From Lena Horne's iconic 1947 cover to the 1999 anointing of Lauryn Hill as "Hip-Hop's Hottest Star", Buzzfeed's gallery of EBONY Magazine covers provides a snapshot of five decades of American culture.
Some, like Billie Holiday's 1949 cover — and declaration of rehabilitation — a couple years before her death, are tragically ironic. Others, like Oprah's 1987 cover, foreshadow an even bigger and brighter future.
All are valued and valuable parts of our history.
