Phyl Garland

Phyllis "Phyl" T. Garland (1935 – November 7, 2006) was an academic, journalist and music critic known for her contributions to the formalization of arts journalism and for becoming the first Black and first female member of faculty to earn tenure at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Personal life Phyllis Garland was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in 1935. Her father was Percy Garland, one of the first Black men with a career in industrial photography, and her mother was Hazel Garland, the first African-American woman to serve as editor-in-chief of a nationally circulated newspaper chain.

Garland graduated from McKeesport High School in 1953.

In 1965, Garland joined the Chicago staff of Ebony Magazine as a contributing editor and music critic. In 1969, she became the New York editor, serving until 1972. During this time, Garland also served as Director of Editorial Operations for Johnson Publishing Company in New York.

Garland was also a contributing editor to numerous other pop culture and music publications, such as the Stereo Review, where she wrote on Black pop music from 1978 to 1994. She was hosted by Studs Terkel in a radio interview about the book on November 25, 1968, where they discussed the role of music in civil rights, the roles of Black churches in soul music, and other topics from the book.

In 1984, Garland published Michael: in Concert, With Friends, At Play, about the Black pop star Michael Jackson.

In 1989, Garland was a writer on the documentary film Adam Clayton Powell.