A milestone was celebrated in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood on October 17, 2010 as EBONY magazine ushered in its 65th year of the publication with R&B Queen Mary J. Blige.

Founded in 1945 by the late Publisher and Chairman John H. Johnson, the magazine is the largest black-owned publishing company in the world. Ebony has been a fixture in the African American community with historical covers featuring the world’s top entertainers including the late Michael Jackson, Halle Berry, Whitney Huston, Michael Jordan, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Will Smith.

After her concert at the Chicago Theatre, Blige met with EBONY‘s CEO Desiree Rogers, editor-in-chief Amy Du Bois Barnett and managing editor Terry Glover at the red carpet arrival at Le Passage nightclub.

The evening drew hundreds of industry leaders, professional athletes, celebrities and fans of the publication including Chicago Bears players Lance Briggs, Garrett Wolf, Chester Taylor and Chris Harris, singer Miguel (opening act on Mary J. Blige’s current tour), rapper GLC, DJ Broadway Streetz, Kevin Ross of Capitol Records and publicist Regina Daniels. The event was powered by NuFace Entertainment.

In photo: Ebony CEO Desiree Rogers, Mary J. Blige, Ebony managing editor Terry Glover, Kendu Isaacs

Photo by Jamila Webb & Leroy Burton