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Cold Shoulders, Segregation Couldn't Stop Ebony Fashion Tour

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 12, 2008

The spectacle that is the Ebony Fashion Fair was launched in 1956.
Eunice W. Johnson, wife of the publisher of Ebony magazine, agreed to stage a fashion benefit to help a friend in New Orleans. Two years later, the first tour featured four black models in 10 cities. It quickly became one of the most talked-about fashion events in the country.

There was a time when many designers gave Johnson the cold shoulder. They refused to sell her their clothes because they didn't want them associated with black people. Johnson often showed up at designer shows demanding to be let in.

In the segregated South, blacks were not welcomed in hotels. The only places the show could be held were in church halls, school gymnasiums and community centers. The models and show's coordinators often stayed in the homes of local sponsors.

Despite the challenges, Johnson forged on.

Today, Fashion Fair is an annual extravaganza that travels to more than 180 cities across the country, plus the Bahamas and Canada, raising more than $55 million for various black charities along the way.

The Tampa event raised money for Derrick Brooks Charities Inc.
Cloe Cabrera

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