I have had a subscription to Essence since the early 70's. I consider this a slap in the face and I AM going to cancel my subscription. If the higher ups at Essence don't understand how this is a betrayal, they really are out of sync with their readership anyway.

No whites allowed! hmm sounds like black people are no better than whites back in the old days.

You know after reading some of the comments. I have to wonder why some people are upset with essence doing this because, this is not a black owned magazine it hasn't been one for a very long time. Plus one poster said that we as blacks are so quick to cater to others than helping ourselves grow this is very true. Me I think that blacks are the only group of people that are ashamed of catering to one another. While Whites,asians,jew,mexicans will do this this is why THEY are moving forward and so many blacks aren't because they help their own people first.

As to blacks who help others first and our own last.

Some of us are readers and we dont like it. We dont like the current direction and the fact that the "Essence" voice is no longer what it was and not relevant. This is not about merely racism, it is about losing our identity and Essence submitting to the corporate powers that be and the fashion community that continue to respect us -- so Essence of all places goes and raise the White Flag, that is not "In The Spirit" of the Essence we knew. This is why we need our own voices again. Those who try to simply make this a race issue, knock it off -- we know it is bigger. And also, Racism is when you have power. Blacks have no real power at Essence anymore because they dont own it. ABM is a well paid executive staffer who is doing her job. She is NO Susan Taylor. White fashion director or not, Essence is not what it was and not fashion forward anyway.

I don't get the comparisons made about articles written where there was basically no African-American outrage from the Essence's readership. So there was no response--I get that. But so what if readers are silent. It doesn't mean they weren't affected by what was written. It doesn't mean that they do not care about the articles that were published in the magazine. You just how relevant a magazine is to the number of subscribers you have. If nothing else, readers were better educated about the important Afro-American related concerns. I do not see how readers not responding to articles written in the magazine can be intelligently compared to readers now responding to the hiring of a white woman for a top position at the Essence. What a problem this can turn out to be. If the new editor is let go without cause, she could sue. From the looks of it, a significant number of subscribers will more than likely write Essence off to protest their anger with the chief editor's decision. Very few blacks will be okay with the decision-that is certain. The fact that she has a TOP position is what is so infuriating. I might have let her into the office to gain from what she can offer the magazine, but not in a key position. Blacks are sick and tired of being at the bottom of things. Having a black magazine like Essence where blacks were on top was at least ONE thing they could take some pride in. Yeah, we're taking it very personal.

Essence is not great for fashion. It also is no longer Black owned. It is time to own our voices again. That is why we now turn to Jones Magazine because it is Black owned by a Black woman who works with people who really knows fashion. I still love Essence but it is not what it was and no longer the only game in town. In fashion, it is really second rate.

Essence has not been a book I look to for fashion for a long time. I read Jones and Arise Magazine instead because they truly celebrate black fashion and have style and great tips. Essence is too busy trying to be the black cosmo, people or lucky, and failing, anyway.

if a magazine were NOT to hire someone because they were black that would be called discrimination. the same people who under those circumstances are now complaining about a white being hired. someone's prejudice is showing. oh, by the way there no white exclusive magazines. if there were a magazine called oh say Ivory someone would say that was racist.

Okay, this white women freelanced for six whole months and she's qualified over many African American's to be the Essence fashion editor. Hmmm! Burt Murray questions our angst then mentions articles written about the unemployment rate of Black males. I'm quite sure that Essence could have found a more than qualifed but under or unemployed Black female or male. We are still underrepresented in the fashion and movie industry but we have to be the fairest of any race in the world. I'm cancelling my subscription. If I wanted Vogue or any of the many other white fashion magazines available I'd subscribe to them.

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I imagine that had there been a more qualified Black candidate for the position, Essence would have happily hired her/him. But as was stated, she had been working there for months and got a positive response. So it seems to me like a good business move to hire her if she was getting the job done. The key is that Essence puts out quality material for its readers. We get soooo caught up in trivialities, and it's crippling. I couldn't agree more - there are so many issues out there that we should be getting riled up about, and we're simply not.

Why is this an issue? If Essence was owned by a black conglomerate of some sort, then I could see the outrage...but last I checked, Essence is owned by Time, Inc, which has no vested interest in anything other than making a profit.

We will get left behind with this separatist mentality. The world is changing and the landscape of how business happens is also changing. We are apart of a global economy and if we don't recognize that, we will get left behind.

Besides, we have MUCH bigger issues to be concerned about than Essence hiring a Caucasion as a Fashion Editor...education, distribution of wealth, health care, the list goes on. This is so not important in the broader scheme of things.

Funny how all the Black magazines are forced to intergrate, yet Vogue will not do an African Vogue; funny how the entire fashion industry touts White Models and one little token Black Model on their White Runways, yet, want to infultrate the Black fashion market with "multiculturalism" and "Diversity" and try and force us Black Women into intergration.

I will never ever buy another Essence magazine again. I am sick and tired of the unequality and the decemation of our Black Commnunity, just sick of it. My money is of value and this is were we Black Women should start using it. If we can unify, then we can set the tone of what is or isn't in our communities. Essence should not have hired a White woman to talk about Black Women's fashion. What does she know about being a Black Woman? I guess my Black is Beautiful will begin having White Women on the show soon; never let a Black Women express herself or congregate as a group is the racist theme. Yet White Women have all the fashion magazines that are twice over what Black Women have. I don't understand the logic behind it, oh, that's right Essence isn't "Black owned" anymore, it is OWNED by Time, Inc. therefore, if they want to entire Essence staff to be White, they can fire all the Black writers and Editor-in-Chief and replace it with and all White cast. Wooooooooooooow, when will Black people ever learn, never sell your soul to the devil.

This dispute has gone viral and Whites are getting outraged, this could have some bad repercussions in the work place, there a penalty to pay because if employers begin to think that Blacks are racist then they won't hire or promote Blacks and you know they know how to do this without make noise...to quite rejection letter/the bad performance reports/the whisper to management, this could get out of hand.

This is 2010. Are we still looking at the color of one's skin as an indication of merit, knowledge and character? We, the human race, should be focusing on deeper issues rather than race. You can be purple with yellow polka-dots but that does not define you who you are or your skill set.

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people dont write to the magazine outraged about social and health issues because there is nothing Essence can do about those issues besides what they already do: raise awareness.
HOWEVER, essence has the power to hire and employ whomever they see fit. So my sentiments reflect those of Ms Davis... the decision was dumb. I won't be renewing my subscription.

People, Essence is NOT a Black business and has not been one for awhile! They are owned by Time Inc., you know the HUGE, WHITE media company that owns AOL, Time Magazine, People, InStyle, etc. And I cannot defend Angela's reasons for hiring who she did, but as someone who works in the publishing industry at another Black magazine, it is interesting to read the multiple comments about how you all want more "substance" and how Essence is so superficial and the quality has gone down, but YEARS of research has shown and continues to show that when books that had that "substance" were out there, you, the readers, kept your money in your pockets and did not subscribe, nor purchase them from the newsstands (Emerge, Fierce, Code?). I have this conversation all too often with consumers who want to complain about the "quality" of the programming of networks like BET and black publications, but you all don't support them in the way that you support other things. For years Ebony has produced hard-hitting, well-reported stories about isssues that affect us, yet they have been experiencing decling sales for years. It is an indisputable fact that certain things sell. We don't make up those numbers--they are based on what you, consumers actually purchase and we spend a lot of time (and money) tracking those trends , through in-person surveys with consumers, consumer panels, etc., and then keying in on the things that your responses and purchasing behaviors say that you like and are interested in. Somehow, no matter how we try to reach the community (whether it is Essence, Ebony, Upscale, Black Enterprise, Jet, Jones, Jewel, Uptown, Monarch, The Green, Today's Black Woman (all black magazines), we can never seem to satisfy the community at large. It's funny though, because of all the above black magazines I named, the ONLY one that has shown significant growth in newsstand sales is Sister 2 Sister, but we are accused of not being quality or not having substance when we integrate elements of that type of formatting into our publications. I read an interesting publisher's letter recently in Upscale's August issue about supporting black businesses and WHY it was necessary. If you choose not to support our businesses, then you certianly have nothing to say when we are not represented well throughout various industries, from beauty supply stores and nail shops to restaurants and clothing lines. If you don't realize what owning our own means to hte community and why it is necessary to have and build our own businesses, then I am fearful for what the future holds for us and our financial growth in America.

It doesn't matter to me....I don't pay for Essence magazines anyway.

Thanks Essence for solidifying my reason for not only subscribing to your magazine, but purchasing copies over the counter. Another slap in the face to African American women who never can quite seem to be good enough to be placed in positions of merit, power, and worth. Essence should know better!