John Johnson was a true pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement. He understood that it took more than marching, picketing, and boycotting to combat the racism and mindsight of Jim Crow. He understood the power of the media and the media's influence over the portrayal of our people. To dispel the racial stereotypes and often grotesque and crude caricatures of blacks typically depicted in popular American publications, Johnson established his own publishing company and used the mightiest sword of all to resist and reject these negative images while rebuilding and redefining a more positive portrayal of black America— He used the power of the pen... and ink... and photography. As a matter of fact, JET Magazine was one of the first to publish pictures taken at the open-casket funeral of slain Chicagoan teen Emmitt Till who was brutally murdered in 1955 in rural Mississippi. These images shocked the nation and helped to fuel the Civil Rights Movement.