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

Press & Photography: collage image
Press & Photography

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.

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