Linda Johnson Rice

When Ms. Rice’s father founded Johnson Publishing Company in 1942 thanks to a $500 loan, he sought to create an equivalent magazine to Life that would tell the story of the black experience in America. Over the next 75 years, in both vivid prose as well as indelible pictures, the pages of Ebony and Jet captured the stories of African-Americans, from the famous to the family next door.

Ms. Rice will tell the story of how JPC helped shape the Civil Rights movement by informing and inspiring its audience, a mission which continues to reach millions of readers each month. Her speech will be punctuated by material from the company’s invaluable media archives – a treasure house of more than six decades worth of iconic cultural treasures, including feature interviews, photo profiles and performances from celebrities, newsmakers and famous Black Americans in the sciences, business, sports, politics, culture, civil rights, education, medicine, and more. Ms. Rice’s presentation tells a comprehensive and compelling story of America, its past and its present.