Ebony magazine takes on Africa
by guest contributor Harry Allen, Hip-Hop Activist & Media Assassin
This is almost too easy, but if you’ve not yet picked up or flipped through December 2007’s self-proclaimed “special collector’s edition” of EBONY, get a gander at:
- Michael Jackson on the cover…and way too much inside (”25 Years After Thriller“), glowing, translucently; with an almost inner light.
- “The Africa You Don’t Know”: An ehh-not-the-worst-given-it’s
- An interview with Bill Clinton about Africa, continuing mainstream Black media’s despicable tradition of speaking to important government leaders through mouths full of puffery. ESSENCE interviews Condoleezza Rice, but doesn’t ask her why she was buying BDSM boots while New Orleansers were floating face down in rancid water, or EBONY talking to Clinton about the continent, but not a single question about Darfur, not to mention Rwanda. (They did get in two questions about “the American Dream,” however. What????)
In fact, Clinton raises the genocide in Rwanda. He doesn’t discuss it, though, or his role in it. He just says, “Take Rwanda, devastated by the 1994 genocide,” the lets fly a paragraph’s worth of “but now”-type banter, plus violas: “Now look at what they’re doing. They’re growing rapidly; they have all kinds of partners, including [Microsoft’s] Bill Gates and me. They’ve opened themselves to the world. They’ve even developed a film industry, for goodness sakes.” Yes; that’s what they needed 13 years ago to stop crudely stamped, Chinese-made machetes: software partnerships and film.
- A story of interracial love as only EBONY can tell it: Janet Langhart and Bill Cohen (Clinton’s defense secretary), with an opening, “our love is alive” photo portrait (p. 158) so fake it’ll make you swear off interracial romance.
Wow. I guess EBONY is still good for something.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
dnA wrote:
That wouldn’t be the first Langhart/Cohen love portrait, since Cohen is a Republican, (Yes, Clinton picked a Republican for that job) they’re big poster children for when the GOP wants to show they’re not racist. Because everyone knows if you marry a black person you can’t be racist. Just ask Ted Danson.
As for Ebony in general, well I refer to the words of George C. Wolfe’s walking mannequins in A Colored Museum:
“The world was becoming too much for us. We couldn’t resolve the contradictions of our existence. And we couldn’t resolve yesterday’s pain. So we gave away our life and we now live inside Ebony Magazine.”
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 8:28 am ¶
Fiqah wrote:
Regarding the cover: I know this been said before, lots of times, and better.
BUT… oh. Oh, my goodness. Oh… Michael. My memories of “Thriller” can only be expected to carry me SO far, darling. It appears that I have officially reached the end of my tether with tolerating your continuing evolution into the bizarre. Talk about “Ebony and Ivory.” Yuck.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 9:07 am ¶
Girlfriends wrote:
dnA,
Amen.
And amen.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 9:55 am ¶
Lee wrote:
Michael actually looks half way decent. Still creepy, but decent.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 10:11 am ¶
Why Say Anything wrote:
dnA: Before the train skips the tracks completely, it’s also well-known that Langhart is a firmer Democrat than Cohen is a Republican, so it’s an inter-party, interracial marriage. But what does Cohen’s party affiliation have to do with Ebony’s placement of the couple?
What’s left out– former congressman and senator turned former defense secretary turned succesful author/lobbyist marries high profile biracial MSM woman who started modeling for Ebony. Their long courtship is one of the Beltway’s better love stories, because *she* made the first move through Andrew Young. I just love the assumptions inherent here by men about a successful woman and her choices in who she chooses to be with and how it appears, based on class and formaility. Glamor shots of professionals bother you, huh? Read their memoir
And where was Condi during Katrina? Nice loaded question! I don’t agree with her warmaking fault, but even I know her international duties at State Department did not grant her any domestic responsibility for that mess. You need to lick your foot fetish, and pick on her/Bush/Clinton re: Africa inaction and policies.
And bugs me too, but Jackson’s returning with a new CD soon. Ebony got the scoop. Thriller changed the industry, can’t be ignored. Big whup. How *well* did Ebony do however? No word?
What’s the point of this “review”? Rather than actually weighing the substance of the Ebony issue and it’s lack of consistency, Allen swings way wide with this one, overlooking stuff they (hopefully) teach a 5th grader (or you pick up US Magazine– which I guess he prefers?)
So interesting to see you run an attack on two Black women by a man in the media, Racialicious, so soon after you’d run a piece by another man supposedly complaining that Black women weren’t given a fair shake in the media.
Cheap shot BS gripes don’t equal quality…
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 11:05 am ¶
HighJive wrote:
Johnson Publishing is shaking up its leadership. But don’t expect major changes…
http://targetmarketnews.com/storyid11290701.htm
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 11:41 am ¶
anna wrote:
Those photos of Michael Jackson are about as realistic as Bee Movie’s depiction of honeybees, 100% computer digitization.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 11:53 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
WhySayAnything
*****
Ebony does not even belong in the bathroom reading basket anymore.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 1:08 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Hey Ebony hasn’t been relevant since the early 80’s, but their new design is pretty nice but it’s still People magazine for Black Folks. Like Esscence I used to love the ole boy Ebony too but now both magazines report trash with little substance kinda like Blender.
And isn’t Michael so Photogenic and they got rid of all his flaws like his f- up nose.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 4:27 pm ¶
Joey wrote:
Clearly you’ve all been missing EbonyJet.com, which seems to be a very different direction than the magazine. Tight writing, interesting topics, very grown up, seriously relevant - funny even. What do you expect the magazine to do - change overnight? A lot of subscribers from back in the day still holding on - like your mama. They can’t just abandon yo’ mama flat out.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 5:24 pm ¶
Kaonashi wrote:
Some of the pictures I’ve been seeing of Michael lately (especially the crazy ones in Italian Vogue) almost make him look….hot?
And yes, I am deeply ashamed of admitting that.
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 6:04 pm ¶
Black Strawberry wrote:
I find it odd that the refrenced Africa as country. It’s not. just talk to any one who finished 5th grade
Posted 30 Nov 2007 at 7:44 pm ¶
Mireille wrote:
I actually really enjoyed Gbemisola Olujobi’s piece, I wish it had been longer. There was also a one page article about the pros and cons of Kwanza. The Clinton thing threw me off, though–Then again, So did the Jackson thing. I remember reading a Q&A somewhere that said something to the effect: Q. Is Michael Jackson the whitest person Ebony has ever had on the cover? A. No, we had Archie Bunker in the 80s.
Posted 01 Dec 2007 at 1:32 pm ¶
Brakeline wrote:
Just looked at my Internet calendar day in history: today was the day “Thriller” was released in 1982…
Posted 01 Dec 2007 at 2:44 pm ¶
Aaminah wrote:
Um, what were the “cons” of Kwanza???
Posted 02 Dec 2007 at 9:54 am ¶
Dena wrote:
If you read the article on Africa totally, you’d know that EBONY will be doing periodic pieces on the continent through 2008. You can’t cram all that information into one article and cover the entire continent. When you read, be sure to read the whole thing before you comment. Darfur and the rest will come. Just keep reading!
Posted 10 Dec 2007 at 6:04 pm ¶