My Color on Paper

The 1980s were a decade in which the emergence of black visibility in mainstream media occurred. Cultural movements in preceding decades laid the foundation for people of color to be at the forefront of the media. Some of these cultural movements were the “soul” movement which emerged in the early 1970s and the “Neo-Afrofuturism” movement which emerged in 1980. Black fashion model Beverly Johnson being on the cover Vogue in 1974 and 1981 broke down the color barrier in the modeling industry. This emergence of black visibility paved  a pathway for artists like Michael Jackson and TV personalities like Oprah Winfrey.