[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   50TH ANNIVERSARY OF EBONY MAGAZINE

                                 ______


                          HON. CARDISS COLLINS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 20, 1995

  Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 
the historic symbols and witness-participants that have chronicled the 
hopes and aspirations of the African-American community for 50 years--
Ebony magazine and its founder and guiding spirit, John H. Johnson.
  In November 1945, Ebony magazine was born. This was a time of new 
beginnings for both black and white Americans. It was a period that has 
been remembered as the beginning of the Jackie Robinson revolution in 
athletics and the Thurgood Marshall Revolution in the legal and 
judicial arenas, and it signaled the beginning of the browning of 
American culture--in music, fashion, and beauty.
  Ebony magazine and its founder, John H. Johnson, are so closely 
identified with the major changes of this period that it would be 
virtually impossible to acknowledge these changes without acknowledging 
the contributions of these of two icons.
  The perceptions and images of black America during his period 
underwent a revolutionary shift which has affected every American, both 
white and black, and its is clear that John H. Johnson and his Ebony 
magazine truly became both the architects and chroniclers of this new 
African-American spirit.
  For me, Ebony magazine and its founder are especially powerful 
images. It was through Ebony that we first witnessed the successes and 
contributions of African-Americans throughout all realms of Society. 
Ebony heralded our achievements in the performing arts, in the business 
community, and in the professions of law and medicine--all the while 
celebrating the spirit and unity of the African-American community. It 
was through Ebony that I, like millions of other Americans, first 
learned of the living richness of our unique culture.
  For 50 years, Ebony magazine has truly embodied our Nations' diverse 
heritage. Through its pages, millions around the world have been 
exposed to African-American stories of struggle and triumph. Ebony has 
been successful in empowering and infusing the African-American people 
with the pride and determination to overcome the hurdles imposed by our 
Nation's cultural divisions and racial barriers.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in paying tribute 
to these two great pioneers of black communications who have 
triumphantly broken through all the barriers that so limited their 
predecessors. Ebony magazine has laid the foundation for all 
contemporary black publications, and every black personality working in 
the communications industry today owes them a great debt.
  Ebony and John H. Johnson have helped change what white Americans 
think about blacks and what black Americans think about themselves. 
Ebony was founded to give both blacks and whites an increased awareness 
of the possibilities of a new and different world.
  In the words of Ebony's founder: ``We wanted to give hope. In a world 
of negative black images, we wanted to provide positive black images. 
In a world that said blacks could do few things, we wanted to say the 
could do any thing.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say the Ebony magazine, headquartered in 
my Seventh Congressional District of Illinois, has fulfilled that 
mission and it is my sincere belief that it will remain the vanguard, 
continuing to capture the beauty and proud spirit of the African-
American people.

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