Edited by Saynt
Last week we bashed Amnau Eele [photo'd center], director of Black Artists Association, for making comments against our first lady’s fashion choices on inauguration day. Rumors have begun to circulate that WWD’s reporting on Amnau’s comments were GREATLY FABRICATED (aka they were one big fat lie).
Basically, Amnau’s emails to WWD didn’t contain any mention of Kumbaya, “Our Moment”, or any of the vicious attacks the former model made about Michelle Obama’s freedom to choose. According to one of our adamant commenters (who compared Amnau bashing to a “lynching”) Amnau is claiming the story is false.
So did some press hungry WWD staffer make-up the story? My guess is no.
Of course the other possibility is that Amnau is just freaking now that members of her association are backing out and she’s received a couple death threats. Is she just realizing that she over stepped her boundaries by trying to speak for black designers (her organization only represents black artists)
My guess is that this former spotlight grabber is desperate to not fade away with a legacy that includes becoming America’s number one reason to hate again.
WWD was not available for comments on this matter.
MORE ON THE SUBJECT
Here is the comment from Janice Webb on Fashion Indie
In the 50’s a white woman would say a black man looked at her and white men would rush to lynch the black man with no proof. I found out today that a white woman at wwd said a black woman said we are the world, kumbaya and it’s our moment, and the world including black people rushed to lynch this black woman named Amnau Eele with no proof. I found out today on the radio that in tomorrow’s Washington, D. C. newspaper, the paper is going to show the e-mail interviews that Amnau Eele did with WWD and guess what? Amnau Eele never said one quote that was printed in the WWD article. not one. All of those Quotes belonged to the WWD writer. This is going to be huge.
Here are some responses from the industry on the issue.
- African American Designer B Michael
“I personally believe it is an unfair expectation to place on the first lady,” he said. “Fashion is subjective and a matter of personal choice.”
- Bethann Hardison (Tyson Beckford’s agent)
“The comment is inappropriate. You don’t wear a designer because they are just black; you wear them because they are great.”
- Karyn D. Collins of Asbury Park Press
“I think we start getting into some dangerous territory when we start expecting someone to look, act, speak, etc. a certain way just because they’re black. I think it does a disservice to the designers in question for suggesting that their work should have been selected because they’re black. I’m sure B Michael, Kevan Hall, Mychael Knight, Tracy Reese, Stephen Burrows and any other black designer would be the first to say they would want their design to be worn because the first lady liked the design, period.”
What do you think?
