Michaela angela Davis' memoir 'Tenderheaded' is about Black identity in glamor

Fashion editor and celebrity stylist Michaela angela Davis was working at Vibe magazine in the 1990s when her white editor accused her of being “hyper-Black.” Davis had voiced concern over bumping Eddie Murphy off the cover of a magazine devoted to Black culture in favor of featuring then-couple Madonna and Dennis Rodman. The Vibe editor ultimately resigned and Eddie Murphy graced the cover of the summer 1994 issue.

In “Tenderheaded,” Davis’ revealing and riveting memoir, the author hashes through her bone of contention with Madonna for appropriating Black culture to get ahead. Madonna’s practice of “feeding on Black and gay people’s creativity held a stench,” Davis writes in one of a few pieces about the iconic singer.

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Fashion editor and stylist Michaela angela Davis is the author of “Tenderheaded.” (Courtesy of Simon & Schuster)

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