Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Crisis Magazine




Just thought I'd share a bit about a new project we are starting at my other-other-other job at the Modernist Journals Project: we have begun digitizing early issues of The Crisis magazine, which was published in association with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People {starting in 1910}. The magazine was edited by the brilliant W.E.B. DuBois, author of the The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois campaigned against racism, lynching, and segregation in the U.S., and the magazine takes up these topics, as well as addressing women's rights, democratic ideals, and fair access to education. For me, the visual elements are always as interesting {if not more} than the writing, so I thought I would share some of the early covers with you...the ones from the 20's are incredible, and you can really see the African/Egyptian influences on the art from that period. I'm looking forward to browsing some of the earlier issues, as well -- most of which have been hidden away in archives for decades!
::P.S. The Crisis Magazine is still being published today -- more than 100 years after it began! Check it out here.