HISTORY COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
QUARTER ONE (JANUARY - MARCH) 2021 | VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 1
56
ACKNOWLEDGING THOSE THAT TOLD OUR STORIES IN DECEMBER OF 2020, "THE KANSAS CITY STAR"—SINCE IT'S FOUNDING IN 1880— RECOGNIZED ITS SHAMEFUL PAST WHEN REPORTER MARÁ ROSE WILLIAMS POINTED OUT THE NEWSPAPER'S HISTORY OF NEGATIVELY PORTRAYING, AND IMPACTING, KANSAS CITY'S BLACK COMMUNITY; PROMPTING ITS EDITOR, MIKE FANNIN, TO ISSUE AN APOLOGY TO THE CITY'S BLACK CITIZENS. WHEN WHITE NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES, LIKE "THE KANSAS CITY STAR," CONTINUOUSLY PAINTED A NEGATIVE PICTURE OF BLACKS AND BLACK LIFE IN AMERICA, BLACK NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES EMERGED TO CATER TO AFRICANAMERICANS AND DOCUMENT BLACK LIFE IN AN ACCURATE AND POSITIVE LIGHT. BELOW ARE A FEW OF THOSE STORYTELLERS:
JET Magazine (Est. 1951)
AFTER 63 YEARS, JET MAGAZINE PUBLISHES FINAL PRINT EDITION
JET magazine, founded by John H. Johnson, was the weekly counterpart to Johnson’s monthly publication, EBONY magazine. First published in 1951 and billed as "The Weekly Negro News Magazine," the final print edition of JET with a cover declaring it "An American Icon" is displayed with vintage copies of the magazine at the offices of Johnson Publishing Company on June 9, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. Both JET and EBONY magazines were sold by Johnson Publishing Company in 2016. The magazine, according to its website, relaunches on June 1, 2021. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images) 56 / 0 4 6
