Opportunity’s name was taken from the slogan of the NUL, “Not alms, but opportunity.” Its primary purpose was the dissemination of information about the NUL’s activities and research. The opening editorial of the January 1923 issue articulated the journal's hope to be a powerful "new effort" in "[t]he weary struggle of the Negro population for status thru self-improvement and recognition, aided by their friends" (Vol. 1 No.1, 1).

Under the Johnson’s editorial control, however, Opportunity broadened its scope to include artistic and literary works as well. The journal's significance in the literary activity of the Harlem Renaissance and the New Negro movement increased dramatically with Johnson's announcement of a literary competition in the August 1924 issue.

Opportunity was not, however, a forerunner on the front of publishing work by black authors. Writers such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen had been able to make their voices public before they were published in the pages of Opportunity. Scholar Chidi Ikonne points out, "the importance of Opportunity does not lie mainly in its being a black magazine bent on giving expression to young black voices, but rather in its modification and intensification of what other magazines and newspapers had been doing even before its establishment" (Ikonne 86). Johnson’s goal was to foster creative expression among young black writers, but also to expose that writing to an audience outside of the African American community (Austin 236).

In its years of publication, Opportunity never became self-sufficient. In 1927 its circulation reached 11,000, a fraction of that of Crisis (Johnson 48). It was kept afloat through the financial support of the NUL and grants from the Carnegie Foundation. It was never able to pay contributors and its literary contests were financed by friends of the magazine or successful authors. Opportunity was discontinued in 1949.

Compiled by Erica R. Bahls (Class of ‘06, Davidson College).