Feeling compelled to post this as an homage to Darine Stern - the first African American woman to pose on the cover of Playboy in 1971.
Apparently the folks at Playboy used this image of Darine as inspiration for their latest issue with "The Simpsons" cartoon character Marge on the cover. This CNN article quotes the magazine's editorial director Jimmy Jellinick, "Marge's sexy blue beehive immediately made us think of Darine Stern, whose beautiful, voluminous hairdo was front and center on the October 1971 cover."
A cartoon character's "sexy" blue beehive = '70s black power afro? Don't quite get that connection and I'm not a fan of this "gentleman's" magazine, but I do love the original image of Darine. The back lighting on her hair is quite angelic.
According to Black Beauty of the Day, Stern died of breast cancer at age 46. Ironically, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month - perhaps this is the real moral of this story.
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