Days after releasing a statement, Essence magazine Editor-in-Chief Angela Burt Murray is continuing to defend her decision to hire Elliana Placas, a white woman, as the publication's new fashion director. In an opinion piece for The Grio, Burt Murray claims that the magazine's "commitment to black women remains unchanged."

Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray told Black Voices in a written statement that Ellianna Placas, a former fashion editor at O: Home and Us Weekly, is just part of Essence’s growing fashion team.

NewsOne is reporting that magazine Essence is set to formally hire Elliana Placas, a former staff member of O! Magazine and US Weekly. It is obviously too soon to know what backlash the magazine might suffer as a result of the decision, but it does raise some interesting issues.