Quotes from Linda Johnson Rice

We've been here so long. The history and richness runs so deep within the community. We own this. It's personal. It's very personal.

I'm an outgoing person. Once my parents passed away, it was just my daughter and myself. So, really, my friends are my family.

They couldn't have a little kid occupying an important spot on the front row, so I sat in the back where all the models changed clothes. I remember vividly the rustling and the rush of the fabrics of the clothes and the swoosh of textures and color as they went by. I was in the back, but I had a front-row seat, in my opinion.

I think the most challenging aspect from my father's perspective was probably getting advertising. He really did pattern 'Ebony' after 'Look' and 'Life' magazines.

More black women are in the professional-managerial field, and they don't want to look like the guys sitting next to them in pinstriped suits.

My playground was our company. That's really where I grew up.

We're the curator for the African-American experience for the past, present and future. That's my job.

I think I'm curious by nature because I always want to learn, and I think you can learn from so many things around you on an everyday basis.

You have to stay current to compete.

My father is the CEO, and there's no question he is my boss. But we work very much in tandem.

I went to USC in L.A. Part of me is a real West Coast kid. My parents had a house in Palm Springs, which I now have. I spend a lot of time there.

There was never a push for us to become more practical... Fantasy is what our audience has come to expect.

My family has always made Chicago our home, and I care deeply about the values our company has espoused for decades.

I am delighted to resume the leadership of both companies.

The stories of accomplishments, achievements, challenges, problems, issues, concerns pass down through history, and those are things you take with you in your personal life wherever you go.

There's a sense of authenticity that comes with 'Ebony.' There are very few national media outlets that are majority-African-American owned and really speak to our community with a sense of pride, authority, and ownership. That's what we do.

A black entrepreneur has to be equally if not more prepared than a white to get his fair share of loan money.

You should never walk out of the house and not feel good about you.

I think you will find that a lot of young African-Americans are really searching for, 'Who am I?' and 'Where did I come from?' and 'What is my past?'

We're not trying to push the real provocative edge.

Johnson Publishing Co. has always had a first-class image. And until the day I die, I want to keep that image.

Johnson Publishing has been built on filling a need for African-Americans. This is what's happening with E Style. There was nothing that addressed the specific needs of African-American women.

We understand our audience. We write to the things that concern our audience. At one point, it was civil rights. You know, during the '50s and '60s, we were at the forefront.

The key is to service a market that has not been serviced to its full potential.