Johnson Publishing Company, which started Ebony, Jet magazines, files for bankruptcy

Chicago's historic Johnson Publishing Company has filed for bankruptcy, court records show.

The Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition was filed late Tuesday afternoon by the company once responsible for Ebony and Jet magazines. It sold the magazines in 2016, meaning Tuesday's move does not affect the publications.

"This decision was not easy, nor should it have been," the company said in a news release announcing the move. "Johnson Publishing Company is an iconic part of American and African American history since our founding in 1942, and the company's impact on society cannot be overstated."

The company said it "was caught in a tidal wave of marketplace changes and business issues which, despite exhaustive efforts, could not be overcome." It said it hoped to maximize the value of its assets through a sale that would benefit its creditors.

The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago is a painful reminder of how far the company has fallen since its heyday as one of the most recognizable African American brands in the nation.

The late John H. Johnson, the company's founder, had turned a $500 loan borrowed against his mother's furniture into one of the country's most successful African-American-owned corporations.

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