinois in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in social studies. While at the University of Illinois, Johnson became a member of the Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He received an master's degree in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1972. ==Career==

George W. Bush sits with Johnson during a meeting to discuss the economy with small business owners and community bankers in 2006 After graduating from Princeton, Johnson found a job in Washington, D.C., which introduced him to the television industry. He served as the public affairs director for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Around the same time he also worked as the director of communications for the Washington, D.C. office of the National Urban League. Johnson worked as a press secretary for Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy. He later became vice president of government relations at the National Cable and Television Association (NCTA). When the network launched in 1980, it only aired for two hours on Friday night. The RLJ Companies is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. By January 2009, Ion Media had another subchannel network, Urban TV, in the works with him targeted to black Americans. Axiom Bank N.A. Maitland, Florida, was founded by Robert Johnson, who also founded the Black Entertainment Network (BET). As of 2013, Johnson was a member of the board of directors for RLJ Lodging Trust, RLJ Entertainment, Inc., KB Home, Lowe's Companies, Inc., Strayer Education, Think Finance, Inc., NBA Board of Governors, The Business Council, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2010, Johnson sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats to Michael Jordan. In 2016, Johnson finalized a partnership agreement with AMC Networks through his RLJ Company after launching his own video on demand streaming service Urban Movie Channel in 2014. According to the agreement, AMC will use its programming and distribution clout to benefit Acorn and UMC. Additionally, the RLJ-AMC partnership will allow for greater investment in content from black American creatives, Johnson emphasized. The agreement called for AMC to provide RLJ with a $60 million loan on a seven-year term and $5 million on a one-year term. AMC has received warrants to purchase at least 20 million shares or the equivalent of 50.1% of the company. The time frame for exercising those warrants is open-ended, AMC said. ==Philanthropy==

In 2011, Johnson worked with Morgan Freeman to raise funds for hurricane preparedness in the Bahamas. Johnson released a neckwear line in coordination with PVH and The Ella Rose Collection, the RLJ Ella Rose Africa Tie Collection, in 2012 to benefit the charitable organization Malaria No More. In 2007, Johnson created the Liberia Enterprise Development Fund with a $30 million investment. The fund provides credit for Liberian entrepreneurs. ==Political activity==

Role in 2008 election During the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Johnson was a prominent surrogate for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. During the campaign, he was a "HillRaiser", a term for a leading fundraiser for Clinton's campaign. Following her defeat in the primary, Johnson wrote to members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), where he urged representatives to lobby Obama to select Clinton as his running mate. January 2008 Obama remarks controversy In January 2008, Johnson attracted controversy over remarks made about Barack Obama, Clinton's primary rival, which were interpreted as a criticism of Obama's admitted use of drugs (marijuana and cocaine) in his youth: The Clinton campaign denied that Johnson was referring to Obama's past drug use, stating that his comments were referring to Obama's work as a community organizer. Critics accused Johnson of hypocrisy, given that BET has prominently featured artists that glorify drug use and distribution. On January 17, 2008, Johnson sent Obama the following apology: On April 14, 2008, Johnson made comments to the effect that Obama would not be the Democratic Party's leading candidate if he were not black, in defense of a similar comment made by Geraldine Ferraro. He also went on to say "I make a joke about Obama doing drugs [and it's] 'Oh my God, a black man tearing down another black man.'" Political activity since 2016 on December 12, 2018 Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, Johnson met with the then-president-elect for a meeting at Trump International Golf Club. Johnson stated in a CNBC interview that he had known Trump personally for years, and urged Black Americans to give Trump a chance. Johnson argued that Black voters should not be wedded to either party in the American two-party system, stating that overwhelming Black support for the Democratic Party means "we are locked into one party which undoubtedly limits and dilutes our voting power". In 2019, Johnson praised Trump's economic policies, stating that he "[gives] the president a lot of credit for moving the economy in a positive direction that’s benefiting a large amount of Americans". He argued that tax cuts implemented under Trump helped stimulate the economy and inspire confidence among businesspeople. He stated that the Democratic Party moved too far to the left, and indicated he did not have a "particular candidate" he supported in the 2020 Democratic primary. In September 2020, during the 2020 general election, Johnson made comments that were interpreted as him indicating a preference for Trump's reelection candidacy over Joe Biden's campaign. However, CNBC noted that "Johnson, when pressed, refused to outright endorse Trump". During the interview, Johnson stated that "[w]here I come out as a businessman, I will take the devil I know over the devil I don't know anytime of the week." ==Personal life==

Johnson married Sheila Johnson in 1969. Johnson began dating Lauren Wooden, who is 33 years his junior, in 2010. As of 2016, Wooden was pursuing an international business-management doctorate in Paris. They married in May 2016; Greg Mathis officiated, and divorced in 2020. ==See also==