(Online) Backstage: An Unfurling of the JPC | Ebony’s Editorial Legacy

ONLINE WEBINAR

Behind the pages of Ebony stood a remarkable editorial team that redefined American journalism and Black representation in media: from its 1945 launch Ben Burns established the magazine’s editorial philosophy creating a framework for coverage of Black life; Era Bell Thompson a pioneering Black female editor brought groundbreaking international coverage that broadened readers' understanding of the global Black experience; Lerone Bennett Jr. elevated the magazine's intellectual profile through his historical essays and cultural commentary transforming Ebony into an educational resource that connected readers to their heritage.

This panel features Gabrielle M. Dudley from Emory University's Stuart A. Rose Library Raquel Flores-Clemons from Chicago Public Library's Vivian Harsh Research Collection and Kheir Fakhreldin from Chicago State University. They will explore the editorial innovations of Bennett Burns and Thompson examining how their work shaped not only Ebony but also influenced broader conversations about Black identity and culture in America.

The Johnson Publishing Company Archive is owned by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and J. Paul Getty Trust. In 2019 a consortium made up of the Ford Foundation J. Paul Getty Trust John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Smithsonian Institution acquired the JPC archive. In 2022 ownership was transferred to NMAAHC and the J. Paul Getty Trust with a commitment to make the archive available to the public by 2029.

• Gabrielle M. Dudley
• Archivist and Educator
• Gabrielle M. Dudley is Assistant Director of Public Services at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript Archives and Rare Book Library. Gabrielle earned her MA in Public History and MLIS from the University of South Carolina. She also holds a BA in history from the University of Montevallo.

• Raquel Flores-Clemons
• Archivist and Librarian
• Raquel Flores-Clemons currently serves as the head of the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection at Chicago Public Library. Flores-Clemons received her MSLIS and BALAS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. An advocate for equity and access Flores-Clemons maintains a deep commitment to capturing historical narratives of communities of color.

• Kheir Fakhreldin
• University Archivist
• Kheir Fakhreldin oversees collections highlighting Black history and culture at Chicago State University. He is pursuing a PhD in information science at Dominican University focusing on archival exhibitions and the way history is created and remembered around the American semiquincentennial.

• Skyla S. Hearn
• Archivist Photographer and Writer
• Hearn is dedicated to supporting communities marginally reflected in broader historical contexts; centering community archival practices; and committed to amplifying documentation created from first-person perspectives of unsung individuals and groups. Hearn contributes to the ongoing preservation of Black cultural heritage and is a proud Chicagoan.

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