the king of hattie.
It is with an incredibly heavy heart that we share the passing of the man who has been here since the beginning, my father, arthur lee johnson ii.
If you have followed Hattie from the beginning, then you have already experienced a piece of his love.
My dad believed in me before my actual birth. He believed in Hattie before there was an Issue 001 to hold in his hands. He believed in all the creators who built Hattie, in the importance of this archive, and in the possibility of what this magazine could become. He didn’t simply encourage me from the sidelines. He invested in it. He showed up for it. He fully funded Hattie and gave us the opportunity to build this magazine with the care and intention I dreamed of giving it.
Around here, he was the KING of Hattie.
When Issue 001 arrived, my dad sat down and gave Hattie a full review. Twelve minutes. In Depth. Because he was THAT type of Dad.
I’m sharing it here in full because there is something incredibly special about being able to hear him talk about this thing we built together, in his own voice.
My dad was also a Hattie contributor.
For Issue 001, I asked him to write about something he knew intimately: raising a creative child, alongside my beautiful mother and incredible village.
Hattie has always been exclusively print, and the stories within our pages have remained there. In his honor, I am making his essay available to read online in full.
His words belong here.
There is something else I want to share honestly.
HE MADE HATTIE POSSIBLE.
My father fully funded Hattie Magazine.
Every issue we have been able to print, every box that arrived at my door, every opportunity I have had to build this publication without compromising what I believed it could be was made possible, in large part, because my dad believed it was worth investing in.
His passing means I am grieving my father while also confronting a question I never expected to have to answer this soon:
How does Hattie continue without him?
I don't have the full answer yet.
What I do know is that I want it to continue. I want the archive we started building together to outlive both of us.
If you believe in the work we’re doing, there are a few ways you can help us continue:
Donate directly to Hattie. Every contribution helps us fund printing, production, photography, writers, designers and the people who make each issue possible.
Connect us with investors and funding partners. If you know an individual, organization, foundation or company that believes in independent Black media, cultural preservation and the future of Black storytelling, please share Hattie with them or introduce us.
Partner with us. Brands and organizations can support the archive through advertising, sponsorships, commissioned projects and editorial partnerships.
Buy Hattie. Purchasing an issue directly supports the publication while putting this archive into another home, library or collection.
Share our work. Tell someone about Hattie. Send the magazine to someone who should know us. Put our work in rooms we haven't reached yet.
Thank you for helping us carry it forward.
Jazmin Jenay
Editor-in-Chief