Blackhair is a UK publication dedicated to lending more visibility to black women in the media. When the cover model for the December/January 2017 issue wasn’t black, readers were understandably upset. Emily Bador, who identifies as white, English and Malaysian, appeared on the cover with an updo created to resemble natural black hair. The magazine's editor, Keysha Davis, issued an apology on Facebook, saying, "we were obviously not aware of this prior to selecting the image." She went onto assure the readers that "the last thing we want to do is add to [black women's] erasure."
Many fans were quick to accuse Bador of cultural appropriation for the hairstyle she wears on the cover. The model posted an impassioned apology on Instagram, explaining that the photo was taken before she was aware of the implications of a white woman wearing "black" hair, and that nobody consulted her about using the picture for this particular cover.
While this whole ordeal has been chalked up to being an accident, it has still left many readers with a bitter feeling. “This is a slap in the face to the countless struggling black models in the industry,” a commenter wrote in response to the company’s apology. Lets hope that Blackhair double- and triple-checks their magazine before they publish it next time.
You can read the magazine's full statement below:
