Ebony Magazine and Lerone Bennett Jr.

Abstract

This study reveals the previously hidden impact of Ebony magazine as a major producer and disseminator of popular black history during the second half of the twentieth century, stretching from its formation in 1945 to its role in the movement to establish a national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1980s. Benefitting from unprecedented access to new archival materials at Chicago State and Emory University, it focuses on the impact of Lerone Bennett, Jr., the magazine’s in-house historian and senior editor. More broadly, West highlights the value placed upon Ebony’s role as a “history book” by its contributors and readers. Using Ebony as a window into the trajectory of the post-war “modern black history revival”, this study offers a bold reinterpretation of the magazine’s place within modern American cultural and intellectual history and highlights its role as a critical tool for black history empowerment and education on a local, national and international scale.