CNN
- The editor of Essence Magazine defended Wednesday her recent hiring of a white fashion director — a first for the 40-year-old publication that celebrates black women.
The hiring of Elliana Placas first sparked outrage when a former Essence employee posted a note on her Facebook page decrying the decision.
“It’s with a heavy heart I’ve learned Essence Magazine has engaged a white Fashion Director,” former Essence staffer Michaela Angela Davis wrote. “I love Essence and I love fashion. I hate this news and this feeling. It hurts, literally.”
Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray wrote in an opinion piece posted Wednesday on African-American news site theGrio.com that Placas initially joined the magazine six months ago to run the fashion section on a freelance basis before being hired permanently as fashion director.
