Besides Black newspapers in cities across the nation, few media outlets dedicated resources to cover events and people connected to African American lifestyle and news as Ebony and Jet magazines.
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Ebony began publishing regularly just after the end of World War II while the smaller-sized Jet began in 1951 when Black Americans in many regions still lived under racial segregation.
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-H-Johnson
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/media/10johnson.html
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John H. Johnson, in full John Harold Johnson, (born January 19, 1918, Arkansas City, Arkansas, U.S.—died August 8, 2005, Chicago, Illinois), magazine and book publisher, the first African American to attain major success in those fields. Johnson and his family settled in Chicago after visiting that city during the 1933 World’s Fair. He later became an honour student at Du Sable High School in Chicago, where he was managing editor of the school paper and business manager of the yearbook. Those experiences influenced his choice of journalism as a career. While studying at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University,
Ebony and Jet captured the environment that Black Americans were forced to endure over the years. In their 4 million images, the magazines chronicled the civil rights movement and the lives of prominent figures such as Miles Davis, Muhammad Ali, Nina Simone, and Coretta Scott King at her husband’s funeral.
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https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/ebony-magazine/
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Ebony, a pictorial news magazine published by Chicago, Illinois-based Johnson Publishing Company, first appeared in November 1945. Created by John H. Johnson, who modeled his publication after Life magazine, Ebony celebrated African American life and culture by depicting the achievements of black Americans. It honored … Read MoreEbony Magazine
Jet and Ebony remained dear to the hearts of many Black Americans because their images connected to key moments in American history—like the 1955 groundbreaking coverage of Emmett Till’s murder.
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In the 1970s and 1980s, Ebony and Jet were found in every Black American home. In addition to Black celebrities and elites, Ebony and Jet revealed everyday black life — from children playing in city parks to elders praying at rural churches. A particular favorite was Jet’s “The Beauty of the Week’.”
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In April 2019, Chicago-based Johnson Publishing, the owner of the photo archives and former publisher of the magazines, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. This set off a wave of fear that the collection would be separated and purchased by private collectors, thereby walled off from the public.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebony-and-jet-magazine-photo-archive/
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The images represent 70 years of American history, immortalized on glossy paper
To the relief of many, the Ford, McArthur, and Mellon Foundations as well as The Getty Trust bought the archive for $30 million as part of an auction to pay off creditors of Johnson Publishing Company. The foundations donated the 4 million prints and negatives to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and the Getty Research Institute.
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The Ebony and Jet photo archive chronicled American history. The sale of their archive generated relief among some who worried the historic images might have been lost. But it also caused many to mourn that the images won’t fully be in the hands of a Black American-owned entity. This is because for more than half a century, Ebony and Jet stood as the epitome of a Black-owned business.
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Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco
Nathaniel D. Porter
MiriamLW