February 28, 2007
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Profile America for the final day of Black History Month. Robert L. Johnson is proof that vision and hard work can lead to success. After earning degrees in history and international affairs, he became vice president of government relations for the National Cable Television Association. Sure there was a market for programming aimed at African-Americans, Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television in 1980 using borrowed money. Now, BET reaches more than 65 million U.S. homes. Johnson, who sold BET, now owns two professional sports franchises in Charlotte, North Carolina. Across the U.S., there are 86 million households with cable television, and more than 9,000 cable television systems. This special Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.