John H. Johnson was the man driving the publishing empire that included Ebony, Jet, Tan, and Ebony Jr. Black-owned abolitionist newspapers certainly predated all of Johnson’s publications, however, Ebony was the first mainstream news and culture magazine by and for Black Americans. Much like its predecessors, Johnson’s magazines pushed back against the negative images and stereotypes of Black Americans found in many other papers and magazines. Ebony was inspired by LIFE magazine and printed stories of the “happier side of Negro life.” Ebony, as with all of Johnson’s other titles, fostered a sense of community and was popular enough that Johnson was able to attract white advertisers. It chronicled the Civil Rights movement and for that reason alone makes it an important historical record of the times. Johnson was always looking for gaps in the market that his publications could fill and he launched several titles addressing those gaps. Ebony Jr. was for Black children. Tan focused on love and romance. Jet was a pocket-sized weekly news magazine. However, one market Johnson never addressed was the Black gay community. Taking a page out of Johnson’s book, designer Alan Bell launched BLK magazine, which started as a 16-page black & white monthly paper and grew to a full-color publication of up to 40 pages. BLK featured interviews with celebrities and up-to-date information about safe sex and HIV/AIDS. Both Johnson and Bell provided a place for African American voices to speak their truths and record their own histories.TIMELINE1870 – 15th Amendment gave Black Men the right to vote1896  – Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” ruling1918  – John H. Johnston was Born Jan. 19 in Arkansas City, AR1933  –  Johnson and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois1936  –  Johnson graduated with honors from DuSable 1936  –  Johnson met Harry H. Pace, president of Supreme Life Insurance Company1936  –  Johnson enrolled at the University of Chicago, and started job as in house assistant for Supreme Liberty Guardian1942  – Johnson crowdfunded Negro World Digest at 24 years old1945  – First issue of Ebony magazine published1947  – Circulation for Ebony magazine grew to 300,0001948  –  Ad Space in Ebony magazine was at 48 pages with major advertisers1950  – Tan magazine founded1953 -54  – Copper Romance magazine start & end1953  –  HUE magazine began publication1957-58  – Martin Luther King Jrs column ran in Ebony magazine1959  – HUE magazine ceased publication1963 – Woolworth Counter Protests1964 – Civil Rights Act of 1964 Passed; guaranteed right to equal employment, limited literacy tests at polling places, enforced public desegregation1970  – Negro World came back under the title Black World1972  – JET magazine founded1971  – Tan magazine re-named Black Stars1973 – Ebony Jr! Founded1976 – Black World ceased publication1977-79 – Alan Bell worked for Gaysweek magazine in NYC1985 – Ebony Jr! ceased publication1988 – BLK magazine was founded by Alan Bell 1994 – BLK magazine ceased publication1996  –  Johnson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Advertising Foundation2003 – Johnson inducted into the American Advertising Hall of Fame 2003  – Howard University renamed the School of Communications to the John H. Johnson School of Communications 2007  – Ebony Jr! went online for one year2013  – Bell was inducted into the Gay Men Hall of fame of National AIDS Educations2019  – BLK magazine archive digitized at Chicago’s DuSable Museum REFERENCESAlan Bell. (2021, April 1). NAESM, Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://naesminc.org/hall-of-fame/alan-bell/. Behance. (n.d.). Biography of Herbert temple. Behance. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.behance.net/gallery/109799419/Biography-of-Herbert-Temple?tracking\_source=search\_projects\_published\_date%7CPierre-Hugues+Herbert. Bernu, C. (2019). “BLK Issues: Preserving BLK Magazine in the DuSable Museum of African American History Archives”. American Quarterly, 71(2), 307–403