*The editors of Blackhair magazine issued a statement this week, in which they apologized to readers for mistakenly putting a white model on the cover of their December/January 2017 cover.
Editor Keysha Davis issued the apology via the publication’s Facebook page and attempted to explain how the mix-up happened:
We often ask PR companies/salons to submit images for the magazine, specifically stating that models must be black or mixed race. We can only take their word for it, and of course, try to use our own judgment. At Blackhair, we continuously strive to celebrate black women in all our beautiful variation of skin hues and hair textures. We are keenly aware of how black women are underrepresented in the mainstream media and the last thing we want to do is add to our erasure. In this ever-changing world, race will surely become even more fluid and no doubt conversations around black identity will continue to change, and we definitely welcome the dialogue.
READ RELATED STORY: Mos Def Labeled ‘Undesirable’ by South Africa & Ordered Out of the Country; Sets Final U.S. Concerts
It was the model who informed the publication that she is indeed a white girl. On her Instagram page, Emily Bador posted a picture of the issue along with her face, and in the caption she explained that the cover image was taken nearly four years ago, when she 15, and it was never intended to be used for a magazine cover, per The Root.
“If I had known it was going to be published, I would never have condoned it,” Bador wrote. “I’m upset and angry I was never asked by the photographer/hair salon/anyone if this image could be used for the cover [of] Black Hair.”
Many Blackhair readers lashed out at the publication over the “mistake.”
“This is a slap in the face to the countless struggling black models in the industry,” commenter Careen Dean Balfour wrote in response to the apology letter on Blackhair’s Facebook page. “Even more so, a slap in the face to your readers who pay a lot of money each publication to see hairstyles that represent them, being modeled by women who look like them.”
Another reader wrote: “Anyone who is buying into this lame-ass PR by the magazine is clearly an apologist. The magazine is called Black hair! Black hair! Black hair! … We are being poisoned against ourselves.”
Yet another comment pointed out the obvious, considering how far too many black folks are obsessed with light skin and mixed-race, reader Aderonke Lawal’s noted: “I doubt many of us would have known if this had not been flagged by the model.”
After all, the black selective believe Kim Kardashian, Mariah Carey, Amber Rose and Rachel Dolezal are black. So if Bador never raised her white flag, she could’ve played the black card all the way to the bank.
Some even suggested on social media that she hit up Maury or DNA ancestry to confirm her genetics. They want this chile to be black so bad… SMDH.
*KanyeShrug*
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
