The Impact & Legacy Of Ebony & Jet Magazine Shouldn’t Be Forgotten

Ebony and Jet magazine has always been at the forefront of Black culture.

Like many of you, I grew up reading Ebony and Jet magazines LITERALLY cover to cover, and always felt a huge sense of pride seeing stories told of prominent business women and men that looked like me. Growing up, seeing those positive, rich images of Black culture in Ebony and Jet is something that has influenced me over the years, and has inspired me in more ways than I can count.

As Boyce Watkins, a finance professor at Syracuse University once said in regards to Ebony and Jet, “[They] formed powerful prototypes for success in Black media’’ and “set the standard for Black business in America.’’ 

Quite simply, Ebony and Jet showed the world that Black is beautiful too.

Ebony and Jet was one of the first few publications that gave Black people a voice; it was one of the few platforms that gave us an opportunity when other publications wouldn't look our way (or would instead display us in a negative light). At a time when Black people almost never made it into the pages, let alone on the front covers of other “mainstream’’—or white—publications, John. H. Johnson, the founder of Ebony and Jet, made our accomplishments visible to the whole world.

As Julieanna L. Richardson, an African-American archivist, once put it, “Ebony was a positive machine. It gave you a sense of self-worth.’’

In yesterday's and even in today's media, it's not uncommon to see a lack of positive representation of Black people in the media. For this reason and many more is one of the reasons why Mogul Millennial was created, and why I've always been inspired by Ebony and Jet magazine.

Ebony and Jet magazine have always undeniably been a beacon of Black culture, and despite how you may feel about them now, you can't help but to respect their legacy and impact.

Recently, there have been several public low blows to Ebony - what I consider one of the greatest of all time, Black-owned media brands. Sadly, many of these low blows have derived from guess what - Black media brands, even though publications like Ebony and Jet were one of the few media brands that paved the way and set the standard for some of your current Black media faves (digital and print).

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