Esther Copper Jackson and Freedomways Magazine

[Troy]

This past weekend I added an event in which the work of Black, lesbian, feminist, mother, warrior, poet Audrey Lorde was celebrated by Angela Davis.  The celebration also included a tribute to Esther Copper Jackson, a clip of which is shown below:
 

 
Copper was the co-founder of the magazine Freedomways: A Quarterly Review of the Freedom Movement and served as the magazine's managing editor for the 25 years the magazine was published (1961 until 1985). 

Freedomways was an influential quarterly magazine that featured the the writings of Kwame Nkrumah, John Henrik Clarke, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Paul Robeson, Alice Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin and many more. The magazine also featured the art of Jacob Laurence, Romare Beardon, Elizabeth Catlett, and others.
 
While the magazine is referenced on AALBC.com a few times I was unfamiliar with it and was anxious to share the information with others.  After running a few queries online I discovered to my surprise that Dr. John Hernik Clarke was prominently involved with the magazine from the start serving as the editor for the better part of two decades.  I was very surprised Clarke's involvement with Freedomways was never mentioned that evening,
 
I then discovered an interview Dr. Todd Burroughs did with Dr. Clarke in 1992 about his involvement with Freedomways.  In it Dr Clarke say Freedonways was responsible for his becoming blind!
 

[Guest Kat]

Watching a program hosted by Mrs. Jackson's grandson Maurice Jackson and first heard the name of the magazine "Freedomways". I would like to acquire a complete collections or whatever is available for purchase. What happened to the magazine? Who owns the rights to it and can it be resurrected? Would it still have ties to Communism? I am seeking guidance and a template to begin a magazine that will once again address the issues and develop a "think tank" that will open debate on subject matter that will enlighten the minds of the Black, Afro, African American, Negro or just plain old fashioned colored folks. Time, it is a wasting. Let us make hay while the sun is shining. Thank you.

[Troy]

I just learned that Esther Copper Jackson passed away August 25, 2022, just a few days after her 105th birthday.  She was grow woman when @Cynique was born  

 

The video above was taken when she was 96!  I understand that she was spark until the end of her life.