Thompson, Era Bell
1905-1986 · Contribution: 1947-1986
Magazine editor
Served as international editor of Ebony magazine for roughly two decades within a nearly 40-year career at Johnson Publishing Company, traveling to 124 countries and shaping the magazine’s global coverage of the African diaspora

Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1905, Des Moines, Iowa
- Active since
- 1947
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- International editor of Ebony
Impact on the world
Thompson gave Ebony's millions of readers a window onto the wider African diaspora, connecting African Americans to the independence-era continent decades before such coverage was common.
Sources
- North Dakota Office of the Governor
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