Month: March 2017

One boyfriend is putting his Disney fanatic girlfriend in “a whole new world” with nothing but his stylus pen and some epic drawing skills. 

Amin Fouzi and his girlfriend Lyana Azman are both 21-year-old students from Malaysia who are currently studying in Melbourne. Last week, the couple was waiting for food at a restaurant when Amin snapped a quick pic of Lyana.

This wasn’t just any dinner with bae photo, though; Amin proceeded to turn the pic into bonafide art on Instagram Stories: 

Lyana, a huge fan of all things Disney, was very impressed. 

“I didn’t know he was actually going to draw me as Snow White, so when I saw it, I thought it was so cool,” she told The Huffington Post. “I especially love the ‘poisonous apple’ line, referring to my iPhone.” 

Since then, Amin has turned Lyana into a number of classic Disney princesses. Here’s his take on Mulan: 

And here’s Alice from “Alice in Wonderland:” 

Heres’s Lyana wearing Aurora’s iconic pink gown from “Sleeping Beauty”: 

Lyana told us that her boyfriend finishes each drawing in less than five minutes.

“Every time Amin has to draw anything, he can do it in a short period of time and they’ll all come out amazing,” she said.

Her favorite Instagram doodle is one depicting her as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast:”

“I love it because she’s my favorite Disney princess and also because I just watched the new live-action movie!”  

People on Twitter ― where Lyana first posted the pics ― are super impressed with Amin’s drawings. 

Yep, we’d have to agree. 

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The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Texas was wrong to rely on an outdated medical standard to assess the intellectual disability of a defendant facing the death penalty. The decision effectively gives the prisoner, Bobby James Moore, the opportunity to be re-sentenced, most likely to life in prison.

The justices have been raising the bar on the sentencing of people with mental disabilities over the last several years. In a landmark 2002 ruling, the court said the Constitution prohibits states from imposing the death penalty on the intellectually disabled. In 2014, the justices explained that courts determining intellectual disability can’t just rely on rigid metrics and must look to the judgment of medical experts.

Tuesday’s 5-to-3 decision said the factors that the Texas state court considered in weighing Moore’s level of impairment create “an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed.”

Among other factors, the Texas court had turned to a 1992 manual for assessing mental disabilities, which has since been superseded by a more updated version that takes into account developments in mental health science. The standards adopted by the state court were “wholly nonclinical” and not in accordance with “the medical community’s diagnostic framework,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Texas was based on the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, which has been interpreted to bar the death penalty both for children and for people like Moore, who has an average IQ score of 70.66. Moore, now 57, was convicted of capital murder in 1980.

Ginsburg noted that Texas couldn’t “satisfactorily explain why it applies current medical standards for diagnosing intellectual disability in other contexts,” such as public education or the juvenile justice system, and “yet clings to superseded standards when an individual’s life is at stake.”

“If the States were to have complete autonomy to define intellectual disability as they wished,” Ginsburg wrote, the 2002 decision exempting the intellectually disabled from execution “could become a nullity, and the Eighth Amendment’s protection of human dignity would not become a reality.”

“States have some flexibility, but not unfettered discretion, in enforcing” the Supreme Court’s prior rulings in this area of law, Ginsburg added.

The decision was joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

The majority’s approach “constitutionalizes rules for which there is not even clinical consensus,” Roberts said, and provides little guidance to states on what constitutes a proper assessment of intellectual disability.

The bottom line for the dissenters was that “clinicians, not judges, should determine clinical standards; and judges, not clinicians, should determine the content of the Eighth Amendment.”

A spokeswoman for the Texas attorney general’s office said the state was disappointed in the ruling but declined further comment.

In an unrelated decision issued last month that also looked at the Texas death penalty system, the Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing for an inmate who had been condemned to death on the basis of racist testimony introduced by his defense attorney. Roberts was in the majority in that case.

The issue of capital punishment deeply divides the justices. Breyer has on repeated occasions called for a case to consider whether the death penalty itself is unconstitutional.

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday demanded a journalist stop shaking her head while he answered a question during the daily press briefing.

April Ryan, the Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, asked Spicer how the administration would work to revamp its image amid investigations of potential ties to Russia, mentioning a report that Trump officials tried to stop former acting Attorney General Sally Yates from testifying on links between Trump’s campaign staff and Russian officials.

Spicer accused Ryan of having an agenda, arguing “if the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that’s a Russian connection.”

“It seems like you’re hell-bent on trying to make sure that whatever image you want to tell about this White House stays,” Spicer argued later.

Ryan interrupted to further question Spicer, and as their exchange continued, the press secretary ordered Ryan to stop shaking her head while they talked.

Ryan tweeted after the briefing ended:

She also appeared on MSNBC to discuss the moment, saying “you cannot ignore as a reporter” the issues she questioned Spicer about.

“Sean is being the White House press secretary, talking about and trying to make this administration look better than what it does right now, and unfortunately I was road kill today,” Ryan said.

Watch a video of the moment above.

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Everyone knows Bill O’Reilly is the absolute worst, but his latest antics are just appalling.

During a segment of “Fox & Friends,” the show played a clip of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Ca.) speaking out against the discriminatory and bigoted practices of President Donald Trump’s supporters. When asked to give his response, O’Reilly killed two birds with one stone and made a comment that was both racist and sexist.

“I didn’t hear a word she said. I was looking at the James Brown wig,” he said. “Do we have a picture of James Brown? It’s the same wig.”

Co-host Brian Kilmeade laughed and made a tasteless joke about the musician, who died in 2006. “He’s not using it anymore,” he said. “They just ― they finally buried him.”

Ainsley Earhardt, another co-host, defended Waters. “You can’t go after a woman’s looks,” she said. “I think she’s very attractive.”

O’Reilly responded: “I didn’t say she wasn’t attractive. I love James Brown but it’s the same hair James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, had … whatever it is, I just couldn’t get by it.” 

Waters has yet to respond to the Fox host’s comments. But that’s probably because she’s too busy delivering the keynote address at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition conference, leading Democrats in the crusade against Trump and being an all-around boss to even give a damn.

This isn’t a first for Fox News. Media Matters shared an old clip on Twitter of a segment called “’Gangstas’ and ‘Demons.’” In the video, a pundit accuses Waters of doing drugs.

“You saw what happened to Whitney Houston,” he said. “Step away from the crack pipe, step away from the Xanax, step away from the lorazepam because it’s gonna get you in trouble.” 

This isn’t even a first for O’Reilly. In 2007, the Fox host said he was surprised that a famous Harlem restaurant was the same as other New York City eateries “even though it’s run by blacks, primarily black patronship.” In 2016, he blamed the Black Lives Matter movement for rising murder rates in some cities. Before the election, he said that Hillary Clinton would have a better opportunity at appealing to voters of color if she brought out The O’Jays during a rally. 

Hear O’Reilly’s comments in the video above.

UPDATE: 2:35 p.m. ― Bill O’Reilly apologized for his comments about Rep. Maxine Waters’ hair in a statement sent to The Huffington Post on Tuesday. 

“As I have said many times, I respect Congresswoman Maxine Waters for being sincere in her beliefs,” the statement read. “I said that again today on ‘Fox & Friends’ calling her ‘old school.’ Unfortunately, I also made a jest about her hair which was dumb. I apologize.” 

A Fox News spokesperson told CNN reporter Tom Kludt that O’Reilly will address his remarks on his show on Tuesday night.

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Psychologists Riana Anderson and Shawn Jones wanted to find an effective way to intertwine the two communities they knew best: psychology and black America. So they began brainstorming ways to do just that three years ago.

“We were wondering how to bring our community into psychology and psychology into the community,” Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania who serves as a therapist to Black families in Philadelphia, told The Huffington Post last week. 

In December, they began uploading videos to YouTube as part of a series titled “Our Mental Health Minute.” The series, targeted toward black audiences, serves as a quick and relatable mental health resource, particularly for those seeking some form of consultation but hindered by the stigmatization of mental health care. 

Anderson said the pair set out with three goals: to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health care in the black community, heighten mental health literacy and provide access to mental health resources. 

In the series, Anderson and Jones act out scenarios to segue into crucial subjects of mental health like depression, racial socialization of black youth, drinking, anxiety and PTSD.

“The goal really isn’t to necessarily have stardom [or] necessarily go viral. We really want people to digest and interact with this content. So [it’s] less about subscription,” Anderson said. 

In the videos, they even reference events like the killing of Michael Brown and footage of Hillary Clinton’s “super-predators” comment that circulated during election season to emphasize the impact racism can have on the mental health of the black community. 

Jones, who is also a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and who studies racial socialization in black communities, said that the two chose YouTube as the primary platform for their channel, Ri and CT, because of the success they’ve witnessed similar series have with the video site. 

Anderson and Jones believe that in order to improve the relationship between black people and mental health care, psychologists have some work to do as well.

“Black folks, in particular, have had ― whether it’s in the general medical field or also mental health ― negative experiences,” Jones said. “So there’s [this] mistrust of the system of service provision.”

Anderson said that similar to the process of applying for a job, when black people do seek out therapy, an ethnic-sounding name may be the reason psychologists don’t return a voicemail from a potential client. Additionally, when providers do service black clients, Anderson said she wants them to know that cultural differences can cause misunderstanding. 

“Being strong or looking like you have it all together may not be the full picture when you have a black client,” she said. “So I think we have to work on both sides of that issue as well.” 

Check out Anderson and Jones’ “Our Mental Health Minute” videos here.

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In a 900-word op-ed focused on abortion and the way politicians speak about abortion, the words “woman” and “women” each appear just once.

Surprising, right? You might think that it would be difficult to engage in an extended discussion about abortion without acknowledging the people who have abortions. But lo and behold, author, professor and former priest Thomas Groome managed to do just that in an op-ed for the New York Times. 

Groome argues that “Democrats must stop being the abortion party” if they want to appeal to Catholic voters and win elections. But in doing so, he essentially ignores the very women that vote for Democrats ― in part because they need access to reproductive care, and want to see their elected officials recognize and fight for that right. 

The op-ed treats abortion as a political talking point that should be pushed to the side and spoken about in hazy, moral terms in order to avoid alienating people who would prefer that abortions didn’t exist. And yet it’s women, especially low-income women and women of color, who make up a significant portion of the base of the Democratic party and suffer the consequences when anti-abortion policies (which Republicans tend to champion) are implemented. 

One need look no further than the respective major party platforms to see what a stark contrast there is between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to reproductive rights. The 2016 Democratic platform states that Democrats “believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion ― regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured.” It also commits to repealing the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal Medicaid coverage for abortion services, disproportionately impacting low-income women. On the other hand, the 2016 GOP platform proclaims support for 20-week abortion bans, and declares that Republicans “will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage.”

Groome is right that a strong commitment to protecting American women’s legal right to access abortion care may alienate some voters ― even those who at one time voted for Democratic candidates. But the point of winning elections isn’t simply to win them.

Ostensibly, winning an election is about getting to enact a specific vision of governance ― hopefully one that its champions truly believe will make life better for the people they are governing. And as research has shown, for women, access to safe abortion care literally means better life outcomes. Curtailing that access has the opposite effect. Abortion access is both an economic and health imperative for many women, something that Groome’s column completely sidesteps. 

After a loss like the one that Democrats experienced during the 2016 presidential election, it makes sense to expect Democratic leaders to examine their tactics and rethink their messaging. And Groome’s point that Democrats should actively highlight the way that progressive policies (i.e. access to sex ed and contraception) actually lead to a decrease in unplanned pregnancies, and therefore abortions, is a good one. But to insist that Democrats backtrack their support of safe abortion access because a specific religious group feels uncomfortable with the stance assumes that religious beliefs should hold the same weight as a person’s right to make decisions about their own medical care.

Would we expect the Democratic party to make a similar concession to appease voters who oppose marriage equality or the rights of transgender children on religious grounds? I certainly hope not. Treating issues that fundamentally impact people’s lives as pieces in a game of political chess is a far more morally tenuous position than insisting that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land.

As a person who will never need to access an abortion, perhaps Groome is not the best person to speak on the issue. And yet across the board in 2017, as a recent report from the Women’s Media Center shows, men still dominate the coverage of reproductive rights, both as reporters and as expert sources.

When it comes to reproductive issues, the voices that should be heard most loudly are those of women and gender non-conforming people who needed or might need access to abortion care in the future. Those are the people who political leaders should listen to when crafting their positions, messaging and policy proposals.

If the only way for Democrats to win elections is to turn their backs on the needs and lived experiences of the Americans who vote for them, then there’s a lot more the party needs to rethink than its stance on abortion. 

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After a brief layover in Hawaii, former President Barack Obama is hanging out on a South Pacific island for a month to write his White House memoir, according to the Washington Post. 

The island, called Tetiaroa, is an atoll located in a group of French Polynesian islands. Its closest neighbor is Tahiti, which is roughly 30 miles away. Not only is it super private and exclusive, it’s also gorgeous:  

The island was once owned by actor Marlon Brando, who bought the property while scouting locations for his 1962 movie, “Mutiny on the Bounty.” A decade after Brando’s death in 2004, the property was acquired by hotel company Pacific Beachcomber and converted into an ultra-luxurious resort called The Brando.

Obama is reportedly staying at the 35-villa resort for most of his month on the island, and its eco-friendly reputation keeps in line with his own high environmental standards. According to its website, the resort eventually hopes to be 100 percent energy independent ― fueled by solar panels, generators powered by coconut oil and a contraption that converts seawater to air conditioning. 

Rooms start $2,800 per night and some are as expensive as $13,300 per night, but the amenities are simply outrageous. And considering Barack and Michelle Obama recently inked a book deal worth a reported $60 million, they can afford to splurge a little. 

If Barack decides to bring the whole family along for part of his stay, The Brando is both super family friendly and all-inclusive.

“This is an ideal resort for families as well as honeymooners and clients seeking seclusion,” Dan Ilves, senior vice president of Travel Store, told The Huffington Post for a previous story. “All activities are included and for those interested, there is an onsite marine research center.”

Other activities include snorkeling in a coral garden, swimming in a magical place called Mermaid Bay and enjoying the resort’s incredible spa. 

Getting to the island isn’t exactly easy, but it’s safe to say the end result is worth it.

Just copy the Obamas’ mode of getting to the island. Fly into Tahiti, then hop on a short, 20-minute flight to Tetiaroa. 

We’re pretty sure this is what Obama looks like right now (though he probably added a backwards hat and flip flops).  

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During Monday’s White House briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer was asked a question about a rise in hate crimes, including the recent murder of Timothy Caughman at the hands of a white supremacist. His response? Not only did Spicer fail to acknowledge that Caughman’s death was a hate crime by stating that he was not going to discuss “any specific case,” but the press secretary then proceeded to lambast the media for rushing to blame the right for incidents like recent anti-Semitic attacks. While Spicer tried to shift the conversation, it’s important to remember that there was a spike in hate crimes immediately following the election of Donald Trump (and according to several studies, a rise against certain groups during the campaign cycle as well). The fact that even copycats (according to law enforcement) like Juan Thompson knew that they could feed into an atmosphere of hate speaks volumes. And the President and the White House’s virtual silence is deafening.

In just two weeks following the Presidential election of 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) noted that there were more than 700 reports of hate crimes across the country including everything from physical and verbal assaults to destruction of property. In fact, SPLC says the number of hate groups in the U.S. rose for the second year in a row in 2016 as “the radical right was energized by the candidacy of Donald Trump.” That rise in hate crimes has only continued since then as we’ve seen incident after incident from anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attacks to attacks against people of color, women and the LGBTQ community. The murder of Caughman is just the latest tragedy that has left many people on edge. The President and the administration owe these Americans more than a simple deflection of the reality with which we are dealing.

James Jackson, the white supremacist arrested for Caughman’s death, was charged with murder as an act of terrorism on Monday. And yet the Trump administration wants to revamp the Countering Violent Extremism program so that it no longer includes groups like white supremacists according to several news reports last month. When I met with Attorney General Sessions recently there was no real commitment through the Justice Department about what to do regarding this subject, and so far we have seen no real strategy from the White House. The President can tweet out his disdain for Broadway shows and press coverage he doesn’t agree with, but apparently can’t find time to address these very real and very troubling issues.

April 4th marks the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – a murder which is the definition of a hate crime. This weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, leaders of the Jewish community, labor leaders and I will convene a service and rally against hate at Riverside Church in New York City. We will collectively condemn bigotry in all its forms and call for direct action to combat this growing crisis. We must press the federal government to denounce hate and protect citizens with strong hate crime laws and enforcement of those laws.

It is not enough to make generalized statements about how we all must get along, and it certainly is not enough to deflect from the very real challenges at hand in an effort to take attention away from the root problem. The President and his administration are not going to get a pass because they want to move on from the issue; there are too many Americans that are directly living in fear because of the climate that has been created. Instead of being defensive about blame, they need to come up with policies and laws that protect all of us. No child should go to bed worried that they will be bullied at school because of their race/religion/orientation; no person should hesitate attending their houses of worship thinking they may be attacked/vandalized; and no one should fear losing their life simply walking down the street because a person filled with hate drives to their state looking to commit murder.

At the end of the day, we may not be able to make people love us, but we can make sure that if they exercise hate they will pay a very real price for it.

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“I tell all the guys: The NFL stands for ‘Not For Long,’” says defensive end Ricky Jean Francois, who recently signed with the Green Bay Packers.

Jean Francois wasn’t supposed to be an exception to that rule. A seventh-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2009, Jean Francois ― now on his fourth contract with his fourth team ― just completed his seventh season.

Sustaining a career in the NFL is not easy. The average career lasts just over 3 years, the lowest of any of the four main sports in the U.S., and that includes practice squad players who never even play in a game. Also, NFL contracts are not guaranteed, meaning players ― even stars ― can be cut at any time.

Before inking a deal with the Packers, Jean Francois enjoyed two productive seasons with the Washington Redskins, playing in all 32 possible games, seven of which he started, while recording 57 tackles, including 3.5 sacks.

Just how rare is such production from a seventh-round selection?

According to a 2015 study by Forbes, the median of “percentage of games started” by seventh-round picks from the 2010 draft from 2010-2015 is 0 percent. In other words, the mere fact that Jean Francois has become a starter while more than doubling the NFL career average is almost unheard of.

As a result, the tech-obsessed 30-year-old ― who was cut by Washington despite having one more year on his contract ― has a unique perspective when looking ahead to life after pro football. Despite being a star player and winning a national title at college football powerhouse Louisiana State University, he knew the odds of a career weren’t especially high. 

Developing his business acumen became a priority for him early on.

“During my rookie season, I spent a lot of money,” he says. “I was like, ‘Do I really want to be this type of guy?’ I didn’t want to just spend money, because you won’t get it back. … The next year you couldn’t pay me to spend a dime.

“After I signed a contract with the Colts [in 2013], I realized that I needed a retirement plan.” 

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, 78 percent of NFL players go broke within three years of retirement and 15.7 percent file for bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement.

The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Jean Francois ― this year’s proud recipient of the Redskins’ Media Good Guy Award ― did not want to become one of those statistics.

So Jean Francois started to ask around the league ― talking to veterans, coaches and anyone who would offer advice. He started to educate himself, going through an assortment of different business and economic publications. Forbes, Fortune and Bloomberg are his favorites.

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With the help of his financial manager, he then purchased a Dunkin’ Donuts location in Georgia. Before long, he owned 25 franchises throughout the South, and he still has plans to expand to Houston. He committed himself to the business in every offseason, understanding the nuances of the business as he would an NFL playbook. At first, it was a grueling process, learning about projections and parsing through spreadsheets. But soon, it became second nature. He still feels a thrill every time one of his stores beats the sales projections.

“It opened up another world I didn’t know existed,” Jean Francois adds. 

“I have to be hands-on so I can see everything grow. I gotta learn how to do it myself.”

When challenges ― such as consistency in the product and service ― presented themselves, Jean Francois leaned on his football background and his experience working with a team. But he’s never had a problem with a single employee.

“Football helped me mentally, because I had to get my mind right,” he says.

“Making sure everybody has a positive vibe,” Jean Francois says, is paramount. “I gotta make sure that I set the mindset of people in there to be happy. Teamwork is the most important thing. It can make things work better. In other words, if football is a brotherhood, business is a community.

“[Business] helped me become a better person,” he says. “Business makes you open up as a person, because now you’re more well-rounded. Early on in the NFL, you get influenced by the Rolls-Royces, the Ferraris, the Lambos. The next thing you know, you’re broke and out of the league.”

And while business has made Jean Francois smarter and more focused, it was the birth of his son six months ago that changed his perception of life. 

“My son ― when he looks at me, I want to be the right father figure,” Jean Francois says. “He inspires me. I thought I grew up already, but when he came along, I was like, ‘Okay, I really didn’t grow up.’ When I look at him, it all makes sense.”

These days, Jean Francois ― who is of Haitian descent ― sees inspiration everywhere, including in frequent trips to the small Caribbean island nation as a means of giving back to local communities in need.

But the question still remains: What will life after football look like?

His $3 million deal with the Packers is only for the 2017-18 season. Then, he’s not sure where he’s headed, but he does have one big idea, despite lacking any tangible experience within the stock market.

“I’d like start a hedge fund,” Jean Francois says.

Another option, though, is heading back to school.

He wants to earn an Executive MBA in his hometown at the University of Miami, through a new Artists and Athletes program that has drawn rave reviews. Created in 2015 and aimed in large part toward football players, it employs a schedule that allows players to train early in the morning before going to nine hours of classes complemented by late-night study sessions.

To be sure, it’s no easy task, but Jean Francois certainly thinks it can be done. Fellow defensive end Carlos Dunlap for instance, earned Pro Bowl honors for the Cincinnati Bengals this year, while also completing his MBA.

And considering Jean Francois is already acing statistics, why would anyone doubt him?

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Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com, ask me questions about anything sports-related on Twitter at @Schultz_Report, and follow me on Instagram at @Schultz_Report.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

If it’s important to celebrate every bit of progress toward true diversity in the fashion and beauty industries ― and it is ― it’s equally important to speak openly about the failures, too.

U.K.-based model Lilah Parsons recently shared images of two casting calls from 2011. Each e-mail noted that all hair types were welcome, with the exception of Afros.  

Parsons tweeted that when she started modeling, “casting requests frequently contained comments like this.”

Seeing the restriction in print is jarring, especially considering Parsons was responding to a fellow model’s observation that the beauty industry has made huge strides in offering more makeup options for black women. 

Leomie Anderson linked to a hopeful letter to her 15-year-old self she wrote for Elle UK, describing her teenage struggle to find makeup to match her skin tone both in stores and backstage at fashion shows. But she wrote her younger self could soon “look forward to a great explosion online for the black make-up community,” which would include seeing “other amazing black women give tutorials and advice on how they perfect their make-up; you will even see some of these faces in big campaigns, encouraging make-up diversity.”

Parsons seemed to question if the increase in market options came hand-in-hand with more industry acceptance of black beauty.

“I hope times have changed,” she tweeted at Anderson and Elle as she shared the casting calls. Anderson later retweeted her message. 

Parson’s story is part of a broader conversation about the acceptance of natural hair. While 2011 might not feel that recent to some folks, it’s only been in the past few years that natural hair has been celebrated in the fashion and beauty mainstream. For example, it wasn’t until 2015 that a model wore her hair naturally on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway; the move was such a departure from the brand’s longtime tousled definition of “sexy” that it generated headlines.

Model Ebonee Davis, who speaks out regularly on the importance of self-love and inclusion, retweeted Parsons’ casting call tweet to demonstrate why she regularly talks about the need for more diversity in fashion. 

“When people ask me why I’m so adamant about discussing race and inclusion in the fashion industry, specifically pertaining to hair, [this is why],” she wrote.

The e-mails also call to mind former model Bethann Hardison’s recent comments about industry discrimination. In an article for Allure about beauty and diversity, Hardison explained that as recently as 2007, models “were being told, ‘sorry no blacks, no ethnics’” at castings. Though barriers may not be expressed in print or said out loud as frequently anymore, it’s clear they exist: Labels Junya Watanabe, Undercover and Trussardi featured no models of color on their runways this past fashion week, according to TheFashionSpot’s biannual diversity report. Comme des Garcons featured just one. 

It’s easy and hopeful to champion the beauty and fashion industries for their inclusive moments, but real change will more likely be prompted by the openness and willingness of industry insiders to talk about its issues. 

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