Ebony magazine established itself as a great supporter and admirer of Charles White and this September 1963 issue of the magazine included an early appreciation of White, who was one of a small number of African-American artists in a feature in this issue of the magazine. Titled "Leading Negro Artists", it was summarised on the Contents page as "Talent triumphs over bias bonds". On the first page of the feature itself, the wording hasd become "Talent Breaks bias bond". The piece focused on "a representative sample [of America's leading Negro artists] selected by veteran artist Hale Woodruff." Over a number of pages (131 - 140) a number of artists were introduced, by way of portraits of them in their studios. The artists were, Jacob Lawrence, Woodruff himself, Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, and Norman Lewis. These artists were the beneficiaries of handsome and engaging colour portraiture. Douglas was referenced as a "painter-potter-educator". Thereafter, the portraits of the following artists were rendered in monochrome: Richmond Barthé, Richard Hunt, Charles White, John Biggers, Eldzier Cortor, Palmer Hayden, John Rhoden, Selma Burke, Hughie Lee-Smith, Merton Simpson, Earnest Crichlow, Al Hollingsworth, Ellis Wilson, John Wilson, Humbert Howard, William Artis, James L. Wells, and Eugene Grigsby.
The writer of the Introduction, on the first page of the feature, was not credited. Neither, unfortunately, was the photographer(s) responsible for the many portraits.
The portrait of White positioned him in front of his drawing Uhuru, though as with the other portraits in the feature, no details are stated as to the works depicted. Interestingly, several publications in which Uhuru is reproduced (see for example, Harlem USA) have the work's year of making as 1964, which must be incorrect, given that it appears in this 1963 issue of Ebony.
The entry on White reads as follows: "Charles White, noted for his masterful drawings, is popular among art lovers although his larghely representational works deviate drastically from current abstract vogue. While a pupil in Chicago public school, he once refused to study U.S. history text book because it omitted Negroes."
"Leading Negro Artists” Ebony magazine, Volume XVIII, No. 11 September 1963, 131 - 140
Several years later, Ebony magazine ran a substantial feature on White: Louie Robinson, “Charles White: Portrayer of Black Dignity. Artist achieves fame with works on Negro themes,” Ebony magazine, 22/9, (July 1967): 25 – 36. Ebony magazine also used a drawing by White on the cover of its August 1966 special issue on The Negro Woman.