New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Wears Maori Cloak To Queen's Dinner At Buckingham Palace

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Wears Maori Cloak To Queen's Dinner At Buckingham Palace

New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, made quite the style statement, attending the Queen's Dinner at Buckingham Palace Thursday evening. Ardern was in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and arrived at Buckingham Palace wearing a traditional Māori cloak (or Kahu huruhuru).

 The Guardian explains that the cloaks are traditionally "bestowed on chiefs and dignitaries to convey prestige, respect and power."

Mark Sykes, an expert on the Māori special collection at the National Museum of New Zealand, further explained the garment's significance to the publication, stating: "Cloaks are worn for warmth, protection and to symbolise your status and mana [power]."

He continued, "I think it shows how she is portraying herself as a leader of Māori, of all of New Zealand, of everyone."

Karlie Kloss As New Estee Lauder Ambassador: Beauty, Fashion & Tech Are Intertwined & Girls Must Code

Karlie Kloss As New Estee Lauder Ambassador: Beauty, Fashion & Tech Are Intertwined & Girls Must Code

Supermodel, businesswoman and philanthropist Karlie Kloss is keen on having bucket lists. Kloss scored a major dunk this week, becoming a brand ambassador for Estee Lauder, joining colleagues Joan Smalls and Kendall Jenner as a global spokesmodel for the iconic beauty brand.

"My entire career, having a beauty contract has been at the top of my bucket list," Kloss reveals. "When I was on an airplane commuting between my life as a high school student in St. Louis and my parallel life as a fashion model in NYC, I would journal about my dreams. I have to find that journal that says, 'Bucket List: Estée Lauder beauty contract.' It's surreal, and I'm really grateful and excited."

One of the refreshing qualities about Karlie Kloss is that she doesn't mind being a bit ditzy at times. This quality is particularly refreshing when she spends so much time with young girls and women with her #KodeWithKlossy project. Karlie plays this role in her first film for Estee Lauder.

Estee Lauder | First Day at Work

Natalie Portman Refuses To Accept Israel's Genesis Prize, Refusing To Appear With Benjamin Netanyahu

Natalie Portman in her directorial debut, 'A Tale of Love and Darkness, about the creation of Israel and its impact on Palestinians.

Oscar-winning actor Natalie Portman has backed out of a major award ceremony in Israel as this year's recipient of the Genesis Prize --, citing the scheduled presence of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the event. Portman issues a statement late Friday saying that she did not wish to appear as endorsing the prime minister. 

Portman, who is Jewish and was born in Israel, has starred in such hit movies as “Black Swan” and the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy. She directed a 2015 feature, “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” an adaptation of the autobiographical novel by the Israeli author Amos Oz and shot in Jerusalem.

In her statement Friday, Ms. Portman said: “I am not part of the B.D.S. movement and do not endorse it. Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation.”

“Israel,” she said, “was created exactly 70 years ago as a haven for refugees from the Holocaust. But the mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities is simply not in line with my Jewish values. Because I care about Israel, I must stand up against violence, corruption, inequality, and abuse of power.”

Portman has been very critical of Netanyahu in the past, saying she was "very, very upset aned disappointed" over his 2015 re-election. “I find his racist comments horrific,” she said, according to The New York Times. 

The Genesis Prize was founded in 2013 to celebrate Jewish achievement and contribution to humanity, in the words of the organizers. Its founding partners are listed on the prize website as the Israeli prime minister’s office, the Genesis Philanthropy Group and the Jewish Agency for Israel, a quasi-governmental organization that deals with Jewish immigration and the wider Jewish diaspora. Previous laureates include Michael R. Bloomberg (2014), Michael Douglas (2015), Itzhak Perlman (2016), and Anish Kapoor (2017).

British Actor Naomie Harris Cites Female Management Team In Porter Edit Interview April 20, 2018

British Actor Naomie Harris Cites Female Management Team In Porter Edit Interview April 20, 2018

British actor Naomie Harris is styled by Catherine Newell-Hanson for 'In Shape', lensed by Paola Kudacki for Porter Edit April 20, 2018.

Naomie Harris appeared in the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, 'Moonlight', where she was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA Award for her tour de force performance as the protagonist's mother, Paula.

Harris will appear next in director Andy Serkis’ feature adventure, “Mowgli,” as a member of a stellar cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett. The film is scheduled for release later this years.

On the subject of #MeToo in Hollywood, Naomie Harris says that it really wasn't a problem for her, admitting that she was 'protected' from sexual harassment by her managers -- protection not afforded to so many other Hollywood women by their own managers. 

Harris candidly offers a simple example of how that works: 'When everything [about Harvey Weinstein] was blowing up, my manager did remind me about a person who asked me, post-screening, to go up to his room and have a drink.

But because my manager is amazing, she immediately stepped in and said, 'That's not happening under any circumstances'. It was four or five years ago."  Because she's been surrounded by primarily women on her team, Harris believes she's escaped much of the intimidation, misery or just plain good-fun, male pussy-grabbing so many other women actors have experienced.

Harris also takes up the topic of cultural appropriation, one that will surely bring a hailstorm of Twitter hate onto her shoulders. "'I think it’s a compliment to adopt other cultures and races’ ideas of what makes them look beautiful.'  

Does Burberry's Iconic Plaid Have Ties To The African Disaspora?

A quick search on the history of plaid brings us to this PS Magazine article, deeply rooted in British history and especially Scotland.  One look at the styling in this high-impact image of Burberry's iconic plaid featured now at Interview Magazine online takes us to a more familiar story, a GlamTribale journey older than Scotland, one that begins in Africa. Models Elizabeth Ayodele, Sarah Abney and Ana Pau signal "a revival of '90s cool ~ with a colorful, ultra-modern twist." 

Progress! We move on to CIAD, the Costume Institute of the African Diaspora, with a UK web addy. CIAD's mission "is to be the main port of call for information regarding costumes, fashion history, textiles and textiles construction from around the African Diaspora and in so doing create a bridge between cultural organisations worldwide."

There's nothing more important to GlamTribal than the stories of human history and humanity's deep connections to Africa. It makes no sense to me that the British Empire invented plaids. The true story must lie in the reality of the African Diaspora, and further investigation is required.

One of our featherweight GlamTribal decoupage beads uses an African tile pattern. Both necklace and earring sets shown here also feature woolly mammoth decoupage beads and woolly mammoth bone beads 10,000-100,000 years old.  Like the so-called Scottish plaid found on a long-buried, 3.000 year-old Caucasian Cherchen Man in China in 1978, these woolly mammoth bone beads are most-likely from Siberia. Both discoveries are a long way from the African continent; yet scientists believe they have deep roots in Africa.

This is our story of human history, and GlamTribal is sticking to it, until science makes paradigm-changing discoveries about our journey to now. 

Our shared cultural history is a fusion stew of borrowing, blending and sometimes outright stealing the creativity and beauty created by others.  This historical truth is lodged in immense pain, suffering and outright domination of some people for the success and privilege of others. We cannot rewrite that history -- the journey to now --but we can connect the record.

Equally important, we can acknowledge and also honor the birth of  humanity and human civilization in Africa. It's our shared DNA, and white nationalists -- reinforced by cultural and religious institutions -- can try to rewrite truth, but the scientific record is clear. GlamTribal is sticking to this story, too.  ~ Anne

Eye: Cardi B Sets GQ US May 2018 Straight On The Roosevelts -- Franklin & Eleanor -- Who REALLY Made America Great Again

Eye: Cardi B Sets GQ US May 2018 Straight On The Roosevelts -- Franklin & Eleanor -- Who REALLY Made America Great Again

Cardi B is fighting to stay true to her Bronx roots, having dropped a new album, 'Invasion of Privacy', opening in the top spot and making her (only) the fifth female rapper with a No. 1 album. Cardi B stands with sisters Nicki Minaj, Eve, Foxy Brown and Lauryn Hill,writes the New York Times, continuing:

“Invasion of Privacy” also had the highest streaming week ever for a female artist, with 202.6 million streams of tracks from the album, beating Beyoncé, who logged 115 million for “Lemonade” two years ago. In addition to the streams, “Invasion of Privacy” had 103,000 sales as a complete album, on formats like CD and download.

Cardi B drops into the pages of GQ US May 2018, lensed by Christian Weber and interviewed by Caity Weaver.

"I love political science," says Cardi, tucking into: Brussels sprouts with bacon, mashed potatoes with lobster, macaroni and cheese with optional truffle upgrade, shrimp cocktail with lemon and salt on the side, and a Coke with extra ice. We know the West Hollywood restaurant Cardi selected for dinner is good because, a member of her team explained earlier, Drake ate here last night. "I love government. I'm obsessed with presidents. I'm obsessed to know how the system works.

The "Bodak Yellow" rapper also weighed in on Social Security, telling Weaver that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was "the real 'Make America Great Again,' because if it wasn't for him, old people wouldn't even get Social Security."

In an added compliment, one not to be taken lightly, Roosevelt's wife gets her own high-five, after Cardi B finishes off her macaroni and cheese, and explains to Weaver how social security for seniors came to be:

Alexandra Nataf Flashes Arizona Muse For Mango Committed Spring/Summer 2018 Campaign

Alexandra Nataf Flashes Arizona Muse For Mango Spring/Summer 2018 Campaign

Model Arizona Muse fronts the Mango Spring/Summer 2018 campaign. Alexandra Nataf captures Arizona, styled by Ilona Hamer./ Hair by Mark Hampton; makeup by Siddhartha Simone

Model Arizona Muse fronts the eco-friendly Mango Committed Spring/Summer 2018 campaign. Alexandra Nataf captures Arizona, styled by Ilona Hamer./ Hair by Mark Hampton; makeup by Siddhartha Simone

Arizona explains the sustainability credentials behind Mango's Committed Collection:

“I love the MANGO committed collection. I am so excited to be here wearing it. This is my passion and MANGO came to me and said “Oh we would like to have you in our collection because of your interest in sustainability”. People are starting to see that this is my real interest and passion and I am really honored. I love it because the fabrics feel great, I know a lot about where the fabrics come from and I know how much better they are for our environment, our world and us. The fabrics that you use are really high quality like, Tencel, which is made from trees that were raised to be cut, so has never deforested anything and also the chemicals used in the process are never wasted, they reuse 99.7 % of the chemicals that they use for processing. And also you have chosen organic cotton, which is a totally different way of growing cotton. From my personal point of view, my decision to wear organic cotton comes from the way the farm is run, an organic farm for cotton is a totally different organization and that’s really important to the health of our environment.” – Muse for Vogue Paris on MANGO committed collection.

Nikki Haley Slams The White House & Larry Kudlow: "With All Due Respect, I Don't Get Confused"

Nikki Haley Slams The White House & Larry Kudlow: "With All Due Respect, I Don't Get Confused"

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley coolly and calmly shot down the Trump Administration boys club on Tuesday, after colleagues blamed confusion and misstatements about additional Russian sanctions on her. There's a lesson learned here for women as gutsy as Haley -- which is not the majority of American women -- and for good reason. 

New York Magazine provides the story backdrop, with Ambassador Haley stating on Sunday's 'Face the Nation' that additional sanctions were forthcoming, aimed at Russian companies that support Syria's chemical-weapons program. The formal announcement was coming shortly, said Haley, probably on Monday.

Eye: Karl Lagerfeld Is "Fed Up" With #MeToo | Interview Magazine Scrambles | Georgina Chapman Is Ready For Marchessa Comeback

Eye: Karl Lagerfeld Is "Fed Up" With #MeToo | Interview Magazine Scrambles | Georgina Chapman Is Ready For Marchessa Comeback

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld has an opinion on absolutely every topic, and now he's told Numero magazine that he is "fed up" with the #MeToo movement. Lagerfeld takes issue with moves in the fashion industry to embrace new regulations in the interest of protecting young models. 

Lagerfeld was interviewed by Numero on International Women's Day -- perhaps not the best idea. 

[Numero] Anyway, moving on, today is International Women’s Day…

{KL] For me Women’s Day is every day of the year. Men’s fashion does little for me. I buy it of course, and I’m delighted that Hedi [Slimane] is going to Céline but drawing a men’s collection and having to put up with all those stupid models, no thanks. Not to mention the fact with all their accusations of harassment they have become quite toxic. No, no, no, don’t leave me alone with one of those sordid creatures.

Will Fashion Hold Tight To Its Embrace Of Black Model Beauty? Here's Hoping

Will Fashion Hold Tight To Its Embrace Of Black Model Beauty? Here's Hoping

Tiya Miles is a professor of American culture and history at the University of Michigan, as a member of the Program in American Culture, Center for Afro-American and African Studies and Native American Studies Program.  In 2011 Miles won a five-year grant MacArthur Fellowship for her intellectual prowess -- which is to say that Tiya Miles knows that's going on in her world.  

When the topic is models, Miles believes that Hollywood, fashion and beauty businesses are responding to the popular public movements demanding change. The changes are worldwide, but when the subject is fashion models, the lens centers on New York, London, Milan and Paris. Striking an ironic note, Miles sees our growing consciousness of the "importance of visibility and voclaity for people of color, particularly black people" as a positive outcome of the threatening rise of white nationalist identity across America and Europe.

“It is no coincidence that this runway model trend and movies like 'Black Panther' "have arrived at the same time," Prof. Miles told the New York Times after the Fall 2018 fashion shows. "The two are interlocked, as both have been incubating in what feels a like a growing crusade with many of the hallmarks of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They are part of a pushback against the dominant pressures of European and American white centrality.”

Viola Davis Tells Women in the World She Was #MeToo Before It Became A Hash Tag

Viola Davis Tells Women in the World She Was #MeToo Before It Became A Hash Tag

Two of AOC's favorite women were in the house Thursday night, when MSNBC host and author Joy-Ann Reid sat down with Viola Davis at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center at the close of the first day of the 2018 Women in the World Summit. The Hollywood Reporter recaps the exchange. 

Davis spoke positively about changes coming to Hollywood, saying: “Yes, I do see a moment becoming a movement. I do see a conversation happening. .. . I am a producer, and in the producing realm, people are always looking for female-driven narratives."

“They’re very conscious about hiring female directors. Women are much more aggressive out there in terms of getting what they want. Now we are bold. ... We’re raising a defense fund for women so if they want to prosecute their predator, it’s there for them.”

Continuing in her positive conversational vein, Davis said:  “I see women wanting to be the change that they want to be. Now me, I’ve always been aware because I was involved in the movement before it was a hashtag." Davis was referencing her work with the rape treatment center at UCLA, headed by Gail Abarbanel. 

'Seven Seconds' Actor Clare-Hope Ashitey Is Lensed By Paul Morel For The Last Magazine April 2018

British actor Clare-Hope Ashitey is styled by Adele Cany in images by Paul Morel for The Last Magazine April 2018./ Hair by Brady Lea

In a movie industry where female actors often lack 'deep' roles, Ashitey has them fall into her lap. Last-Magazine's Gautam Balasundar writes: "Growing up, Ashitey was academically inclined and never really entertained the idea of acting as a career option. At eighteen, that changed when she landed a starring role in Alfonso Cuarón’s powerful dystopian film 'Children of Men', about a polluted world in which women are no longer able to have children.

The unusually-articulate Ashitey was interviewed by Rolling Stone in February 2018. Reflecting back on 2016, she describes her state of being:

"By the end of 2016, I felt outnumbered by shitheads. . . . Between Trump’s election and Brexit, there were all sorts of opinions coming out of the woodwork that I thought had died out a long time ago," she says. "I was like, what's the point? All we do is bad things. The history of humanity is the history of people exploiting each other."

Coincidentally -- or perhaps through an intervention by the goddesses -- Clare-Hope Ashitey brought her frustrated fatalism to the act of finding her 'Seven Seconds' character, assistant prosecutor KJ Harper.

Influenced by the epidemic of police brutality that led to the deaths of black teenagers like Tamir Rice and Michael Brown (among too many others), the Jersey City-set 'Seven Seconds' explores a crime in Harper's own city -- the often-called sixth borough of New York City. In a story told against the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, her back "tellingly" turned towards them, Rolling Stone writes: "The cast is formidable, particularly Regina King as the victim’s bereft mother and Looking's Raul Castillo as one of the compromised narcotics officers. "A white cop and a black kid? Don’t you watch the news? There are no fucking accidents anymore," Castillo's character shouts at the rookie cop (Beau Knapp) who mowed the boy down – a justification so oft-repeated that it practically becomes a mantra."

Brains Over Brawn: MSNBC Ratings Up 30% As Fox News Declines 13% 2018 Q1

Brains Over Brawn: MSNBC Ratings Up 30% As Fox News Declines 13% 2018 Q1

Democratic strategists are seeing another reason for optimism about the midterms: soaring ratings for liberal-leaning MSNBC are up 30 percent over last year, while Fox News and CNN both lost viewers from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018 — dropping 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

I say the ratings surge 1) yes, represents the growing resurgence of the Democratic party but

2) MSNBC has also brought multiple Republican or now Independent never-Trumpers to its voice. Many of the most left-leaning progressives believe that MSNBC has sold its soul and are not happy about these changes.

I say the results confirm the same research posted last night about the new Democratic party: more female than ever; more educated, strategic and thoughtful; younger by far than the Republican party; more interested in solutions as opposed to daily rants Trump style; and --yes -- totally committed to a diverse, multicultural, safe America, environmental action and protection, gender and LGBTQ equality, economic justice and -- I repeat -- progressive business solutions to the problems of 21st century America. Apologies for obvious omissions.

Government alone cannot get us out of this mess.

So FOX News makes us crazy with their outrageous assault on everyone but Trump. But their ratings are down 13% while MSNBC is up 30%. Rhodes scholar Rachel Maddow has the #2 show on cable news and sometimes she does beat Hannity, who did not get a college degree. Rachel is on the move, Hannity is not.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth Gives Birth To Daughter Maile Pearl Bowlsbey

Sen. Tammy Duckworth Gives Birth To Daughter Maile Pearl Bowlsbey

Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) gave birth to a daughter named Maile Pearl Bowlsbey on Monday. The event made Duckworth the first US senator to give birth while in office. 

Duckworth said she and her husband, Bryan Bowlsbey, and their other daughter, Abigail, “couldn’t be happier to welcome little Maile Pearl as the newest addition to our family.”

“We’re also so grateful for the love and support of our friends and family, as well as our wonderful medical teams for everything they’ve done to help us in our decades-long journey to complete our family,” she said in a statement.

Sen. Duckworth, 50, said former Senator Daniel K. Akaka, a Democrat from Hawaii, “was able to bless her name for us before his death last week. “His help in naming both of our daughters means he will always be with us,” she added.

Karly Loyce Is A 'Bohemian Queen' Lensed By Ward Ivan Rafik For Vogue Germany May 2018

Karly Loyce Is A 'Bohemian Queen' Lensed By Ward Ivan Rafik For Vogue Germany May 2018

Model Karly Loyce is styled by Claudia Englmann in 'Bohemian Queen', lensed by Ward Ivan Rafik for Vogue Germany May 2018./ Hair by Pawel Solis; makeup by Marie Duhart

Karen Elson Joins Model Alliance Board As It Embraces Fashion Industry's Trickle Down Effect On Women

Karen Elson Joins Model Alliance Board As It Embraces Fashion Industry's Trickle Down Effect On Women

One of the industry's most prominent models Karen Elson recently joined the Model Alliance's board of directors. Sara Ziff and the Model Alliance came into existence in 2012 with the mission of promoting the fair treatment, safety, overall working conditions and mental health of models. More prominent now than ever, we note a new evolution in the group's mission that includes a need to embrace fashion's trickle-down effect and its impact in the larger population. 

This week Elson joined the Model Alliance's board of directors and its founding director Ziff in a chat in Rachel Comey's Crosby Street store. On hand were editors, agents and designers, along with a lot of young models, writes Vogue. 

Ziff and Elson reviewed the basic accountability steps that the industry is taking to address the 'job' of being a model. Fresh -- if not new -- commentary in the presentation focused on the trickle-down effect that the fashion industry has on women's self-images and the larger culture. Elson shared her thoughts:

Conservative Writer Kevin Williamson's Call For Lynching Women Who Have Abortions Ends Gig At The Atlantic

Conservative Writer Kevin Williamson's Call For Lynching Women Who Have Abortions Ends Gig At The Atlantic

Large numbers of liberals -- progressives with an open mind -- really do want to hear and read intelligent dissent from the opposition. But when in-the-know folks learned that conservative writer Kevin Williamson had been hired by The Atlantic, there were gasps. I -- for one -- am not keen to read anti-abortion views calling for the mass lynching of women who have abortions, a public stance Williamson has taken more than once. 

Writing for The Daily Beast, Erin Gloria Ryan points out that a bit of due diligence by The Atlantic could have saved both Williamson and readers a whole lot of drama. Conservative pundits went crazy, arguing that contrary opinions were being silenced in liberal media. I left a comment on The Washington Post in their article Kevin Williamson loses Atlantic job after controversy over abortion rhetoric

As a woman forced into police protection for a year by a man who heard me say one word -- "yes" -- on a TV panel, when asked if I supported Roe, I'm not objective on this topic. Atlantic readers -- and I am one -- are not narrow-minded liberals for not wanting to hear that we should be hanged for having an abortion, when I already was judged deserving to die by a real man big-shot who took Williamson's words literally. This is Trump authoritarianism in high-gear. It's right-wing authoritarianism in high gear. 3 women die every day in America by intimate partners and husbands who talk big like Williamson. The reverse is not true. I freely admit that you scare the f##k out of me, okay? In defense of strong women, I will add that when the masked testosterone-infused chicken (the mask was pathetic) flew across my windshield as I backed out of a parking lot on a dark night, I put my car in gear and tried to run him over. 12 months of daily stalking rendered me a total basket case. Sobbing into the phone, I called the lieutenant at home -- he was so concerned about me that he gave me his home # -- saying "I don't know; I may have killed him." If this is what saying "yes" to a question about supporting a SC decision gets women in this country, I'd think Kevin Williamson should be neutered. How's that.

Environmentalist & Social Activist, Majory Stoneman Douglas Leaves Rich Blueprint For Parkland Activists

Environmentalist & Social Activist, Majory Stoneman Douglas Leaves Rich Blueprint For Parkland Activists

Meet Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who was invited to witness the signing of the Brady Bill, after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993. These inspiring students, rising out of the ashes and anguish of a devastating act of murder and violence in their Parkland, Fla school have a legacy to honor -- and they know it. We're not accustomed to schools named after women, but Marjory was an exemplary progressive who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom when she was 103, the same day the Brady Bill was signed.

Douglas was a woman way ahead of her time, blessed with a father who clearly believed in her. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1912 as an English major and then went to work as a reporter for her father's newspaper, now known as The Miami Herald, where she became an editor. 

Marjory Stoneman Douglas became the first Floridian woman to enlist in the Navy and then joined the Red Cross in 1918. Trained as a nurse, Mrs. Douglas soon set off to Europe to work as a nurse with war relief efforts. Read on. 

Yolanda Renee King: Have You Heard? We Are Going To Be A Great Generation!

Yolanda Renee King: Have You Heard? We Are Going To Be A Great Generation!

“My name is Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King,” said the 9-year-old girl addressing an enraptured crowd gathered in Washington, DC on March 24.  “My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

“I have a dream that enough is enough! And that this should be a gun-free world, period!” Yolanda proclaimed, standing next to Parkland survivor Jaclyn Corin at the 'March for Our Lives' rally.

King wore an orange gun violence awareness ribbon pinned to her coat, inspiring marchers and an international TV audience with her vision.  She stood not far away from the site of her grandfather's famous 'I Have A Dream Speech', delivered 55 years ago at the March on Washington.

It's doubtful that America will achieve Yolanda King's dream of a gun-free world, given an accepted right enshrined in the US Constitution to own guns to hunt or protect oneself. Many of us imagine victory as getting assault weapons off American streets and instituting universal background checks, no exceptions.

For me, Yolanda Renee King left us with an even greater gift: HOPE. 

As Donald Trump and his wrecking crew try to take America back to the 1950s, where white men ruled, activism needs HOPE and that hope can only come from our young people, who will lead a new wave of demands for racial, gender-based and economic justice in America, free from the stereotypes deeply embedded in the American psyche.

Denials Say Anna Wintour Is Going Nowhere As AOC Reflects On Edward Enninful's May 2018 New Fashion Army

These rumors are not true, a Vogue representative told the Cut. "There's zero truth to the story." Condé Nast also denied that Anna Wintour will be leaving the company.

I read the Page Six story before the denials. The source of this stunning rumor about a fashion industry executive, the grand high priestess whose influence cannot be overstated, is a report published on “Page Six” titled, “Is Anna Wintour Out at Vogue?”  The publication reportedly spoke to a number of sources who said Wintour is going to exit her role this summer after her daughter’s Bee Schaffer's wedding Francesco Carrozzini, son of former Italian Vogue Editor Franca Sozzani, in July. The report also speculated who would replace Wintour were she to leave Vogue, who might be encouraging her to exit, as well as what other opportunities might the 68 year old want to pursue.

Longtime Condé chairman Si Newhouse, who died in October 2017, was Anna Wintour's biggest cheerleader. In the Anna is leaving narrative, his presumed successor is Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of  Condé Nast International, currently living in London running the company's international media. According to Page Six, Jonathan "doesn't like (the amount of power) Anna has" and favors Enninful." This assertion comes from a single source.

Under Wintour’s watch as artistic director, Condé has closed the print editions of Teen Vogue, Self and Details and it has fought to compete online after closing down Style.com. Sources told The Post that the company is about $100 million a year in red ink.

So 'informed' is the Page Six story that it says there's even buzz that Wintour's exit interview has already been arranged and granted to the New York Times. 

Edward Enninful: Ghanaian Immigrant

Besides being as stunned as everyone else with this Page Six Story about Anna Wintour leaving Condé Nast, I couldn't help thinking about a short piece from yesterday about Edward Enninful's May 2018 British Vogue cover.

For additional context, Enningful is originally from Ghana and I had just watched the superb Netflix documentary 'Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise."  There is a scene in the film featuring Maya Angelou living in Ghana for a time immediately after independence. Of course I was captivated as Angelou was surrounded by global activists and intelligentsia including Malcolm X.

I made a joke to myself that any moment Queen Elizabeth II would appear, dancing a foxtrot with Ghana's new president Kwame Nkrumah. This episode from 'The Crown' and my commentary on it has become a tried and true daily read on AOC. With that Queen EIizabeth appeared with Nkrumah, leaving me smiling and wanting to know more about Edward Enninful's parents. Were they activists? Because Enninful has spoken truth to power on the need for diversity in fashion his entire life. 

This was the backdrop of my own Sunday thoughts on Enninful's May 2018 Vogue UK cover. We have a long way to go here before Edward Enninful replaces Anna Wintour at American Vogue. 

Edward Enninful's New Day Fashion Army

As We 'March for Our Lives' Edward Enninful Covers British Vogue May 2018 With A Different Fashion Army