EBONY is celebrating Black History Month with a giveaway honoring more than seven decades of covers from the iconic African-American publication. Enter to win a jumbo-sized EBONY poster by voting for your top five favorite covers.
EBONY, first published by Johnson Publishing Company in November 1945, has a long history of featuring provocative Black figures and issues on its covers.
Credit: Johnson Publication/EBONY Magazine
The magazine published a special issue in August 1969 titled “The Black Revolution,” which featured an illustration by EBONY art director Herbert Temple, that examined racial inequality in America. It included a wide range of African-American voices such as Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton and gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.
Credit: Johnson Publication/EBONY Magazine
The magazine also featured the unlikely Carroll O’Connor as his character, Archie Bunker from the television show All in the Family, on our June 1972 cover. It was a rare instance in which the publication featured a White cover subject, but it demonstrated EBONY’s keenness to examine race and culture from a variety of viewpoints.
More than four decades later, the publication highlighted the Trayvon Martin killing, race in America and “stand your ground” laws with a series of four impactful covers in September 2013. Prominent Black males including NBA superstar Dwyane Wade and film director Spike Lee and their sons were pictured wearing hoodies, and each issue featured the bold cover line, “We Are Trayvon.”
Credit: Johnson Publication/EBONY Magazine
Most recently, the #EBONYCoverChallenge further demonstrated the brand’s endurance. Last fall, social media was rampant with users searching for the cover from their birth month and year.
Each weekday in Black History Month, EBONY will randomly select one winner of a 22”x28” poster of the cover of his or her choice. Go to ebony.com/bhm/vote.html to vote for your five favorite EBONY covers, which will automatically enter you in the giveaway, and to see the running results.
