EBONY Magazine from November 1964

Object number2014.061.0001

DateNovember 1964

ClassificationsNewspapers & Magazines

ObjectMagazine

Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection

MediumPaper

Dimensions13 1/4 × 10 in. (33.7 × 25.4 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionEbony Magazine from November 1964 with American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson on the cover. An extremely successful and influential artist, Jackson was instrumental in spreading gospel blues across the South. In addition to her singing career, Jackson was a civil rights activist, often lending her voice to fundraisers and protests in support of integration and equal opportunities. After presidential candidate John F. Kennedy intervened to effect the release of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. from jail, Jackson became a staunch supporter of Kennedy and campaigned for him prior to the 1960 presidential election. She was then invited to sing The Star Spangled Banner at Kennedy's 1961 inaugural ball. The primary article in this issue of Ebony Magazine is focused on Jackson's recent marriage and her life as a singer. Towards the back of the magazine are reader tributes from the one year anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination.

Curatorial Commentary

Founded by publisher John H. Johnson in 1945 with a design and layout inspired by Life Magazine (right down to the similar cover logo in the upper left corner), Ebony Magazine was launched as an African American lifestyle magazine which focused initially on prominent entertainers and sports figures. It became increasingly centered on the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. Johnson's other significant African American publication at that time, Jet Magazine, was launched in 1951 as a weekly African American news magazine. Jet gained national prominence in 1955 when it published horrific images of Emmett Till's remains following his brutal murder in Mississippi. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator