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According to Ms. Vaughn, the truth about the invented slur lay in white
Americans making money exploiting statements and falsifying others, because so many whites during the era openly made racist remarks against black people. As such, when black radio stations started to play Elvis’ music and his
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was bought by
Beatrice Pringle, returning it to black ownership but under a woman publisher. All three publishers were outside the majority white Anglo-Saxon males who occupied positions comparable positions with mainstream magazines. But they developed a magazine to appeal to the African-American
264:
by Horace J. Blackwell, an
African-American clothing merchant. His editorial team relied on director Adelle Martin Jackson, who had advanced from starting as a stenographer, and Beatrice Pringle. This was the beginning of the magazine's tradition of having women in "important editorial positions."
29:
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According to
African-American author Joyce Rochelle Vaughn, in the preface of her book "Thirty Pieces of Silver: The Betrayal of Elvis Presley", an aunt who raised her had told her to never listen to Elvis Presley’s music because "Sepia" magazine had run an article in early 1957 in which he was
435:
In his 2015 history of the city of Fort Worth, Richard Selcer says that
Levitan missed covering the civil rights movement more deeply, and the NAACP was active in the city in the 1960s. He thought that might have contributed to the fall-off in readership in this period.
326:
quoted saying that the “only thing
Negroes can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes.” She then decided, forty years later, to undertake a full study and complete unmasking of falsely reported news surrounding his life and career.
426:
A large, middle-aged man, he long ago won my admiration by offering equal job opportunities to members of any race, choosing according to their qualifications and future potentialities. With an on-the-job training program, he has made
279:
After
Blackwell's death, his magazines and Good Publishing Company were bought by George Levitan, a Jewish-American plumbing merchant born in Michigan. He also published other titles for the black market. After his death in 1976,
452:
still had a circulation of approximately 160,000 in 1983, when she closed the business. Scholars have had a difficult time researching the magazine, as its records and building were mostly destroyed after it closed.
484:
exhibition displayed more than 40 images originally published in the magazine, some of which had not been seen since their original printing. They included many
African-American musical figures, including
346:, who knew Presley since his teen years, Robinson cleared him of all charges. Even so, the damage was done and the slur continuing to be utilized as late as the first two decades of the 21st century.
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magazine was a vital voice in the
African-American community for many decades. The knowledge and information it presented spoke much about its audience, and its audience cared about and loved music.”
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plumbing merchant in Fort Worth, bought
Blackwell's magazines and Good Publishing Company (aka Sepia Publishing) in 1950. He changed the magazine's name gradually; in 1954 he named it
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operations in the South in its earlier edition; after some of the successes of the civil rights movement had been achieved, it covered the rise in inner-city violence among blacks.
233:, who had been part of Blackwell's founding editorial team. She continued it until 1983, closing it despite respectable circulation. It was always overshadowed by
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market, which was receiving new attention in the postwar period, and had considerable success for decades, building distribution to a national audience. While
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in 1942. His innovation was to feature stories written in the dialect of Southern working-class African Americans, providing them with a familiar style.
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378:. With the goal of fostering leadership, it published serious articles on the development of black institutions, including colleges and universities.
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532:(1892–1985) African American entrepreneur, chef, and inventor of the first hot biscuit mix, and magazine's first food editor.
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After Levitan's death in October 1976, Beatrice Pringle, one of the original publisher-editor team with Blackwell, bought
342:" to raise the matter with the then 22-year-old Presley. After additionally interviewing African-American musicians like
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SEEKING A PLACE IN THE SUN: SEPIA MAGAZINE’S ENDEAVOR FOR QUALITY JOURNALISM AND PLACE IN THE NEGRO MARKET, 1951-1982
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Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. accessed 2 May 2016
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The Sepia Magazine Photo Archive - 1948-1983: 35 Years of the African-American Experience in Music,
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In the postwar environment, when the South was still legally segregated, the publishing history of
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517:. Howard Kramer, curatorial director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, commented, “
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and had success with that for some time as well, also publishing black-audience magazines
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was a photojournalistic magazine featuring articles based primarily on achievements of
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191:, an African-American clothing merchant of Fort Worth, Texas. He had already founded
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712:"Chef Lucille B. Smith was a pioneer in culinary world with entrepreneurial spirit"
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a model, edited, printed and distributed from the million-dollar Fort Worth plant.
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A History of Fort Worth in Black & White: 165 Years of African-American Life
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did not equal the newsstand sales of Levitan's true confessions-type magazine
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sent its most prestigious writer, the late Louis Robinson, to the set of "
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under Levitan, and Beatrice Pringle also continued with the magazine.
589:, PhD dissertation, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama, 2011, pp. 7-8
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for nearly four decades, building a base of national advertisers.
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and published it until his death in 1976. He changed the name of
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popularity grew in the black community, the slur was invented.
297:), it was the most successful magazine to compete with
308:keeping its name until 1953, when he changed it to
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97:
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72:
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354:Adelle Jackson continued as editorial director of
571:Black Texas Women: 150 Years of Trial and Triumph
418:Griffin described Levitan and the way he managed
800:Defunct magazines published in the United States
559:, University of North Texas Press, 2015, p. 394
820:News magazines published in the United States
8:
260:, reflects other changes. It was founded as
19:
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547:
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381:The magazine often exposed issues such as
268:Blackwell had already started the romance-
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18:
574:, University of Texas Press, 2010, p. 174
312:. In 1954 he changed it again to simply
648:. Houghton Mifflin, 1961. LCCN 61005368
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448:and continued operations through 1982.
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406:(1961), which was first serialized in
183:. The magazine was founded in 1946 as
7:
774:, 40 photographs of musicians from
743:Black Journals of the United States
663:Black Journals of the United States
477:January 19, 2009 – April 12, 2009.
304:Levitan made changes gradually to
14:
366:, including prominent leaders of
810:Magazines disestablished in 1983
688:"Rock Hall Features 35 Years of
772:January 19, 2009-April 12, 2009
465:now holds the picture files of
461:The African American Museum in
321:Major Elvis Presley controversy
530:Lucille Elizabeth Bishop Smith
362:focused on various aspects of
1:
805:Magazines established in 1947
747:. Westport: Greenwood Press.
667:. Westport: Greenwood Press.
815:Magazines published in Texas
825:Photojournalistic magazines
710:Balter, Emma (2020-12-13).
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795:African-American magazines
739:Daniel, Walter C. (1982).
659:Daniel, Walter C. (1982).
613:SEEKING A PLACE IN THE SUN
600:SEEKING A PLACE IN THE SUN
471:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
16:Photojournalistic magazine
632:Handbook of Texas Online,
240:founded and published in
26:
398:investigative journalism
364:African American culture
225:After Levitan's death,
116:Good Publishing Company
644:Griffin, John Howard.
628:Douglas Hales, "Sepia"
274:The World's Messenger,
33:October 1960 cover of
692:Magazine Photography"
469:in its archives. The
374:, popular music, and
291:The World's Messenger
193:The World's Messenger
525:Notable contributors
473:held an exhibition:
615:, p. 5, footnote 16
554:Richard F. Selcer,
412:Journey into Shame.
394:John Howard Griffin
306:Negro Achievements,
189:Horace J. Blackwell
23:
697:2009-06-01 at the
584:Mia Chandra Long,
569:Ruthe Winegarten,
262:Negro Achievements
198:George Levitan, a
185:Negro Achievements
46:Editorial director
39:Bessie A. Buchanan
716:Houston Chronicle
392:Levitan financed
350:Editorial changes
258:Fort Worth, Texas
181:African Americans
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135:Fort Worth, Texas
73:Total circulation
58:Photojournalistic
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270:True Confessions
231:Beatrice Pringle
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24:
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763:External links
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400:for his book,
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507:Jackie Wilson
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463:Dallas, Texas
457:Photo archive
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372:civil rights
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310:Sepia Record
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293:(renamed as
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495:Ray Charles
487:James Brown
98:Final issue
789:Categories
781:s archives
721:2022-02-01
536:References
503:Bob Marley
491:Ruth Brown
54:Categories
37:featuring
602:, pp. 5-6
440:1976-1983
376:education
344:B.B. King
256:based in
208:Messenger
195:in 1942.
155:0037-2374
65:Publisher
695:Archived
383:lynching
368:churches
141:Language
131:Based in
60:magazine
733:Sources
248:History
242:Chicago
167:1765397
144:English
121:Country
113:Company
103: (
88: (
83:Founded
78:160,000
751:
671:
315:Sepia.
254:Sepia,
204:Sepia,
75:(1983)
779:'
776:Sepia
690:Sepia
519:Sepia
482:Sepia
467:Sepia
450:Sepia
446:Sepia
429:Sepia
420:Sepia
408:Sepia
360:Sepia
356:Sepia
299:Ebony
287:Sepia
282:Sepia
236:Ebony
227:Sepia
176:Sepia
35:Sepia
21:Sepia
749:ISBN
669:ISBN
513:and
480:The
385:and
220:Jive
218:and
162:OCLC
150:ISSN
105:1983
101:1983
90:1946
86:1946
414:In
396:'s
335:Jet
222:.
216:Hep
210:to
187:by
791::
714:.
630:,
620:^
544:^
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501:,
497:,
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489:,
422::
370:,
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757:.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
