We recently heard reports that the Johnson Publishing based in Chicago has filed for bankruptcy. This is the same company that also has the archive of images from Jet and Ebony. Now, it has come to our notice that both the archives have been sold by Johnson Publishing. The photo archives named ‘Jet’ and ‘Ebony’ have been sold in a private auction for $30M to Philanthropic organizations.
These Philanthropic organizations include the likes of Ford Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It is known that the organization will donate these archives to African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles as well as Smithsonian National Museum along with other organizations.
In a statement, Lonnie Bunch who is the founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum said that:
“Ebony and Jet magazine helped shape our nation’s history, allowing Americans—of all colours—to see the full panorama of the African American experience. Together, our organizations will ensure these images, stories, and the history of these publications are well-preserved and available to the public and future generations.”
Now, Johnson Publishing had already parted way with these magazines even before filing for bankruptcy but they decided to keep ownership of the archives. Linda Johnson Rice, Johnson’s Daughter, as well as chairwoman of the company, said that:
“I’m really happy that Linda has been able to see some value out of it,” Hartt said. “She’s been a fantastic steward of the brand, and she has had such a clear sense of the archive’s worth. I think this is the formal recognition of what she’s been waiting for.”
Also, David Hartt who is a Philadelphia-based artist claimed that “To open it up for scholarship and to have other people be able to enjoy and more importantly to see what kind of narratives they can pull out of it, that’s huge.”
