African American Publications Collection

Sepia was a magazine that featured articles on the achievements of African Americans. Sepia was founded in 1946 as Negro Achievements by Horace J. Blackwell, an African American clothing merchant from Fort Worth, Texas. In 1950, George Levitan, a Jewish American plumbing merchant bought Blackwell’s magazines and Good Publishing Company, and gradually changed the name of Negro Achievements to Sepia. Good Publishing also owned other magazines catered to Black audiences such as Hep, Bronze Thrills, and Jive. After Levitan’s death in 1976, Sepiawas bought by a member of Blackwell’s editorial team, Beatrice Pringle. Pringle ceased publication of Sepia in 1983.

Flash Newspicture Magazinewas a Washington D.C. based weekly magazine in print from June 1937-August 1939 created to cater to African Americans, and feature images and text about African American life during the 1930s. Flash features photography by Pittsburg photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris, who was the leading photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier one of the largest Black newspapers in the country.

Sources:

“Review” Reviewed work “Teenie Harris, Photographer: Image, Memory, History” by Cheryl Finely, Laurence Glasco, Joe W. Trotter, Deborah Wilis. Biography Vol. 32, No.2 Spring 2012

Flash Weekly Newspicture Magazine, May 3, 1938 https://transcription.si.edu/project/23416

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepia_(magazine)