Bennett, Lerone, 1928-....

Historian Lerone Bennett served as the executive editor ofEbonyfor almost forty years. His written work deftly explored the history of race relations in the United States as well as the current environment in which African Americans strive for equality. Bennett was born on October 17, 1928, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, to Lerone and Alma Reed Bennett. When Bennett was young, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and it was here, while attending Jackson's public schools, that Bennett's interest in journalism was initiated.

Bennett attended Morehouse College, earning a B.A. in 1949. He always considered Morehouse as the center of his academic development. After graduating, Bennett formally entered the world of journalism as a reporter for the now defunctAtlanta Daily World. He became the city editor for the magazine and worked there until 1953, when he began his work as an associate editor atJetmagazine in Chicago, Illinois. In 1954, Bennett became an associate editor atEbonyand he was promoted to senior editor of the magazine in 1958. Since then, his comprehensive articles became one of the magazine's literary hallmarks.

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