The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is in the process of acquiring a large portion of Johnson Publishing Company’s archive of images that appeared in Ebony and Jet magazines.
“We are thrilled that we are going to acquire a significant portion of the archive of the Johnson Publishing Company, the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines! The acquisition is pending court approval and the closing of the sale,” the organization said via Twitter July 25 (Thursday).
We are thrilled that we are going to acquire a significant portion of the archive of the Johnson Publishing Company, the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines! The acquisition is pending court approval and the closing of the sale. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory pic.twitter.com/72GRIUQ6Nm
— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) July 25, 2019
According to the Washington Post, the more than 4 million photographs will go to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, and other cultural institutions. Multiple organizations including The Ford, the Johnson D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations and the J. Paul Getty Trust, shelled out $30 million to acquire the images.
“The archive is a national treasure and one of tremendous importance to the telling of black history in America,” Ford Foundation President Darren Walker said in a statement Thursday. “We felt it was imperative to preserve these images, to give them the exposure they deserve and make them readily available to the public.”
Johnson Publications filed for bankruptcy in April, and an auction was scheduled for mid July. The lot includes images of Martin Luther King, Sidney Portier, Lena Horne, James Baldwin, and Emett Till.
Ironically, Johnson Publishing was among the founding donors of the NAAM which opened in 2016.