trash or treasures, flea market finds

I love going to flea markets in search of treasures. You just never know what you might find. Today I ventured out on an unusually warm day for Fall in DC in search of a copy of the book “Push,” which is now the major motion picture, “Precious” and coming soon to a theatre near you if not already. I plan to see the movie next weekend and wanted to read the book first. Within five minutes of my arrival to the “DC Farmer’s Market” flea market, I had a copy in my hand for a very good price. Mission accomplished so I should have headed back home to enjoy the rest of the afternoon swinging on my porch under a sunny sky and enjoying my book find but I decided to take a little stroll around the market first. Furniture, art, CDs, hats, jewelry,  and shoes mixed in with everything from trash to treasures depending on the eye of the beholder. I even ran into the Silver Lady pictured above. I asked her if she was going anywhere special to which she replied, “Heaven.” Alrighty then. Who am I to doubt it?

Anyways, I was making my way around looking here and there but I was careful not to get too close to the vendors’ mini-stores and doubly careful not to make eye contact. These days, everyone is so hungry for a sale that I didn’t want to get anybody’s hope up unless I was seriously thinking about making a purchase. After I had covered most of the ground, I was heading toward the exit gate when I heard this fellow yelling from my right, “Ebonies-One Dollah, Jets-Three for Two Dollahs!” Hmm…That sounded intriguing enough to move in his direction to take a closer look. Once I did, I saw Ebony and Jet magazines dating back to the 70’s scattered about in piles on his table. My eyes lit up. I love seeing the old magazine covers especially Ebony and Jet. They were in no condition to put on EBay but they seemed really valuable to me right away. I would later get this description of the two magazines in the blog “All Bronx News All The Time” to describe just what these magazines have meant to African-Americans.

Two of the most notable permanent fixtures in every black household over the years were Ebony and Jet magazines. If you wanted to learn about your history, the plight of black America, current issues facing us, how the political process of America affects us, how politics works, who the fastest rising actors are, successful black television shows, who was recently married, which cities had black mayors, police chiefs, school superintendents, how to register to vote, which cars offer the best value, how to apply for college scholarships, etc, More likely than not, either Ebony or Jet provided answers to those questions.

Unfortunately, the purpose of the blog entry was to share what an awful crisis the magazines published by the Johnson Publishing Company were facing earlier this year. The bleak headline was “Ebony & Jet Magazines are On the Verge of Financial Collapse.” As far as I can tell, their situation hasn’t changed much. Hopefully I am wrong. These magazines are certainly not the only print publications that have suffered tremendous losses. Both the economic downturn and the rapid shift to the 24/7 news cycle are to blame among other factors. We want our news a little deeper and a little faster these days. The Internet with a multitude of sources satisfies our hunger to have the very latest news and to have it free at the click of a mouse. I do, however, have subscriptions to Essence and Uptown, whose primary audience is African-American as well. I consider these magazines more focused on life-style and more directed toward me. I look forward to receiving them and set aside a special time to read them from cover to cover after they arrive.

I thought about how it is quite possible that Ebony and Jet might be discontinued in the future as I leafed through the old issues. They are now artifacts depicting what or whoever was hot or important at the time in African-American history and culture. I saw Sugar Ray Leonard, Jayne Kennedy, and Emmanuel Lewis gracing the covers. Wonder what they’re up to now? I grabbed the ones with “The Jeffersons”, “Good Times”, and “Different Strokes” because those were some of my favorite shows growing up. Ironically one Jet that had George and Weezy from ‘The Jeffersons” on the cover  read “The Jeffersons Are In…But Most Black Shows Are Out On TV.” Hmmm…not much has changed since 1978. When I got them home, instead of reading “Push”, I found myself skimming the old articles and looking at the advertisements, mostly for black beauty products, cigarettes, and liquor (“Nobody does it like the bull.”). There were a lot of blasts from the past. The Top Five Singles for August 27, 1981 were:

1. She’s A Bad Mama Jama by Carl Carlton                  
2. Love on a Two Way Street by Stacey Latisaw
3. I’m in Love by Evelyn King
4. Endless Love by Lionel and Diana Ross
5. Give It To Me Baby by Rick James

No hits lately from Carl and Stacey, Lionel and Diana are megastars still, and Rick has passed away. The same magazine on one page had articles about Michael Jackson and Phyllis Hyman. Both-gone too soon.

I was just about done reminiscing for the day and ready to open up my new book when I saw that the address label was still affixed to all the magazines. Apparently, a lady from Henderson, North Carolina once had the subscription to these. How and why did she keep them for thirty years? What route did they follow to end up in a DC flea market and now in my hands?  I even googled the lady and actually found her number. I am starting to think that maybe I am not so much an anthropologist as I am just plain ole nosey. I almost called her but stopped myself. What would I say? Thanks for helping me spend twelve more dollars than I intended to spend today? Actually I would probably just say thanks for being a pack rat so I can still enjoy all the history and beautiful photos in those magazines from back in the day. It’s always good to remember even as we move forward.

But should we all go out and get subscriptions to Ebony and Jet to ensure their future? Well for four more dollars than I spent on all the old magazines, I could have gotten a year subscription to some new ones. The bottom line is businesses must adapt to changing times and be forward-thinking to be successful in this sink or swim climate.  If Ebony and Jet remain relevant to a large enough audience, they will survive.  I definitely need Jet to stick around at least until I make the Jet Beauty of the Week. Now that issue would fly off the stands and absolutely ensure  its legacy and secure its future. For ths reason alone, you might want to get a subscription because you do not want to miss this when it happens! http://www.ebonyjet.com

Now finally I can read “Push.”

And that’s a wrap!