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Look Back at the Years of "Ebony"
Aired February 25, 2004 - 14:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: On this last week of Black History Month we note that much of what future generations learn of black history from the mid-1940s on they'll learn from "Ebony" magazine. "Ebony" is the brain child of now legendary publisher John Johnson who started with it with $500 that he borrowed against his mother's furniture.
In the early '50s, Johnson hired a writer named Lerone Bennett Jr. who attended Morehouse College with another famous junior, Martin Luther King. Bennett rose to executive editor, a rank he's held for almost 40 years. In recent years he's been joined on the magazine's masthead by his daughter, Joy Bennett Kinnon.
Kinnon holds the rank of senior editor, a couple of rungs below her dad. But that's OK. She joins us from Chicago to talk about the family business and success. Joy, great to see you.
JOY BENNETT KINNON, "EBONY" SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR: Thank you so much for inviting me.
PHILLIPS: Well it's a pleasure. Hey, take us back, Joy, to the time where your dad and MLK were hanging out at Morehouse and how this all began.
KINNON: Well it all began with a dream from John H. Johnson, of our founder and publisher. And "Ebony" was born out of frustrations of black Americans who were essentially left out of the mass media. There was a time people forget it was an unwritten rule that a black person's picture could not appear unless it was associated with a crime.
So black people were not used to seeing themselves in positive, uplifting roles. And they weren't used to seeing themselves on the society pages or in any positive light. And John Johnson sought to change that and he saw a real gap there and he sought to fill it.
My dad was at Morehouse College with Dr. King and with the late Bob Johnson. And they also had dreams of bettering the situation for black people through their writing and of course Dr. King through the great role that he played in freeing black people in this country.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about that first "Ebony" cover. It's called "Children's Crusade."
KINNON: Right. PHILLIPS: Tell me the thoughts behind this cover photo, behind the first issue, because this was -- this was it, this was the beginning.
KINNON: That was the beginning. November 1, 1945, our magazine will celebrate 59 years of consecutive publishing this year which is an unparalleled role and unparalleled run.
And that first issue was a black and white cover. And you see a group of multiracial children really predating King's dream by 25 to 30 years of what we thought society should be.
PHILLIPS: Why multiracial children?
KINNON: Well, certainly in 1945, that was a radical cover because we were dealing with a segregated country. So that was, remember, a time when -- and we have to recall our history, you have to know where you came from in order to know where you're going -- when blacks and whites were segregated.
So to see black children together was a radical statement in and of itself in 1945.
PHILLIPS: Something pretty unique also, Joy, you were telling me about, we'll look at confer of Martin Luther King, the 1968 cover. Now because of your dad's friendship with MLK, you guys really had an edge. You got places where a lot of people didn't and were able to really get inside the movement. Right?
KINNON: Very much so. We had an access, access granted to use MTV or BET term, that was unparalleled for the time. And really, we had the vision to seek that access and to put the story on the forefront for black Americans and for all Americans.
PHILLIPS: You talk about another time that caused a lot of controversy or at least a lot of talk, Eleanor Roosevelt. You let her -- or it was allowed rather -- she was within the magazine, talking about what she'd do if she were black.
KINNON: Right. It was also another great vision of John Johnson's. I believe it was in "The Negro Digest" which just preceded "Ebony."
But she wrote a story for a black publication on what she would do if she were black. At the time, I think it was "What Would I Do if I Were a Negro?" And it caused a great stir in the South because I think she said that she wouldn't be so patient.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: That's pretty amazing. Especially at that time and the position that she held.
KINNON: Definitely.
PHILLIPS: A turning point for the magazine. I asked you, take me back to when Dad and Johnson and all these guys were hanging out, talking about the story that really made an impact on "Ebony," Emmitt Till. You guys really owned that story, didn't you?
KINNON: Yes. We were probably one of the first, if not the first, to really put that picture out nationally so that the world could see what was done to Emmitt Till. I think black people certainly, our editors, were familiar with what went on in the segregated South. But that was a real eye opener for many Northerners to see the brutality played out that way.
PHILLIPS: Well, I know the vision continues to study, remember and honor black history. You've become an absolutely amazingly long way.
Final thoughts. Are you happy where the magazine stands and how far you've come on this journey?
KINNON: I am very proud to be associated with this magazine, which is the witness for the hopes and dreams of the slave, as the black barge says. And I am very proud with what we have done in the vision of our publisher, Johnny Johnson and Linda Johnson Rice.
I'm proud to work, of course, with my dad who is an extraordinary journalist and historian, Lerone Bennett Jr. And the vision of the late Bob Johnson at "Jet" who was also a visionary for Johnson Publishing Company.
And black history month is living history. And we have to remember that we have to honor the testimony and the legacies of the slaves and of the martyrs who died so that we could enjoy the freedoms that we have today that we take for granted.
PHILLIPS: Joy Bennett Kinnon, we'll leave our viewers with some other covers of your magazine over the years. Thank you for everything you've done.
KINNON: Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 25, 2004 - 14:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: On this last week of Black History Month we note that much of what future generations learn of black history from the mid-1940s on they'll learn from "Ebony" magazine. "Ebony" is the brain child of now legendary publisher John Johnson who started with it with $500 that he borrowed against his mother's furniture.
In the early '50s, Johnson hired a writer named Lerone Bennett Jr. who attended Morehouse College with another famous junior, Martin Luther King. Bennett rose to executive editor, a rank he's held for almost 40 years. In recent years he's been joined on the magazine's masthead by his daughter, Joy Bennett Kinnon.
Kinnon holds the rank of senior editor, a couple of rungs below her dad. But that's OK. She joins us from Chicago to talk about the family business and success. Joy, great to see you.
JOY BENNETT KINNON, "EBONY" SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR: Thank you so much for inviting me.
PHILLIPS: Well it's a pleasure. Hey, take us back, Joy, to the time where your dad and MLK were hanging out at Morehouse and how this all began.
KINNON: Well it all began with a dream from John H. Johnson, of our founder and publisher. And "Ebony" was born out of frustrations of black Americans who were essentially left out of the mass media. There was a time people forget it was an unwritten rule that a black person's picture could not appear unless it was associated with a crime.
So black people were not used to seeing themselves in positive, uplifting roles. And they weren't used to seeing themselves on the society pages or in any positive light. And John Johnson sought to change that and he saw a real gap there and he sought to fill it.
My dad was at Morehouse College with Dr. King and with the late Bob Johnson. And they also had dreams of bettering the situation for black people through their writing and of course Dr. King through the great role that he played in freeing black people in this country.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about that first "Ebony" cover. It's called "Children's Crusade."
KINNON: Right. PHILLIPS: Tell me the thoughts behind this cover photo, behind the first issue, because this was -- this was it, this was the beginning.
KINNON: That was the beginning. November 1, 1945, our magazine will celebrate 59 years of consecutive publishing this year which is an unparalleled role and unparalleled run.
And that first issue was a black and white cover. And you see a group of multiracial children really predating King's dream by 25 to 30 years of what we thought society should be.
PHILLIPS: Why multiracial children?
KINNON: Well, certainly in 1945, that was a radical cover because we were dealing with a segregated country. So that was, remember, a time when -- and we have to recall our history, you have to know where you came from in order to know where you're going -- when blacks and whites were segregated.
So to see black children together was a radical statement in and of itself in 1945.
PHILLIPS: Something pretty unique also, Joy, you were telling me about, we'll look at confer of Martin Luther King, the 1968 cover. Now because of your dad's friendship with MLK, you guys really had an edge. You got places where a lot of people didn't and were able to really get inside the movement. Right?
KINNON: Very much so. We had an access, access granted to use MTV or BET term, that was unparalleled for the time. And really, we had the vision to seek that access and to put the story on the forefront for black Americans and for all Americans.
PHILLIPS: You talk about another time that caused a lot of controversy or at least a lot of talk, Eleanor Roosevelt. You let her -- or it was allowed rather -- she was within the magazine, talking about what she'd do if she were black.
KINNON: Right. It was also another great vision of John Johnson's. I believe it was in "The Negro Digest" which just preceded "Ebony."
But she wrote a story for a black publication on what she would do if she were black. At the time, I think it was "What Would I Do if I Were a Negro?" And it caused a great stir in the South because I think she said that she wouldn't be so patient.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: That's pretty amazing. Especially at that time and the position that she held.
KINNON: Definitely.
PHILLIPS: A turning point for the magazine. I asked you, take me back to when Dad and Johnson and all these guys were hanging out, talking about the story that really made an impact on "Ebony," Emmitt Till. You guys really owned that story, didn't you?
KINNON: Yes. We were probably one of the first, if not the first, to really put that picture out nationally so that the world could see what was done to Emmitt Till. I think black people certainly, our editors, were familiar with what went on in the segregated South. But that was a real eye opener for many Northerners to see the brutality played out that way.
PHILLIPS: Well, I know the vision continues to study, remember and honor black history. You've become an absolutely amazingly long way.
Final thoughts. Are you happy where the magazine stands and how far you've come on this journey?
KINNON: I am very proud to be associated with this magazine, which is the witness for the hopes and dreams of the slave, as the black barge says. And I am very proud with what we have done in the vision of our publisher, Johnny Johnson and Linda Johnson Rice.
I'm proud to work, of course, with my dad who is an extraordinary journalist and historian, Lerone Bennett Jr. And the vision of the late Bob Johnson at "Jet" who was also a visionary for Johnson Publishing Company.
And black history month is living history. And we have to remember that we have to honor the testimony and the legacies of the slaves and of the martyrs who died so that we could enjoy the freedoms that we have today that we take for granted.
PHILLIPS: Joy Bennett Kinnon, we'll leave our viewers with some other covers of your magazine over the years. Thank you for everything you've done.
KINNON: Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
