Sixty six years ago, publisher John H. Johnson, launched the Ebony Magazine, a monthly lifestyle publication that focused on issues and stars of particular importance to the black community. Everyone from “Hollywood to Harlem” as the magazine toted. The aim of the magazine was to portray a generally positive, uplifting message about accomplishments in the black community. Check out how the magazine has evolved over the past six decades.
November, 1945 You may find it hard to believe but the first issue of Ebony Magazine didn’t have a smiling star splashed across the cover. Instead the magazine sought to draw attention to the issue of race relations by featuring seven boys, six of them white on the cover of the November issue. This first issue, in 1945 sold out with 25,000 copies. The magazine would reach its peak circulation in 1997 at 2 million.
