 June 1948 cover featuringJackie Robinson | |
| Former editors |
|
|---|---|
| Categories | Lifestyle magazine |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Total circulation | 1,333,421[1] (2017) |
| Founder | John H. Johnson |
| First issue | November 1, 1945; 80 years ago (1945-11-01)[2] |
| Company | Ebony Media Operations, LLC (2016–present) Johnson Publishing Company (1945–2016) |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. (2020–present) Los Angeles, California, U.S.[3] (2017–2020) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (1945–2017) |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0012-9011 |
| OCLC | 1567306 |
Ebony is a monthly African American magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment.[4] Its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, and politics.[5][6]
Ebony magazine was founded in Chicago in 1945 byJohn H. Johnson, for hisJohnson Publishing Company. He sought to address African-American issues, personalities and interests in a positive and self-affirming manner.[7] Its cover photography typically showcases African-American public figures, including entertainers and politicians, such asDorothy Dandridge,Lena Horne,Diana Ross,Michael Jackson, formerU.S. senatorCarol Moseley Braun ofIllinois, U.S. first ladyMichelle Obama,Beyoncé,Tyrese Gibson, andTyler Perry. Each year,Ebony selects the "100 Most Influential Blacks in America".[8]
After 71 years, in June 2016, Johnson Publishing sold bothEbony andJet, another Johnson publication, to a private equity firm called Clear View Group. The new publisher is known asEbony Media Corporation.[9][10] After the publication went bankrupt in July 2020, it was purchased for $14 million byJunior Bridgeman in December 2020.
Ebony was founded by John H. Johnson in 1945. The magazine was named by Johnson's wife, Eunice Walker Johnson, thinking of the dark wood.[11] The magazine was patterned on the format ofLife magazine.[12]Ebony published its first issue on November 1, 1945, with an initial press run of 25,000 copies that sold out completely.[13]Ebony's earlier content focused on African-American sports and entertainment figures, but eventually began including black achievers and celebrities of many different professions.[14]
Editors stated in the first issue:
We like to look at the zesty side of life. Sure, you can get all hot and bothered about the race question (and don't think we don't), but not enough is said about all the swell things we Negroes can do and will accomplish. Ebony will try to mirror the happier side of Negro life – the positive, everyday achievements from Harlem to Hollywood. But when we talk about race as the No. 1 problem of America, we'll talk turkey.[15]
During the 1960s, the magazine increasingly covered thecivil rights movement. Articles were published about political events happening all over the U.S. where activists protested racial violence and advocated for increasing social mobility for African Americans across the diaspora. Also published was content about theBlack Power movement. In 1965, executive editorLerone Bennett Jr. wrote a recurring column entitled "Black Power", which featured an in-depth profile ofStokely Carmichael in 1966.[16]Ebony also commemorated historical events that contributed to black citizenship and freedom such as the September 1963 issue that honored the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.[17]
Ebony's design and content began to shift in the late–1960s and early–1970s. A new level of competition for subscribers and readers began during the 1970s. Due to the emergence of new African-American oriented magazines such asEssence,Ebony began to cover more political activism and achievements in the 1970s. The magazine's February 1971 cover featured 13 black congressmen and women.Ebony highlighted the black professionals serving inJimmy Carter's administration in the March 1977 issue.[18]
The magazine reached unprecedented levels of popularity, with marketers estimating thatEbony reached more than 40% of the African-American adults in the United States during the 1980s, a feat unmatched by any other general–interest magazine at the time.[19] Beginning in the mid-1970s, advertisers created customized ads for the magazine which featured African-American models using their products.[20] In 1985,Ebony Man, a monthly men's magazine was created, printing the first issue in September 1985.[6] ByEbony's 40th anniversary in November 1985, it had a circulation of 1.7 million.[15]
In December 2008,Google announced that it was scanning back issues forGoogle Book Search. As of that date, all issues from November 1959 to December 2008 were made available for free.[21]
In 2010, theJohnson Publishing Company sold its historic building at 820 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago'sSouth Loop toColumbia College Chicago. The same year,Ebony was redesigned to update its longtime brand. In the past, the magazine was persistently upbeat, much like its postwar contemporaryLife magazine. However, in the 21st century,Ebony featured more controversial content.
The November 2011 cover featured a pregnantNia Long, reminiscent of the iconic image of actressDemi Moore portrayed naked while pregnant on a major magazine cover two decades before. Some ofEbony′s more conservative readers objected to the cover, stating it was inappropriate to feature an unwed, pregnant woman on the cover. The cover made national headlines inUS Weekly and in a five-minute segment onCNN. More recent issues questioned whether President Obama was still right for black America and whetherbiracial Americans need more acknowledgment in today's society.
In May 2016, Johnson Publishing, the family business that foundedEbony andJet, sold both publications to Texas-based private equity firm CVG Group for an undisclosed price.[22] Under CVG's ownership,Ebony struggled to find its footing, culminating in its 2017 move to lay off a third of its staff and move editorial operations toLos Angeles.[22]
In 2018,Ebony's publishing schedule was changed from being published monthly to a double issue published once each month.
On May 24, 2019, CVG suspended the print edition of the magazine, with the Spring 2019 issue the last to be printed.[23] Johnson Publishing filed for bankruptcy protections that same year.[24]
In December 2020,Milwaukee Bucks alum and Black businessmanJunior Bridgeman boughtEbony andJet for $14 million from CVG.[24] Under Bridgeman, the publication stated its intention to pivot toward themes of financial literacy and building Black wealth.[24]
In March 2021, the magazine relaunched in a digital format.[25][26]
In June 2024, it returned to Chicago for itsJuneteenth celebration at Soho House.[27]
One of the most famous aspects of the magazine was its list of "100 Most Influential Blacks". This list—which began in 1963, took a hiatus until 1971, and has continued on ever since—lists those who have made the greatest impact in the African-American community during the year. Most of those listed were well-educated, with 55 percent having completed a graduate degree.[28] However, some researchers have noted that black scholars, teachers, and higher-education administrators are rarely, if ever, included on the list.[29][30] The list exclusively focuses on entertainment figures, politicians, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs.[31]
The May 2001 "100+ Most Influential Black Americans" issue did not include a number of influential African Americans such asThomas Sowell,Shelby Steele,Armstrong Williams,Walter Williams and, most notably, Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas.The Economist described the exclusion of Justice Thomas from the list as spiteful.[32]
In 2018, the magazine published a series highlighting Black families from across the United States with the intention of showcasing Black family dynamics.[33]
In August 2008, the magazine had published a special eight-cover edition featuring the "25 Coolest Brothers of All Time". The lineup featured popular figures likeJay-Z,Barack Obama,Prince,Samuel L. Jackson,Denzel Washington,Marvin Gaye,Muhammad Ali andBilly Dee Williams.[34]
In November 2010, the magazine featured a special 65th-anniversary edition cover featuringTaraji P. Henson,Samuel L. Jackson,Usher andMary J. Blige. The issue included eight cover recreations from historic and iconic previous covers ofEbony.Blair Underwood posed inside, as didOmar Epps andJurnee Smollett.National Public Radio marked this anniversary edition as the beginning of redesign ofEbony. Former White House social secretaryDesiree Rogers, of the Obama administration, had become the chief executive officer of the magazine.[35]
In 2016, Johnson Publishing Company sold the magazine along withJet to private equity firm Clear View Group.[36][37][38] In May 2017, the editorial staff for the magazine moved from Chicago to Los Angeles along with the editorial staff forJet magazine.[39] In December 2020, the magazine and its sister publicationJet[40] were purchased for $14 million by Junior Bridgeman.[41]
In July 2019, three months after Johnson Publishing Company filed for Chapter 7Bankruptcy liquidation, it sold its historic photo archives including the prints and negatives to a consortium of foundations to be made available to the public.[42][43] After suspending the print edition of the magazine in May 2019, Clear View Group and Ebony Media Operations laid off the majority of the editing staff in June 2019.[44][45]
In 2017, 50 freelance writers created a social media campaign #EbonyOwes due to not being paid by the magazine's current owner, Clear View Group. In response to the campaign, Clear View Group made an effort to pay 11 of the 50 writers $18,000, ending with only three being paid in full. In late 2017, the remaining writers with the help of TheNational Writers Union filed suit against Clear View Group and Ebony Media Operations.[23]
The remaining writers settled their lawsuit with the company in February 2018. The magazine owners were ordered to pay $80,000.[46] Ebony Media Operations, Clear View Group and the National Writers Union agreed that all unpaid invoices would be paid over four quarterly installments by the end of 2018.[46] In October 2018, the magazine's owner missed its third quarter payment and another lawsuit was filed in November 2018. Clear View Group made the final payment to the writers in December 2018.[23]
