‘An American Failure’: TIME Mag Marks 200,000 Coronavirus Deaths With Stunning Cover Featuring a Black Border for First Time Since 9/11

In its 97-year history, TIME magazine had only once before — for its 9/11 issue — replaced their signature red border on the cover with a black one. But with the U.S. coronavirus death toll nearing 200,000, the magazine has published a stunning black-bordered cover to mark the grim milestone.

For its lead image, which hits newsstands Friday, artist John Mavroudis handwrote the U.S. death count for each of the days between Feb. 29, when the first American died from Covid-19, and Sept. 8. The figure of 200,000 appears in the center, while beneath it, the cover reads, “An American Failure.”

TIME’s new cover: COVID-19 has killed nearly 200,000 Americans. How many more lives will be lost before the U.S. gets it right? https://t.co/fGSXgl0Uj2 pic.twitter.com/8o89XTVZ5V

— TIME (@TIME) September 10, 2020

In a piece by TIME editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal explaining the story behind the cover, Mavroudis discussed his aim for the provocative image.

“I really hope this cover is a wake-up call for those who are numbed to this catastrophe,” says Mavroudis. “Science and common sense are the answers to this crisis.”

The accompanying cover story, authored by Alex Fitzpatrick and Elijah Wolfson, is unsparing in its assessment of America’s handling of the pandemic.

“At this point, we can start to see why the U.S. foundered: a failure of leadership at many levels and across parties; a distrust of scientists, the media and expertise in general; and deeply ingrained cultural attitudes about individuality and how we value human lives have all combined to result in a horrifically inadequate pandemic response,” Fitzpatrick and Wolfson wrote. “COVID-19 has weakened the U.S. and exposed the systemic fractures in the country, and the gulf between what this nation promises its citizens and what it actually delivers.”