Negro Digest was a groundbreaking Black American publication founded in 1942 by John H. Johnson, the visionary behind Ebony and Jet magazines. Modeled after the Reader’s Digest, it began as a platform to highlight the achievements, perspectives, and cultural contributions of Black Americans during a time when mainstream media largely ignored them.

In 1970, the magazine was renamed Black World, marking a shift toward a more radical and Pan-Africanist editorial tone. Under the influential editorship of Hoyt W. Fuller, Black World became a key voice of the Black Arts Movement, publishing essays, poetry, and critical writings by major figures such as Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Sonia Sanchez. It served as both a cultural archive and a forum for political thought, reflecting the evolving consciousness of the African diaspora.

Though it ceased publication in 1976, Negro Digest / Black World remains an essential artifact of Black literary and intellectual history.

You can read the April 1950 edition in full on the Internet Archive.