As the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful is among the most prominent figures in the U.K. publishing industry. However, the DailyMail.com reported that Enninful”™s position doesn”™t impress London taxi drivers ”“ the Ghana-born Enninful said he cannot hail a cab on his own because he is Black and requires a White underling to secure transportation.
“My assistant still has to hail a taxi, despite the position that I”™m in,” he said during a presentation London”™s Royal Festival Hall to promote his memoir “A Visible Man.” “I”™m a black man in the world; it wasn”™t the first time it happened and it”™s not going to be the last time.”
Enninful also revealed that he was denied access to his own office building by a security guard in 2020 who not only failed to recognize him, but also instructed him to use the tradesman entrance at the rear of the building. Although the security guard was later fired, Enninful acknowledged that racial profiling cuts across all economic levels.
“When those incidents happened, it made me realize: do not forget who you are, do not forget where you”™re from and do not think you”™re so amazing these things won”™t touch you,” he said.
Shulman added that in his five years as editor-in-chief, he sought to emphasis inclusion in his publication ”“ he pointed out that his predecessor, Alexandra Shulman, did not share that view.
“She represented a different time,” he said. “In 25 years, there had only been 12 models of color on the front cover. I just thought: ”˜Let me bring in a new world, let”™s create a magazine that was inclusive and everybody could see themselves in.”™”
Photo courtesy of Vogue Business
