Zendaya Soars (Literally) In Ryan McGinley Cover Story for Garage Magazine FW 2019

Zendaya Soars (Literally) In Ryan McGinley Cover Story for Garage Magazine FW 2019

Oakland-born actor and singer Zendaya covers the Fall/Winter issue of Garage Magazine, leaving us with a big dose of visual artistry in both creative direction and design, along with a strong fashion editorial. Gabriella Karefa Johnson and Lawe Roach style the Disney star lensed by Ryan McGinley./ Creative direction by Brian Phillips; art direction by João Moraes; set design by Robert Semrel;; hair by Martin Christopher Harper; makeup by Raisa Flowers

Kesewa Aboah Charms in Vibrant Buzz White Images for Telegraph Magazine September 6, 2019

Kesewa Aboah Charms in Vibrant Buzz White Images for Telegraph Magazine September 6, 2019

Famous London family member, DNA model, Brooklyn-based artist and activist Kesewa Aboah is featured in Telegraph UK Magazine’s latest fashion story. Sophie Warburton styles Aboah in images by Buzz White./ Makeup by Naoko Scintu; hair by Philippe Tholimet

Binx Walton Travels to Ghana with Juergen Teller in 'Bring it on Home' for British Vogue October 2019

Binx Walton Travels to Ghana with Juergen Teller in 'Bring it on Home' for British Vogue October 2019

Rising model Binx Walton makes her first trip to the African continent, packing her bags for Ghana in ‘Bring it on Home. Poppy Kain styles Binx in eclectic and vibrant outfits lensed by Juergen Teller for British Vogue’s October 2019 issue.

Ghana is promoting the 'YEAR OF RETURN’ as a celebration of African resilience marking the 400th anniversary of the first slaves arriving in Jamestown, Virginia. Binx said about traveling to ACCRA: “The soles of my feet landed where it all began.

Super Majority's Ai-jen Poo, Cecile Richards + Alicia Garza Launch National Women Voters Bus Tour

Led by National Domestic Workers Alliance director Ai-jen Poo, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, the recently-formed Supermajority political action group will launch a 14 states and Washington, D.C. bus tour starting September 15.

Women are the majority of Americans. That's why @supermajority launched #MajorityRules—our vision, informed by tens of thousands of women, for how we can all live, work, & rise together—and it all starts with a nationwide bus tour.
Meet us along the way! https://t.co/1pkaN1N2GZ

— Ai-jen Poo (@aijenpoo)September 4, 2019

Based on answers from Super Majority’s Women's Poll, answered by 60,000 women so far, the organization will unveil a policy platform called the “Majority Rules.” Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Latinx rights advocate Paola Ramos will intersect with the Super Majority bus, along with Democratic presidential candidates including Julian Castro, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Pete Buttigieg.

"Women have always been powerful in their own right, but too often, we have been excluded from the political decisions that shape our futures," said Richards in a statement. "This bus tour is an opportunity for our leaders—from the community level to the halls of Congress—to hear directly from women and speak to them about how they will ensure the issues we care about, our Majority Rules, are treated like the national priorities that they are."

While women make up the majority of U.S. voters, Poo added, they are too often treated as a "special interest group" by politicians and the press.

"We are the most powerful force in America," she said. "It's time our leaders acknowledge us, look like us, and represent us. This bus tour will reach women across America who are doing more than resisting; they're taking action to better their lives, their communities, and their country so we can rise together."

Adut Akech Has Warrior Goddess Status In Andrew Nuding Vogue Australia September Cover Story

Adut Akech Has Warrior Goddess Status In Andrew Nuding Vogue Australia September Cover Story

Top model Adut Akech (a true supermodel in AOC’s eyes, and we NEVER use the term loosely) covers the September 2019 issue of Vogue Australia. On the cover (see last image), Adut wears a Maticevski tulle overcoat, Maticevski gown, Maticevski earring, Maticevski x Heart of Bone Couture Pistol Ring, styled by Jillian Davidson. Other brands featured in the shoot include Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu, Maticevski, Valentino, Vetements and more.

One can’t deny the comments of Vogue Australia’s editor-in-chief Edwina McCann that the gowns are “whimsical” and a high-fashion “fairytale”. And it’s easy to portray Adut Akech’s rise from refugee status to model stardom as yet another “fairytale”.

AOC is the last fashion website to talk pure pc, as it’s maddening to see the slight offences that can get one in terrible trouble these days. But talking of fairytale lives for the breakout girl of color is not what the worlds’ women need — not black-skin women, brown-skin women, yellow or red skin or white-skin women.

Lupita Nyong'o Is Lensed by Jackie Nickerson for Vanity Fair Magazine October 2019

Lupita Nyong'o Is Lensed by Jackie Nickerson for Vanity Fair Magazine October 2019

Actor, activist and super woman Lupita Nyong’o delivers her most beautiful fashion editorial to date — and she’s had some lovelies. Samira Nasr styles Lupita’s vibrant, colorful ensembles in gorgeous images by Jackie Nickerson for Vanity Fair Magazine’s October 2019 issue. Kimberly Drew conducts the interview.

Alicia Burke Looks Into the Future of Luxe, Lensed by Yulia Gorbachenko for Vogue Mexico September 2019

Alicia Burke Looks Into the Future of Luxe, Lensed by Yulia Gorbachenko for Vogue Mexico September

2019

Model Alicia Burke is styled by Sandy Armeni in ‘Energia Centrifuga’, a futuristic look at luxury lensed by Yulia Gorbachenko for Vogue Mexico September 2019./ Creative Director JP Micallef; hair by Peter Gray; makeup by Tyron Machhausen

Michele Opiyo Channels Animal Spirits Lensed by Javier Lopez for Harper's Bazaar Mexico

Michele Opiyo Channels Animal Spirits Lensed by Javier Lopez for Harper's Bazaar Mexico

Rising Kenya-born model Michele Opiyo is styled by Fran Marto in animale-inspired looks from Eres, Palomo Spain, Paule Ka and more. Photographer Javier Lopez captures Michele for Harper’s Bazaar Mexico & Latin America August 2019.

Zoey Grossman Flashes Tami Williams in 'Think Big' Cotillion Dresses for ELLE US September 2019

Zoey Grossman Flashes Tami Williams in 'Think Big' Cotillion Dresses for ELLE US September 2019

Model Tami Williams is styled by Charles Varenne in exuberant evening gown abundance for ‘Think Big’. Zoey Grossman captures the red carpet looks fit for a Confederate cotillion for ELLE US September 2019./ Hair by Brent Lawler; makeup by Tyron Machhausen

Tami Williams Poses in 'Another Dimension' by Alvaro Beamud Cortes for Vogue Spain September 2019

Tami Williams Poses in 'Another Dimension' by Alvaro Beamud Cortes for Vogue Spain September 2019

Model Tami Williams takes voluminous elegance to the street, styled by Vito Castelo in ‘Another Dimension’. Photographer Alvaro Beamud Cortes is behind the lens for Vogue Spain September 2019./ Hair by Claudio Belizario; makeup by Samuel Paul

Central Park Women's Suffrage Monument Redesigned to Include Sojourner Truth

For nearly a year, the proposed Central Park statue honoring women’s suffrage in America has been plagued in controversy. It’s difficult to believe that in 2019, planners of the monument could be so tone-deaf to the race-related arguments swirling around America’s women’s rights history.

The Women’s March 2017, organized by a group of women who refused to honor legendary women’s rights Hillary Clinton, after her defeat by Donald Trump, signaled a new day for setting the record straight — the truth and also new lies and distortions — about the history of American feminism.

The original design by sculptor Meredith Bergmann visually elevated two prominent white women — Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton — over a scrolling list of 22 other women, seven of them women of color. AOC disagrees with the complaint that Anthony and Stanton were metaphorically “standing’ on the other women.” But they certainly look like boss ladies at a time when younger people are rejecting hierarchy and white superiority, along with a nonexistent recognition of the contributions of people of color — and slaves specifically — in building America.

For context, there is NO statue of any nonfictional female of any skin color in Central Park and around New York, writes the New York Times. The park currently features no historical women but statues of fictional girls like Alice from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and Juliet from William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

While a new visual of the proposed statue to be erected on Central Park’s Literary Walk by 2020 is not available, it’s a miracle that the proposed design was aborted at all. Women including Gloria Steinem helped turn back the design against the nearly insurmountable rules and regulations that defined its artistic creation initially and the legitimate controversy that ensued.

“Our goal has always been to honor the diverse women in history who fought for equality and justice and who dedicated their lives to fight for Women’s Rights,” Pam Elam said in a statement. The president of the Monumental Women’s Statue Fund, the group financing the sculpture, added: “It is fitting that Anthony, Stanton, and Truth stand together in this statue as they often did in life.” via Hyperallergic.

Related: Central Park Women's Suffrage Monument by Sculptor Meredith Bergmann Unveiled AOC She

These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia’s Founding History

THE HOUSE OF WINSTON TUBMAN LIES IN RUIN IN LIBERIA. IMAGE GLENNA GORDON.

These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia’s Founding History

In the front parlor of a dilapidated mansion with a god’s-eye view of the Atlantic a group of young men huddle around a light fixture that washed in from the sea and is covered in barnacles. They chip away at it with a hammer and a machete to open it and see if it can be made to work. They are not having much luck, a commodity that is in short supply around here. The building has no electricity or running water. Wind pushes through broken windows. There are holes in the roof. Rainwater has collected in puddles on the grand marble staircase and throughout the house, a faded yellow modernist structure on the edge of a cliff in the sleepy city of Harper in southeastern Liberia about 15 miles from the border of Ivory Coast.

The short iron fence that surrounds the regal mansion, known locally as “the palace,” bears a monogram—“WVST,” for William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman, Liberia’s longest-serving president, known for his 27 years of autocratic rule beginning in 1944. But the home of the man called “the father of modern Liberia” because he opened the nation to foreign investment and industry is now in ruins and occupied by squatters, a symbol of how decades of political turmoil have shaken up the old order established by freed American slaves.

Smithsonian Acquires Tyler Mitchell's Beyoncé Portrait for Vogue US September 2018

Smithsonian Acquires Tyler Mitchell's Beyoncé Portrait for Vogue US September 2018 AOC Style Photos

Photographer Tyler Mitchell shares a spectacular piece of news about an image from his September 2018 Beyoncé cover editorial. In an embarrassing acknowledgement of racism in the fashion industry, Mitchell became the first African American photographer to shoot the cover of Vogue in its 125-year history.

Clearly, positive energy infused Mitchell’s editorial from every direction, so much so that one of his Vogue images has been acquired into the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection in Washington, D.C.

The selected photo sees Beyoncé on location just outside of London, wearing a sequin-covered Valentino dress and exuberant Philip Treacy London headpiece.

“A year ago today we broke the flood gates open,” Mitchell wrote of the news on Instagram. “Since then, it was important to spend the whole year running through them making sure every piece of the gate was knocked down.”

As a concerned photographer, who is socially and politically engaged, Mitchell sees the Beyoncé shoot as an empowerment opportunity

“We’ve been thingified physically, sexually, emotionally. With my work I’m looking to revitalize and elevate the black body.”

We share the entire editorial in celebration of Mitchell’s growing success, Queen Bey herself, and the New Day society global citizens desire.

The Fierce Pride and Passion of Rhinestone Fashion | We Spend Time With Mickalene Thomas

The Fierce Pride and Passion of Rhinestone Fashion | We Spend Time With Mickalene Thomas

Contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas is best known for her large-scale paintings of black women posed against boldly patterned backgrounds and adorned with rhinestones. Illustrative of the artist’s signature style, her 2010 Portrait of Mnonja depicts a striking female figure reclining on a couch.

Visitors, who find their way to the high-ceiling third floor gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, consistently gather round this painting, fascinated by its bright colors and drawn to its subject—an elegant and poised African-American woman.

“She is owning and claiming her space, which is very exciting,” reveals the artist in a 2017 SAAM interview. The woman’s crossed ankles are perched on the sofa’s armrest, and her fuchsia high heels dangle over the edge. Her right hand rests on her knee and her fingers evoke a dancer’s enviable combination of strength and grace. Exuding an air of power and sophistication, Mnonja literally sparkles from head to toe—her hair, makeup, jewelry, clothes, fingernails and shoes all glisten with rhinestones.

Emmett Till Memorial to Be Replaced With Bulletproof Sign Due to Repeated Vandalism

Emmett Till Memorial to Be Replaced With Bulletproof Sign Due to Repeated Vandalism

In 2007, a sign was erected along the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi, marking the spot where the body of Emmett Till was pulled from the water in 1955. The murder of Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy who was brutally killed by two white men, became a galvanizing incident of the Civil Rights Movement. But over the years, the memorial commemorating his death has been repeatedly vandalized—first stolen, then shot at, then shot at again, according to Nicole Chavez, Martin Savidge and Devon M. Sayers of CNN. Now, the Emmett Till Memorial Commission is planning to replace the damaged memorial with a bulletproof sign.

This will be the fourth sign that the commission has placed at the site. The first was swiped in 2008, and no arrests were ever made in connection with the incident. The replacement marker was vandalized with bullets, more than 100 rounds over the course of several years. Just 35 days after it was erected in 2018, the third sign was shot at as well.

The third memorial made headlines recently when Jerry Mitchell of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, in conjunction with ProPublica, revealed that three University of Mississippi students had been suspended from their fraternity house after posing in front of the sign with guns, in a photo that was posted to the private Instagram account of one of the students. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating the incident.

The sign has now been taken down, and a new one is “on its way,” Patrick Weems, executive director of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission, said last week, according to CBS News. Chavez, Savidge and Sayers of CNN report that the replacement memorial will weigh 600 pounds and be made of reinforced steel. It is expected to go up by the Tallahatchie River in October.

“Unlike the first three signs, this sign calls attention to the vandalism itself,” the commission noted. “We believe it is important to keep a sign at this historic site, but we don’t want to hide the legacy of racism by constantly replacing broken signs. The commission hopes this sign will endure, and that it will continue to spark conversations about Till, history, and racial justice.”

Rihanna Brings Imperial Splendor to Harper's Bazaar China August 2019 Lensed By Chen Man

Rihanna Brings Imperial Splendor to Harper's Bazaar China August 2019 Lensed By Chen Man

Rihanna makes a dazzling impression in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar China’s August 2019 issue. Xiao Mu Fan chooses modern drama gowns with traditional inspirations from Iris van Herpen Couture (blue) in the cover story lensed by Chen Man. / Makeup by Priscilla Ono; hair by Yusef Wlliams

Aweng Chuol + Vivienne Rohner In 'Flowers of Romance' By Thomas Lohr For Vanity Fair France

Aweng Chuol + Vivienne Rohner In 'Flowers of Romance' By Thomas Lohr For Vanity Fair France

South Sudanese models Aweng Chuol and Vivienne Rohner are styled by Camille Bidault Waddington in ‘Flowers of Romance’. Photographer Thomas Lohr is behind the lens for Vanity Fair France July 2019./ Hair by Sebastien Richard; makeup by Min Kim

How Women in Kenya Mobilized for Peace After Surviving Violence

How Women in Kenya Mobilized for Peace After Surviving Violence

Women are rarely represented adequately at peace negotiations yet they make up half the population of any country in conflict or at war. This remains the case despite increasing global policy awareness on how women are affected by conflict and the importance of including them in peace and security processes. For instance, the UN’s landmark framework on women, peace and security reaffirms the important role women play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts.

Women’s contributions are also underscored in African peace instruments like the Maputo Protocol and Kenya’s National Action Plan.

But how do women in conflict actually engage in peacebuilding? There is considerable academic literature on the links between gender and peace but the lived experiences of women peace builders are not well captured.

Serena Williams Shares The Naked Truth In Essay + Images By Alexi Lubomirski For Harper's UK

Serena Williams Shares The Naked Truth In Essay + Images By Alexi Lubomirski For Harper's UK

Serena Williams is a lioness, covering the August 2019 issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK for ‘Serena Unretouched: The Naked Truth’. Miguel Enamorado styles the black goddess in unadulterated, head-to-toe glam for images by Alexi Lubomirski./ Hair by Vernon François; makeup by Tyron Machhausen