Ebony Magazine’s Creditors Duel Mystery Businessman Over Assets

Ebony magazine, once one of the most influential Black-owned media brands, has championed luminaries like Diana Ross, Beyonce Knowles and Barack Obama. Its photo archive is now housed at institutions including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Now 75 years old, the magazine is a shell of its former self. It hasn’t published a print edition since spring 2019, and weeks after its CEO was ousted following an internal review, creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition with the goal to “maximize the value of Ebony’s assets,” the company said in a July 31 statement ...