The history of African American magazines
The African American magazines or the black magazines are a
source of information and entertainment for the community with a
sense of identity, which makes it the most priceless of all
publications. To some the African American magazines or the
black magazines are considered as a source of discrimination in
reverse. There is a segment of blacks who are of the opinion
that African American magazines or black magazines have been
used by the blacks to segregate themselves from the rest of the
community and would only lead to reverse discrimination in the
community. The more discerning of critics are of the opinion
that this perception could not be further from the truth
considering that the black magazines are more of a necessity of
the African American community rather than an exercise in
discrimination.
The communication wonder - black magic
The black community uses the black magazines as a media to
communicate and circulate exclusively black related issues but
at no stage does it communicate hate for other communities so
reverse discrimination cannot be further from the truth. The
mainstream magazines do not cover African American issues -
whether it is police brutality or civil rights issues. On the
contrary the mainstream magazines focus primarily on all white
issues and rarely if ever focus on the African American issues
making it all the more important for the black community to
publish black magazines. It is in appropriate to believe that
the black community excludes the whites from the black magazines
- the reality being that when black issues whether civil rights
or otherwise are being addressed the whites would be excluded
just as when mainstream magazines are published the blacks are
naturally excluded
The merging cultures
The concept of having black magazines like Jet Magazines is not
racial - rather it is cultural - to have a all black magazine
with all black issues being tackled is not racist for all are
invited to comment or read - making it cultural rather than
racial. To illustrate - a Chinese restaurant serving all Chinese
cuisine by a Chinese staff is barely racial - it is cultural.
The black magazines are known to be supported by corporate
America - coca cola, wal mart and the likes. This only further
reiterates that the black magazines are an asset to the blacks
community and not racial or an antipathy considering that
corporate America would not support a racial movement -
regardless of the fact that they are making a profit out of
these black magazines.
On the contrary it is a near amazing fact that the black
magazines in some instances are published in collaboration with
the white community too making it a highly cohesive move with
the sole motive of co existence of two ethically different
communities in co - existence with mutual respect for each other
- be it the blacks or the African American community as they are
known and the whites. The commercial sense associated with the
black or African American magazines underlines the need for a
black magazine, which would advertise black businesses other
than addressing black issues. This further enhances the scope of
black businesses like printing, publishing, PR firms and the
like making a black magazine more than just a source of
entertainment - it is a complete way of life for the black
community!