Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, Jet is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. The magazine was billed as “The Weekly Negro News Magazine”.
| Jet magazine covers in the 1950s |
Jet chronicled the civil rights movement from its earliest years, including the murder of Emmett Till, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the activities of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Jet was printed from November 1, 1951, in digest-sized format in all or mostly black-and-white until its December 27, 1999, issue. In 2009, Jet expanded one of the weekly issues to a double issue published once each month. Johnson Publishing Company struggled with the same loss of circulation and advertising as other magazines and newspapers in the digital age, and the final print issue of Jet was published on June 23, 2014, continuing solely as a digital magazine app.
In 2016, Johnson Publishing sold Jet and its sister publication Ebony to private equity firm Clear View Group. As of the date of sale, the publishing company is known as Ebony Media Corporation.
Here below is a set of 45 covers of Jet magazine in the 1950s.
| Actress Acquanetta, Hollywood's Jungle Girl, Jet Magazine, February 14, 1952 |
| Can Bojangle's Widow, Elaine Robinson, Make a Comeback?, Jet Magazine, May 1, 1952 |
| Hollywood Starlet Mauri Lynn Gets Role in New Movie, Jet Magazine, May 22, 1952 |
| Urylee Leonardos, Broadway's Most-Jinxed Performer, Jet Magazine, September 25, 1952 |
| Vera Francis, Typical of Hollywood Black Beauties, Jet Magazine, June 5, 1952 |
See more »
