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Acts of Altruism | Alumni Interview | Class Profiles

Alumni Interview — November/December 2004

By Amy F. Reiter

Sheila Johnson was honored last December a Carnegie Hall in New York for her work in the arts.

Inspiration struck Sheila Crump Johnson '70 FAA during orchestra class. It wasn't the crashing cymbals, though they were certainly loud. It wasn't the horns, though they bellowed assuredly. No, the high school sophomore violinist was inspired by an instrument more powerful and with greater impact than any of the others: her teacher, Susan Starrett '62 FAA.

"She inspired me like you wouldn't believe. There was something about her that made me want to practice ... to be the best I could be," Johnson said of Starrett during a telephone conversation in late September. "She, to me, was the prototype of what a teacher, an educator, a mentor, a friend and just a citizen, and just a female [should be]—extraordinary."

Forty years later, that influence still guides Johnson. The Maywood native has become a woman of single-minded vision, determination and energy. And just as Starrett bettered Johnson's world through teaching her the art of music, so Johnson wants to better the world around her. America's first black female billionaire, Johnson provides access to arts education, promotes diversity and cultural awareness and helps youth on a worldwide scale. She donates not only from the fortune she possesses but also from her time and energy.

And she can still ply a tuneful performance from her violin.

For Johnson, the ability to juggle work, philanthropy and parenting her two children — and her need to do all three superlatively — is directly attributable to knowledge learned in that orchestra class: that goals can be accomplished through dedication and discipline.

"There are so many people or forces on the outside that try to take you off the path in which you really focus," Johnson said. "The way I value myself and I run my company and put myself in front of my employees as a role model is the way philanthropically I want to run my foundation and the way I want to reach out to the community."

She's also decided that part of her purpose on Earth is to help others learn the same, and she is motivated to educate, inspire and protect youth because of her own experiences as a child, teacher and parent. Johnson sees the hazards children face and feels a need to get involved. "I think it's very, very important that we as adults and as good citizens ... start taking a stronger stand on protecting our children because they're the fabric of our society, the backbone of our society," she said.

Starrett has proudly watched what her former student has become. "[Johnson] realizes that she has been terribly blessed with talent, and she is blessed with a good head ¸ and absolutely she is blessed with resources that enable her to look for an opportunity to do good," Starrett said. "Once she has a goal, nothing deters her."

Before Johnson could reach her goal to educate, she had to be educated herself.

To become an accomplished violinist and consummate teacher, Johnson took master classes at the University of Illinois. Starrett "introduced me to the campus," Johnson said. "I think her agenda in the back of her mind was to make sure I attended the University of Illinois."

Once on campus, Johnson was busy in class and out of it. In addition to her music education courseload, she became a cheerleader and continued to take part in musical performances. She also met and married Robert Johnson '68 LAS.

Sheila Johnson credits her time at the University with preparing her for life to come. "You have your ups and downs, and then you go, 'Gosh, I wish I could go somewhere else to school. It's feeling a bit too tough,' or 'They're being a little bit unfair,' but you know, all and all, you stick it out. And in the end, you come out the winner," she said. "I think I had the best education in the world."

Getting an education in turn helped her give one. After graduating, Johnson moved to the East Coast to begin her career teaching music. Whether in one-on-one lessons or orchestras with scores of young performers, Johnson made it her goal to reach every one of her students, to hold them to a high standard and to hold herself to an even higher one.

"I had to not just do my job but give to the students personally—myself and my knowledge and my feelings about things and really not just be a teacher but be a mentor also," Johnson said. "Character grows. So it's important that I try to serve as a role model to them because it's important that they're able to look at me just like I looked at Susan. Because they're going to take their cues from me."

By 1980, not only students would be taking cues from Johnson.

That year, the Johnsons created Black Entertainment Television, the first station ever geared toward an African-American audience. At BET, Johnson felt, her social responsibility toward her audience was as important as it had been in the classroom.

"I think BET was definitely a platform for the African-American community to be able to communicate issues that were positive in the African-American community and also could give ... a different viewpoint of critical issues that were going on historically," she said.

Johnson took that mission to younger viewers as well. She created a weekly show where teenagers talked about issues facing their generation. Called "Teen Summit," the program candidly tackled topics rarely presented on television at that time, such as teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, dating and drug use. The show "really dealt with the emotional issues of teens, where teens could talk with their own peer level," Johnson said.

Those frank discussions got lots of people talking — and watching. "It was overwhelming. It was absolutely overwhelming," Johnson said of the show's high viewership. In this case, high ratings translated to a broader impact, which she said was reflected in lower rates of teen pregnancy, especially in the African-American population.

Under Johnson's direction, BET as a corporation also took part in serving the local Washington, D.C., community and the larger world with donations and service outside of its programming.

"It's something a corporation needs to do, is give back to the community, especially in a community that you're based in," she said. "It's not only politically important but emotionally healthy for the corporation to do that. And it just builds a lot of good will."

Good will and good ratings helped when the Johnsons sold BET Holdings for $2.3 billion in stock in 2000, splitting the $1.5 billion proceeds between them. Two years later, they divorced.

For Johnson, that great wealth meant not only financial freedom but also a greater responsibility — and a greater desire — to serve, give back and improve situations in the world around her.

With that freedom, Johnson embarked on creating another business. Nestled in the green hills of Middleburg, Va., on land she bought at the request of local environmental activists, Johnson's Salamander Inn & Spa, food market and stables are all part of what she calls "an affordable luxury lifestyle company." It's a business she's involved in right down to designing its linens.

Photo courtesy of Sheila C. Johnson