Robin Givhan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion writer for The Washington Post -- who drew some attention when she critiqued Elena Kagan's sitting posture -- took on the delicate issue of whether a white woman should be fashion director for the black-themed Essence magazine.

Noting that Essence downplayed its choice of a new person in that post, the white Ellianna Placas, Givhan says such a choice does not need to be an African-American. But she says Essence should not downplay the fact either:

In some corners of the Internet, the reaction to her race was visceral and unforgiving -- outbursts sometimes untempered by thoughtful consideration. Some of the hurt arose from the harsh reality that there's a scarcity of women of color in top jobs anywhere in the fashion industry. Some saw the Essence position as the one guaranteed perch from which a black woman's fashion vision could shine.

Also mixed into the stew of emotion was the inference that a white woman couldn't fully comprehend a black woman's often-fraught relationship with her hair, body and sexuality -- as her feelings about her appearance sometimes carry the echoes of history and racism. And finally, there was the unspoken irritation that once again, in the beauty competition, white trumped black -- this time, on the home court.

On the other side of the debate, many saw the attacks on Placas's hiring as nothing more than reverse racism. If Vogue should be encouraged to diversify its top ranks, why shouldn't Essence? Why should whiteness be a disqualifying factor for a high-profile job at a magazine aimed at a black audience?

None of those feelings should be dismissed or taken lightly.

But context and timing are important, too. The tumult over who's leading the fashion department at a magazine for and about black women comes at a moment when the most prominent woman in the country -- the first lady -- is African American. President Obama's closest confidante, aside from his wife, is another black woman, Valerie Jarrett. Black women have been astronauts and secretary of state, beauty icons and screen idols. Their appeal has been mass and their emulators have come in all colors.