[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 146 (Monday, November 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12443-S12444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       RECOGNIZING EBONY MAGAZINE

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am very pleased to take a few 
moments to recognize Ebony magazine as this venerable publication 
celebrates its 60th anniversary.
  In 1945, at a time when segregation was the law of the land, an 
outlet for the positive portrayal of Black life in American popular 
culture was long overdue. With the birth of Ebony, Publisher John H. 
Johnson forced the world to consider real African Americans, including 
their diverse success stories. These same stories, which filled each 
month's edition of Ebony, gave African Americans a deeper sense of 
pride in their heritage and their growing prosperity.
  Ebony also provided millions with a rich, firsthand account of key 
moments in the struggle for civil rights. Whether it was a sit-in at a 
lunch counter in the South or the historic March on Washington, the 
intrepid journalists and photographers of Ebony were present to bear 
witness and to report the news through a prism different from the 
mainstream press. In fact, it was an Ebony photographer who captured 
the now iconic photo of a grieving Coretta Scott King, with one of her 
children, at the funeral of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Not only 
did this photograph capture the emotions of a nation, but it resulted 
in the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to an African-American man.
  Since Ebony was founded 60 years ago, its circulation has grown from

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25,000 per issue to 1.7 million per issue, and its readership has 
increased from 125,000 per issue to more than 12.5 million per issue. 
Although it has had the largest circulation of any publication targeted 
to African-Americans for the duration of its existence, Ebony is much 
more than a magazine. As just one example, its annual fashion 
extravaganza, Fashion Fair, has raised more than $58 million in its 48-
year history for various charities, has provided an outlet for hundreds 
of talented clothing designers, and created work opportunities for 
African-American models, as well as spawned a line of cosmetics for 
women of color.
  I invite my colleagues to join me, and the millions of Americans who 
have been touched, inspired, and influenced by Ebony Magazine in 
celebrating the 60th anniversary of this great publication.

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