Ebony (magazine)

===1945–1969===
''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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hevesi |first1=Dennis |title=Eunice Johnson Dies at 93; Gave Ebony Its Name |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/media/10johnson.html |work=The New York Times |date=9 January 2010 }}</ref> The magazine was patterned after the format of [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Click |first1=J.W. |title=Comparison of Editorial Content of Ebony Magazine, 1967 and 1974 |journal=Journalism Quarterly |date=December 1975 |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=716–720 |doi=10.1177/107769907505200416 |s2cid=145071337 }}</ref> ''Ebony'' published its first issue on November 1, 1945, with an initial press run of 25,000 copies that sold out completely.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-H-Johnson|title=John H. Johnson {{!}} American publisher|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=December 9, 2019}}</ref> ''Ebony''<nowiki/>'s earlier content focused on African-American sports and entertainment figures, but eventually began including black achievers and celebrities of many different professions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ebony-American-magazine|title=Ebony {{!}} American magazine|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=December 9, 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Blanche-j-lawrence ebony February 1949.png|thumb|Blanche J. Lawrence, "Atom Scientists", ''Ebony'' magazine, September 1949]]
Editors stated in the first issue: <blockquote><p>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.<ref name=NYTS>{{cite news |last1=Shipp |first1=E. R. |title=Ebony, 40, Viewed as More Than a Magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/06/us/ebony-40-viewed-as-more-than-a-magazine.html |work=The New York Times |date=6 December 1985 }}</ref></p></blockquote>

During the 1960s, the magazine increasingly covered the [[civil 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 the [[Black Power movement]]. In 1965, executive editor [[Lerone Bennett Jr.]] wrote a recurring column entitled "Black Power", which featured an in-depth profile of [[Stokely Carmichael]] in 1966.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=West |first1=James |title=Power is 100 years old: Lerone Bennett Jr., Ebony magazine and the roots of black power |journal=The Sixties |date=2 July 2016 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=165–188 |doi=10.1080/17541328.2016.1241601 |s2cid=151966947 }}</ref> ''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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/ebony-magazine/|title=Ebony Magazine • BlackPast|last=Glasrud|first=Bruce|date=September 18, 2007|website=BlackPast|language=en-US|access-date=December 9, 2019}}</ref>