Ebony Jr.!: The Rise and Demise of an African American Children's Magazine

Journal of Negro Education, The, Fall 2006 by Henderson, Laretta

The next magazine written for African American youth was the Negro History Bulletin-or the Black History Bulletin as it became known in 2002 (Andrews, Foster, & Harris, 1997). Established in 1937 by Carter G. Woodson (who served as managing editor until his death in 1950), the "Bulletin was oriented toward black education and black children's urgent need to learn about their cultural heritage" (Daniels, 1982, p. 276). Aligned with the educational mission, Woodson included items such as lesson plans and a "Children's Page" that posed challenging questions to the "pupil" (Daniels, 1982, p. 277).

Black children of the 1960s and early 1970s who looked to the mainstream books and magazines for images of themselves found those publications wanting. In her classic chapter, "The All-White World of Children's Books," Larrick (1997) noted the omission of African American children from the text and trade books of the 1960s. Since Blacks were not considered a viable market by most White publishers, few texts contained images of Black children, and even fewer texts targeted them. Mainstream children's magazines of the time may have considered themselves multicultural, but the reality was Black children were rarely, or only marginally, included. This lack of literature for Black children was not a new concern for educators of African American children, and on a few occasions, the African American community published children's magazines. But, with the exception of the Negro History Bulletin/Black History Bulletin (which was not a popular culture periodical), they were short-lived. Addressing the need for an African American-centered children's magazine, John H. Johnson published Ebony Jr.! (EJ) during the 1970s and 1980s. EJ differed from the other magazines written for Black children since it was published by a magazine publisher/businessman who was not only interested in racialized concerns, but who also had a corporate structure, as opposed to a political or educational organization that supported the magazine. This translated into more financial stability and a longer publishing life for EJ than the other magazines except Negro History Bulletin/Black History Bulletin.

With respect to related research, only one brief critical study of Ebony Jr.! has been published: Courtney Vaughn-Roberson and Brenda Hill's (1989) "The Brownies ' Book and Ebony Jr.!: Literature as a Mirror of the Afro-American Experience." The authors conducted a content analysis of both texts in which they focused on common themes such as, "pride in African and Afro-American heritage [and] the importance of Afro-American unity" (p. 497). They concluded that not only did both magazines share authors, such as Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, but they also both "attempt to generate a bond and commitment to African roots" (Vaughn-Roberson & Hill, 1989, p. 498). Similar to Joy and The Brownies' Book, EJ had a highly educational orientation, and it addressed the needs of the Black community of its time, therefore a longer discussion on Ebony Jr.! is warranted.