So I received a tweet today that read:@EvetteWilliams why am i learnin bout this on #cnn & not poshpolitics? Essence Mag defends choice of white fashion dir http://bit.ly/aQYLKD
So I answered:
LMAO. @pauljunior I read that today and wanted to post that mess but didn't have time... Good looking out! http://bit.ly/aQYLKD
LMAO. @pauljunior I read that today and wanted to post that mess but didn't have time... Good looking out! http://bit.ly/aQYLKD
So, yes. Like everyone else glued to their blackberry’s this morning, I was a little alarmed when I read the headline off of my RSS feed. A white editor at Essence Magazine-one of the most quintessential African American fashion and lifestyle publications in the continental United States of America. From my initial reading of the article, one word came to mind: interesting…. Interesting enough for @cnn to cover, because they seem to BE ALL OVER RACE this season and interesting enough for me to carve out some time to write about it.
Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray had a feature article on theGrio.com today (and other arenas) about her decision to hire a white fashion editor for the magazine. Unfortunately, instead of speaking directly about the issues, she “skirted” around them – no pun intended.
When speaking of why she hired a White editor (Elliana Placas) she said:
I got to see firsthand her creativity, her vision, the positive reader response to her work, and her enthusiasm and respect for the audience and our brand. As such, I thought she'd make an excellent addition to our team. And I still do. This decision in no way diminishes my commitment to black women, our issues, our fights. I am listening and I do take the concerns to heart.
When refuting her African American readership’s concern she responded with what we “should care about”:
“the things I think should most upset people and inspire boycotts and Facebook protests, often seem to go relatively unnoticed. Like when Essence conducted a three-part education series this year on the plight of black children falling through the cracks in under-performing schools. Crickets. When we reported on the increase in sex trafficking of young black girls in urban communities? Silence. When our writers investigated the inequities in the health care services black women receive? Deadly silence”…….ETC
In my opinion, as a public figure, issuing an official statement, Murray did a good job but as an influential African American woman with an inherent obligation to correct representation of African American people (say that backwards five times), Murray did not do so well. Isn’t it your job to bring issues to light and to “make people care”?
Working in media, fashion, AND politics, it's hard to guess when someone chooses to “care” about an issue and furthermore, why they should. Yes. Race is a hot issue that has lead to statements like: race is annoying me, since the election of President Barack Obama, but it is also this same issue that elected him as well. It's the same issue that brought Africans to America, started the slave trade, historically black colleges and universities, black hair care products, the NAACP, Affirmative Action, and dare I say it- ESSENCE Magazine.
To allude that African Americans do not have a right to be outraged that a White woman is over the Fashion department of an African Americana magazine is a little irresponsible and almost disrespectful. We all agree that education and sex trafficking within the black community are alarming topics that should be addressed in our communities, but to say that the same readership that opposes a White editor at Essence does not oppose those topics too, is a little ill-informed. Have you searched for Facebook petitions and/or groups on these issues…. There are tons…. Despite the privacy settings, you can still search for them. I encourage you to!
At the end of the day… this decision is about MONEY. I asked the same twitter friend:
@pauljunior isnt a white editor of @essencemagazine like havin a white president of a black sorority?
And the answer is yes, it is the same thing. Having a White fashion director not only diversifies the staff and scope of the magazine, but it helps to bring credibility to its fashion department. I am not saying “White is Right”, but what I am saying is that “White is Green”. Editor-in-Chief Murray and I agree on “the lack of visibility of African-American women throughout the ranks of the fashion industry, which is overwhelmingly white.” But her solution to this problem was clearly to keep the “overwhelmingness” going.
I disagree. But hey, I’m not the Editor in Chief of @EssenceMagazine.
Martini’s up for a Black Magazine making headlines.
(that helps to bring in $$$ too)
Photog credit: Frank Micellotta/Getty Images
