Players was an American monthly softcore men's magazine. It was often nicknamed "the black Playboy" for its attempt at providing the African-American public with a racy, yet elegant reading choice. Once new black-centric magazines came in to the fold, publications such as The Messenger, Opportunity, and The Crisis would regularly show and portray photographs and short descriptions of Black life in America, specifically Women, to enlighten the masses as both moral and aspirational figures. These images were originally to challenge racist stereotypes, but would turn it on its head to create a vision of empowerment. Players Magazine would come along, as it would take this narrative and flip it to a sexualized state, which would change the world of snuff magazines. Players Magazine, amongst the others before it, attempted to end the narrative of ignorance towards Black life or the everyday representation of Black people. History Players was published by Bentley Morriss and Ralph Weinstock, doing business as Players International Publications. Morris and Weinstock, who were both white, had a long experience in the realm of men's magazines as owners of Adam and Sir Knight. The pair also owned a paperback book business, Holloway House Publishing. While the company did release serious biographies, it made a large share of its money from sensationalist books about sex workers and alternative lifestyles. When Holloway House struck gold with several accounts of the sex trade in the African-American underworld, in particular those by real life macks Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines, Morris and Weinstock realized the demand for mature ethnic entertainment. This prompted the creation of a series of novels starring Iceman, a fictional pimp turned vigilante patterned after Slim, and a brand new adult magazine called Players. The cover girl for the inaugural November 1973 issue was former Playboy Italy Playmate and cover girl Zeudi Araya. Players straddled the line between the mainstream aspirations of Playboy and the braggadocio associated with urban street cultures, with thinly veiled allusions to gold diggers and quick material gain. The magazine made no effort to hide its large inmate readership, featuring a letter from prison in virtually every reader's mail column. Holloway House Publishing avoided both the East Coast literary establishment and Johnson Publishing Company by distributing their books in inner-city communities, prisons, and military bases across the country. Simultaneously, they were exploiting marginalized artists and writers to produce content for their company. The first few