Ebony and JET: Cultural Gems from One of the First Media Entrepreneurs

For the millions of African Americans who grew up reading Ebony and JET magazines, news that Johnson Publishing filed for bankruptcy in April  signals the loss of a generational touchstone. Now, with employees at both magazines, which were purchased by a private equity firm in 2016, saying they have been fired and not paid, there is concern about the legacy of the late John H. Johnson who built a media empire that celebrated and chronicled a vibrant culture overlooked by white media.

In the town where Johnson spent the first 15 years of his life before he and his mother moved to Chicago, there is a museum to honor his legacy. Arkansas City, Arkansas is a tiny town right on the Arkansas-Mississippi state line. The one store residents frequent is owned by one of Johnson’s cousins.

Family Pride

“I hate to see his legacy go,” said David Lison who says his grandmother and Johnson’s mother were sisters. “He was a character. He and his daughter came down for the celebration when they opened the house.”

As Lison explains, the museum is built of lumber salvaged from the home where Johnson was born in 1918.

 “They tried to move the house he was born in, but it crumbled…so they took what lumber they could and built a new house,” Lison adds.

The county and The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a Historically Black College and University, are the stewards of the John H. Johnson Cultural and Educational Museum.

Adapting to the New Media

Dr. Sekou Franklin, an African American Studies professor at Middle Tennessee State University, says, “The loss of Ebony and JET is a loss for the Black community.”

Franklin points out that the demise of Johnson Publishing Company coincides with a technological revolution which continues to change the way Americans consume news and entertainment. Media publications are rife with the obituaries of legacy publications. Earlier this week Black Press mainstay, The Chicago Defender, announced its plans to end its print edition and publish only digitally.

“This could limit the ability to generate autonomous and rich perspectives of African Americans,” Franklin says. “While younger African Americans have adapted to the 21^st century media, seniors and some rural residents, who live in areas where internet service is unstable, may be the most harmed. Print media, including newspapers, have been an important resource for African Americans.”

With a court-supervised sale of Johnson Publishing’s assets expected, in Arkansas City, there is still immense pride in Johnson’s personal story of tenacity and smarts connecting with opportunity in Chicago where he began his company in 1942. His cousin and millions of others will always remember the magazines he created and their place in the cultural archives.

“They used to send JET to me free,” Lison says. “We would get them weekly. Ebony, I always bought it to see the Beautiful People.”