The Guardian

Vogue has a race problem. It can't be fixed with a few token black models | Priya Elan

Anna Wintour has apologized to black creatives for their treatment at the magazine. But will words turn into actions?
Beverly Johnson was US Vogue’s first black cover model, in 1974. Photograph: Conde Nast

In the current climate filled with so much black trauma, there’s a special significance in the Vogue Challenge – a celebration of black beauty and black bodies. The concept is simple: reimagining celebrated Vogue covers with yourself in place of the model or the celebrity. The challenge, which began on in May, then went viral on and , producing hundreds of covers. The and of of the were undeniable – and made you think black beauty would never to black creatives: “Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate and give space to black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators.”

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