Christopher Hooton, Independent, November 22, 2016

An ‘international bi-monthly magazine for the style conscious black woman’ has come under fire after mistakenly using a white model for a cover photo despite only using black or mixed race models as policy.

Successful model Emily Bador came forward to say that at on old image of her had been used by the mag, writing in a lengthy Instagram post: “I hold up my hands, I’m so so so sorry and I’m very sorry this cover was taken away from a black woman.”

She added that she believes the photo was taken when she was 15, that she never intended for it to be used in Blackhair and that she didn’t understand cultural appropriation when she took part in the shoot.

Pressed for an apology by angry readers and black models, the editor of Blackhair wrote on Facebook: “This morning it was brought to our attention that the model gracing our December/January issue is not of black or mixed-race heritage. We were obviously not aware of this prior to selecting the image.

“We often ask PR companies/salons to submit images for the magazine, specifically stating that models must be Black or mixed race. We can only take their word for it, and of course, try to use our own judgment.

“At Blackhair we continuously strive to celebrate black women in all our beautiful variation of skin hues and hair textures. We are keenly aware of how black women are underrepresented in the mainstream media and the last thing we want to do is add to our erasure.

“In this ever-changing world, race will surely become even more fluid and no doubt conversations around Black identity will continue to change, and we definitely welcome the dialogue.”

At the time of writing, it has yet still yet to retract the cover however, which remains its Facebook profile picture.