Marcus Rashford and Adwoa Aboah appear on British Vogue’s activist-themed September issue
England footballer Marcus Rashford and model Adwoa Aboah will feature on the cover of British Vogue’s activist-themed September issue.
The special pull-out September 2020 cover features 40 activists described as “The Faces of Hope”.Editor Edward Enninful said the issue is a “rallying cry for the future”.
The Manchester United striker, 22, forced the government into a U-turn after calling on it to reconsider its decision not to extend the food voucher scheme into the summer holidays.
Downing Street announced a one-off £120 million fund which will benefit some 1.3 million children in England over the six-week summer period in the wake of Rashford's campaign.
Aboah is a mental health campaigner created the #CreativeTogether initiative during the coronavirus pandemic as a way of using creativity to connect people and tackle anxiety surrounding the lockdown.They were photographed by Misan Harriman - the first black male photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover in its 104-year history - with a predominantly black team on set.
Among the activists to feature in the September issue are Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo, racial justice campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, model Joan Smalls, author Reni Eddo-Lodge, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and writer Janet Mock.
Rashford, 22, said: “I’m by no means a politician but I had a voice and a platform that could be used to at least ask the questions.
“If I didn’t put myself out there and say, ‘This is not OK and it needs to change,’ I would have failed my 10-year-old self.”
Aboah, 28, said: “For some time it’s felt to me to have been quite a box-ticking approach to racial justice, mental health, sustainability. Now I have hope it’s changing. I don’t think you’re going to get away with just spraying perfume on the situation anymore.”
Vogue’s Hope issue is a collaboration between all 26 editions of the magazine around the world for the September and October issues.
It marks the first time in Vogue’s 128-year history that all editions are consolidating under a singular editorial theme.The September issue is traditionally the fashion bible’s most important of the year. The Duchess of Sussex guest edited the issue 12 months ago.
The September issue of British Vogue will be available on newsstands and digital download on Friday August 7.
Bizarre responses from ministers after Marcus Rashford's call for free summer meal vouchers rejected