Michele Mendez
Zendaya is a 19-year-old actress, singer, and dancer. Now, she models for the cover of Essence magazine.
Essence is a magazine for African-American women. The magazine covers a range of topics, from celebrities, to fashion, to current issues in the African-American community. Essence has chosen Zendaya for their August cover. Zendaya traveled to Rio de Janeiro to model for the issue. She said that it was her first time in South America.
Zendaya says that starring on the cover of Essence is “a monumental moment, as a young black woman.”
Although she is only 19, Zendaya is very outspoken when it comes to racial injustice. Last year, Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic made racist comments about Zendaya’s dreadlocks at the Oscars. Zendaya then commented that “locs are a symbol of strength and beauty” and one must not judge people of color based on their hair. She told Essence that standing up for herself is “not new.” She added, “It’s not something I just started doing. I just did it in public, and more people saw it than usual.”
Zendaya also expresses her feeling towards the recent black people who died in the hands of police.
How many more times must this happen for us to matter? How many more must we lose?
BLACK. LIVES. MATTER. #AltonSterling— Zendaya (@Zendaya) July 6, 2016
Zendaya told Essence that she credits her parents for being so open about African-American issues. Zendaya shows people everyday that it is important to use our voices for good, and to speak about issues occurring in the black community. She is a role model for all.
Discussing The Future
In the behind-the-scenes video, Zendaya expresses her excitement about her role in the newest Spiderman movie. She states, “I’ve been wanting to break into you know, a different space of the acting world for a long time.” Zendaya also says that she will probably be filming another season of her Disney Channel tv show, K.C. Undercover. She also plans on finishing her album. We can’t wait to see Zendaya’s future projects!
Watch her behind-the-scenes video here:
https://twitter.com/ZendayaMedia/status/751164861841870848
Zendaya’s Essence August 2016 Cover
You can read Zendaya’s full story and see more pictures from her photoshoot at http://www.essence.com/
What do you think of Zendaya’s Essence cover? Let us know by tweeting us @Celebmix.
