Under new ownership, ‘Ebony’ magazine bets on boosting Black business

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Ebony Magazine





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Ebony Magazine





Ebony Magazine

«If we go back to the founding of the Black press, there was a hunger, a thirst to unify as a community,» Wilson says.

The first Black newspaper, called Freedom’s Journal, was founded in 1827. Then came many more, including the Pittsburgh Courier, The Chicago Defender, Frederick Douglass’ The North Star, and Charlotta Bass’ The California Eagle.

«When the movie Birth of a Nation was being filmed … [Bass] was the one that alerted other Black publications around the country that this film was being made and how degrading it was,» Wilson says, with Bass forcing the director to cut some scenes.


Ebony pivots to financial literacy and building Black wealth


Ebony is evoking that spirit of organizing around issues such as abolition, voting rights and opposing racist housing and labor practices with its new focus: «Move Black Forward.»





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Ebony Magazine





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Ebony Magazine





Ebony Magazine

«Our elders used to say: Our ice is just as cold [as that of white people]. They knew that our services, our goods are just as good. And so if we can remove those negative stereotypes, we can really eat at the wealth divide that currently exists,» he says.

Ebony is gambling that its new approach will make a difference and pay off for the magazine.