An Advocacy Award of Excellence is given for the outstanding efforts to save the historic Ebony Test Kitchen. Used for decades by Ebony Magazine food editors, the Test Kitchen is a significant part of the legacy of Johnson Publishing Company, the nation's foremost African American publisher during its prime. Originally housed within the Publishing Company’s headquarters, itself a Chicago Landmark designed by John Moutousammy, the first Black architect to have a building on Michigan Avenue, the Test Kitchen got its signature funky aesthetic with the help of Palm Springs-based interior designers William Raiser and Arthur Elrod. In 2018, as the building faced redevelopment, Landmarks Illinois secured the Test Kitchen's future by purchasing it for $1. With the aid of dedicated volunteers and the Skyline Council, it was meticulously documented, dismantled, and stored. The next year, it went on loan to the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD), which reconstructed two rooms, refurbished the kitchen, and reproduced key elements, including its iconic wallpaper, for the exhibition African/American: Making the Nation’s Table. Following the exhibition, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) expressed interest in acquiring it. In June 2023, Landmarks Illinois and the NMAAHC announced the donation of the Ebony Test Kitchen, which will become part of the museum's permanent collection, ensuring its pivotal role in Black, culinary, and architectural history endures. While conservation is underway, visitors can explore the Ebony Test Kitchen on the award-winning Searchable Museum site. 

Landmarks Illinois (Frank Butterfield, Lisa DiChiera, Kaitlyn McAvoy, Bonnie McDonald); Skyline Council of Landmarks Illinois and volunteers (Justin Barnes, Susanna Craib-Cox, Eric Dexter, Jill Dexter, Chris Enck, Lauren Garvey, Monica Giacomucci, Michael Johnson, Rachel Leibowitz, Chelsea Medek, Gloria Moy, Lewis Purdy, Anthony Rubano, Erica Ruggiero, Laura Schuetz, Matt Seymour, Meredith Morgan Stuart); Ebony Test Kitchen Advisory Panel (Adele Cygelman, Chris Enck, Graham Grady, Ra Joy, Yvette LeGrand, Nathan Mason, Eric T. McKissack, Langdon Neal, Angelique Power, Sandra Rand, Joseph W. Slezak, Amanda Williams); Lee Bey (formerly of the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center); Chris Enck (Revive Architecture); Joe Slezak (3L Real Estate); Museum of Food and Drink (Peter Kim, Nazli Parvizi, Catherine Piccoli, Jean. Nihoul); Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Kevin Young, Joanne Hyppolite, Ph.D.)

Additional Thanks:
W.E. O’Neil Construction; Movetastic; The Africa Center; Eden Bridgeman Sklenar (EBONY Media); Flatbush Moving and Storage