The Vogue Magazine cover featuring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen has received some controversy that the picture was "racially insensitive".
The cover of the Vogue April issue features James in basketball attire with a basketball, screaming as he holds Bundchen in his arms.
Several journalists have said that James garners images of "King Kong", citing that the picture was insensitive and out of taste.
James is just the third male to ever grace to cover of Vogue, joining actors Richard Gere and George Clooney as the only men to do so in the magazine's 116-year history. However, James is the first African-American male.
Each time a male was featured on the cover, a woman was also in the cover photo. Gere appeared with Cindy Crawford in 1992, while Clooney also appeared with Bundchen in 2000.
As far as the photo, James was wearing the attire and portraying the profession that has made him successful: a basketball player. James exemplified the passion, the aggressiveness and emotion that has made him one of the greatest players in the NBA.
With that said, Bundchen is dressed in the same attire of a supermodel, the profession that has made her successful. The mergence of the two was destined to be different. However, it is not racist.
If people look at an athletic Black man holding a Hispanic woman as both exemplify their everyday lives, then that person is more than likely inherently racist.
Some could say that James could have worn a suit, but that is not the image of James America has grown to see. The picture personified his on-the-court persona that has made him an off-the-court celebrity.
James himself said he had no problem with the photo and actually enjoyed the final product. ''I was just having fun with it, I was just showing a little emotion,'' James said Saturday in an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal. ''We had a few looks and that was the best one we had. Everything my name is on is going to be criticized, in a good way or a bad way. Who cares, honestly, at the end of the day.''
Obviously someone does, but I think they are wasting their time. America cannot supercede the racist psychosis that has long delved deep into our culture unless we stop creating these undertones.
America is in the middle of its most monumental presidential campaign as a Black man competes against a White woman for the Democratic nomination. The racial barriers that stood up for so long are on their way to coming down.
There is a long way to go before America endures true racial harmony, but to make a fuss about a magazine cover is not going to help nor lend a helping hand when something truly racist does indeed happen.
In order to truly become one as a nation, the ingredients of our melting pot must be stirred together, and we must become accustomed to this congruence, for this is not racist, but human.
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