A portrait of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old black emergency medical technician shot dead by police in her own home earlier this year, will appear on the cover of O’s latest issue, The Oprah Magazine.
It is the first time in the magazine’s 20-year history that the cover will not feature the magazine’s name: Oprah Winfrey.
The cover of the September issue was unveiled on Thursday and will hit the newsstands on August 11.
“If you turn a blind eye to racism, you become an accomplice,” Winfrey said in a quote that also appears on the cover.
Taylor, who lived in Louisville, Kentucky, was fatally shot by police in March after officers broke into her home while executing a search warrant. In the months after his death, protests across the country have called for the arrest of the officers.
“We cannot be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to ask for justice. And that’s why Breonna Taylor is on the cover of O Magazine, ”the television and digital media magnate wrote Thursday about her decision on Twitter and Instagram.
The cover, created by 24-year-old self-taught digital artist Alexis Franklin, features a photo of Taylor she had taken of herself. She had also appeared in news reports around the protests demanding justice for Taylor’s family.
“She was just like me. She was just like you, ”Oprah said in a statement as part of her What I Know For Sure column. “And I feel a personal connection. Because I am these women. These women are me.
The September issue addresses institutional and systemic racism, educating white readers on how to “dismantle the status quo” in a section called the Hard White Truths. Each page will highlight black-owned anti-racism companies and organizations, as well as tips and resources for whites who want to be anti-racist allies.
A behind-the-scenes look at the cover of O September magazine.
The September cover story comes after a spokesperson for the publication confirmed to People earlier this week that it plans to evolve to become “digitally focused,” denying reports that it would suspend its print edition later this year.
On March 13, Taylor was sleeping when police broke down the door while executing an arrest warrant for a drug investigation. Her boyfriend, mistaking the officers for intruders, fired his gun. The police then returned fire and hit Taylor at least eight times.
So far, only one of the officers has been fired for misconduct and the other two have been assigned to administrative reassignment. None have been arrested or charged with Taylor’s death.
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