Black History – ONYX Magazine: The First 25 Years

ONYX MAGAZINE: THE FIRST 25 YEARS

In the 1990s, one couple had a dream—and it was given life. With breath, the dream inspires the communities it serves. It regales stories that depict Black citizens in the most positive ways. It actively tears down stereotypes and rights wrongs manipulated by society. It acknowledges the incredible impact Black residents have on communities. It proves how the business world would lack critical resources had Black leaders not been at the table. ONYX Magazine: A 25-year living legacy.

FOUNDERS

Lester and Lillian Seays met while in college at South Carolina State. On January 30, 1960, they married in Bamberg, S.C., and began their respective careers—she an educator and he an NFL player (Los Angeles Rams) and other professional teams. In that time, the couple moved to Orlando. Upon the completion of his football career, Lester became the southwest area director of Recreation at the City of Orlando. Lillian continued educating students in libraries and eventually the public school system.

Enterprising and entrepreneurial, Lester founded a video company, Video Memoirs, and it became a forerunner in videography for African Americans in Central Florida. And in 1993, the first publication seed was planted and “Wedding Belles” magazine was born. After they closed the doors on Wedding Belles in 1997, Lester and Lillian gave breath to ONYX Magazine. Lillian said of ONYX Magazine:

“It is to empower its readers by offering educational, inspirational and entertaining stories and editorials that focus primarily on the interests and enrichment of African Americans and those of the African diaspora. Further, it is the intent of ONYX Magazine to provide a venue for positive exposure for the accomplishments of Black people, and to promote a seamless diversified connection with other cultures throughout the state of Florida.” That became the mission. The concept was well-received.

With ONYX Magazine in full flow in 2003, the couple created LBS Foundation, Inc. Together, LBS and ONYX worked in collaboration to present the annual ONYX Awards, which remains the only statewide awards event that acknowledges the talent and contributions of African Americans in Florida.

PASSING THE TORCH

When illness struck Lillian, the couple agreed to pass the publication on to a smart, young professional named Rich Black. Black had been pivotal in creating the ONYX Awards and worked closely with Lester and Lillian in ONYX Magazine. He purchased the magazine from the Seayses in 2012 and began a new generation of Black Excellence as the magazine’s owner, publisher and editor-in-chief. In 2015, Black founded ONYX Speaks with the Mother of the Voting Rights Act Dr. Amelia Boynton. In 2016, Black established ONYX Magazine’s Women on the Move (WOTM). The celebration has honored 167 of Florida’s most dynamic and powerful Black women. In 2017, Black created the ONYX FoundaRich Black tion to enhance awareness of literacy, Black history, the arts, and financial well-being. Scores of community youths and college students have benefited from the effort. Under his leadership, the magazine held the first ONYX Business Connect in 2018 to unite local business communities for the exchange of information, resources and prospective commerce. Inspired by WOTM, Black, along with then-ONYX Advisory Committee Chair Dee Parker, established the Black Men Honors in 2019, which lauds professional Black men for their extraordinary work. In 2021, the event name changed to Men of Honor.

In 2020, while the nation was undergoing a pandemic, Black thought of his community first. He established the ONYX Magazine MaskUp! Stop the Spread campaign, which started with a billboard campaign in Orange County’s predominantly Black neighborhoods. The effort expanded to include a virtual town hall series with national expert panels. The effort was met with a series of awards.

Prior to his role at ONYX Magazine, Black was the first diversity director of Rosen Hotels, working directly with Harris Rosen. A proud graduate of Bethune-Cookman University, he initiated the plan to create the Dr. Mary McLeod-Bethune Monument and Centennial Gardens. The project raised more than $800,000 and the statue was unveiled at Bethune-Cookman University during its Centennial celebration in 2004. In July of 2022, another statue of Bethune replaced that of a Confederate general in Statuary Hall in our nation’s Capitol. The campus statue project helped make the case for support for the D.C. Initiative.

The ONYX Magazine legacy lives on and will continue to entertain, inspire and inform communities for years to come. In the next year, ONYX Magazine will share more in-depth stories about the founding of this American treasure: ONYX Magazine.