Alfre Woodard, Laverne Cox, Nicole Beharie, & Danai Gurira Cover Essence Magazine .

People are always saying they would love to see some new faces on the cover of magazines, and Essence magazine has heard their cry loud and clear. For their 2014 October issue, Essence is giving nods to the shift going on in black Hollywood by featuring new rising stars including Laverne Cox (from Emmy-nominated series Orange is the New Black), Nicole Beharie (Sleepy Hollow), and Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead).  They also round out the cover with veteran actress Alfre Woodard (State of Affairs), calling them “Channel Changers.”
Inside, the four ladies talk about television being more diverse and how women of color are storming networks because of talent and persistence.
Catch what they had to say below:

Danai: “It is a golden age. because we’re allowed to see that more people are given a voice, and that is a beautiful thing. We know when there’s been a dearth of this type of diversity. I remember watching Orange and feeling as if something new was happening.”
Laverne: “People are watching television in a different way. I’ve been acting for a very long time and not getting very far, and I would say we needed some sort of systemic revolutionary change for me to have an acting career.”
Alfre: “Is it the golden age, daughters? I want you all to believe: We’re not here because somebody suddenly said, ‘Let’s have some women of color [on TV].’ We’re here because we’re brilliant at what we do. We’re persistent. You could put us at the bottom of the ocean and we’d still come to the top.”

With shows like Scandal making history and pulling in millions of viewers every episode, and proving that America is ready to see more diversity on their favorite shows, it’s going to be amazing to sit back and see more black actresses snag leading roles on television.

Rea