Thirty-five years ago Beverly Johnson became the first black woman to land a cover of American Vogue and while modeling has seen the likes of Naomi Campbell, Iman, Liya Kebede, Sessilee Lopez, Jourdan Dunn and Chanel Iman rise through the ranks and score countless more covers, Johnson thinks they still have a long way to come. “It’s nice to see a group of black models coming up that are present today and represent a wide spectrum; it wasn’t that way in the 70’s,” she told The Daily Voice.

As for seeing herself on the cover of Vogue:

It was definitely a highlight of my life. That feeling, and of course the birth of my daughter, was an out of body experience. I was so elated. I remember having the magazine next to my bed that night, and I woke up at least five times throughout the night and looked at the cover to be sure it was real.

I didn’t know it would be so profound. I just wanted to be on [the cover] because that’s where you had to be to be a top model. I didn’t realize the significance and change we were embarking on – black women being accepted. Afterwards I knew.

[Via The Daily Voice]