Model Ebonee Davis has written a powerful open letter about the fashion industry’s impact on racism.
New York-based Davis is the star of Calvin Klein’s latest #mycalvins campaign, wearing her hair in “all its natural glory”.
In her essay, the 23-year-old writes that the recent tragic and unjust deaths of Alton Sterlin and Philando Castile caused her to “realise the importance” of the photoshoot.
Published in Harper’s Bazaar, Davis letter states she believes it is up to the fashion industry - which “sets the tone for society, dictating what is beautiful and acceptable” - to fix systemic racism in America.
“It is no longer acceptable for us to revel in black culture with no regard for the struggles facing the black community,” she wrote.
Davis also joined the chorus of fellow models Naomi Campbell and Leomie Anderson, calling out the lack of diversity on the runway and the lack of makeup artists trained to work with black models’ skin tones and hair types.
“It is the same systemic racism that sees beauty products for ‘black’ hair end up in a section of their own (’the ethnic aisle’), that sees black men more likely to end up dead after a police encounter than any other racial group,” she wrote.
Davis hopes that the fashion industry including “positive, accurate and inclusive imagery” of people of colour, could help reduce negative stereotypes and vilification.
“Love black people as much as you love black music and black culture,” she wrote.
“Until you do, society will continue to buy into the false notion that people of colour are less than.”
Since posting her letter on Twitter, Davis has received support from the international Black Lives Matter movement, along with being applauded for talking about “real issues” within the fashion industry.
She has vowed to keep using her platform as a top model to help others, writing: “My life only has value if I help the people around me.
“What good is my success if people are still suffering?”
