Theaster Gates: When Clouds Roll Away
Once the largest African American–owned public enterprise in the United States, Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Company, producer of Ebony and Jet magazines, documented and helped define the postwar Black experience. It transformed print journalism through articles that celebrated Black achievement, beauty, and culture until the changing media landscape forced it to sell its assets and iconic building in 2011. Since then, the Rebuild Foundation, a cultural platform established by Theaster Gates, has been the steward of JPC’s legacy, including its furniture, prestigious art collection, and twelve-thousand-volume library.