“I Dig You, Chocolate City”: Ebony and Sepia Magazines’ Coverage of Black Political Progress, 1971–1977

Abstract

The 1960s ended in sorrow with the deaths of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, two champions for civil rights. Yet, African Americans had reason to enter the new decade with hope. African American political achievement brought attention to the triumph of the Civil Rights Movement and the power of the black vote. The present study explores African American media coverage of black political progress from 1971 to 1977. Though Ebony featured more political coverage than Sepia, both magazines reflected the magnitude of political change in the USA during the 1970s. Perhaps as a result of mass black mobilization during the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans formed a united front that enabled them to place blacks in political seats. Though black politicians faced many obstacles, media coverage showed that, as they approached the 1980s, blacks sat poised for steady progression, equipped to overcome any challenge they faced.