Ebony, monthly magazine geared to a middle-class African American readership. It was the first black-oriented magazine in the United States to attain national circulation.
Ebony was founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson of Chicago, whose first publishing venture was the pocket-size Negro Digest (1942). Johnson envisioned Ebony as a news and photo magazine patterned much after Life magazine but specifically designed for African American readers. Ebony was immediately successful. It initially highlighted African American entertainers and sports figures but has since shifted its editorial focus to include black achievement of all sorts. By the beginning of the 21st century, its circulation had reached about 1.8 million. The circulation of Jet, another Johnson magazine with an emphasis on news as well as entertainment, was about 900,000.