essence
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Essence and Naomi Campbell Celebrate Their 50th Birthdays Together—With a Supermodel Self-Portrait
Two paragons of black beauty turn 50 this month, and as much of the world continues to shelter-in-place, Essence magazine and Naomi Campbell are celebrating their joint milestone together—yet apart—as the soon-to-be 50-year-old supermodel provided a series of “self-portraits in isolation” for the magazine’s May/June special collector’s issue. It wasn’t the plan, but it’s a…
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Essence Fest 2020 Is Officially Canceled
In a year in which the outbreak of COVID-19 has not only threatened the lives of millions but life as we’ve known it (because rather than “going back to normal,” we’re likely looking at a “new normal”), another highly anticipated cultural event has become a casualty. To the chagrin of aunties and Flossy Posses everywhere—not…
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‘I Wanted to Show Her as a Woman’: Cynthia Erivo Talks Harriet for Essence's Digital Cover
“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” wrote William Shakespeare, and the phrase proves equally true for fellow Brit Cynthia Erivo, the multitalented phenom currently dominating the box office in the titular role of Harriet, the black-helmed Harriet Tubman biopic, released on Friday. Erivo was handpicked by producer Debra Martin Chase for the role,…
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Keeping It 100: Essence Announces Its 3rd Annual 'Woke 100'
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the wokest of them all? We kid, we kid—no one wants to play the Woke Olympics. But just like us, Essence has some ideas about who the most influential, inspiring folks of 2019 are—femme folks, in this instance—with its third annual Woke 100 List. Framed as a “salute to…
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Girls United: For the International Day of the Girl, Essence's Mentoring Initiative Grows Up
It’s the International Day of the Girl, where we focus (as we should every day) on supporting the growth of girls around the world—through advocacy, mentorship and empowerment. And the black girl magic media juggernaut known as Essence has been doing just that, last fall launching Girls United, a mentoring initiative meant to empower the…
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Essence Announces Move to Expanded, Bimonthly Print Issues
Starting next year, Essence magazine will move from a monthly to a bimonthly publishing schedule, signaling the end of an era while promising that the best is yet to come. In a press release sent out Friday morning, the company announced that it will move to an “enhanced double issue” that will be printed six…
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Internationally Known: Essence Celebrates Its Global Impact With Serena Williams and a New Design
At this point in time, Essence is an American classic, beloved by those of us who grew up with the magazine atop the coffee tables of our mothers, aunties, grandmothers, big sisters, and now, ourselves. But on the heels of the 25th annual Essence Festival, and as the magazine approaches its 50th birthday in 2020,…
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The Breakthrough: Harlem’s Fashion Row Mentors Designers to Success—and a Lion King Collaboration
Ahead of the July Fourth weekend and the multimedia marathon that was Essence Fest 2019, where we connected with groundbreaking fashion luminaries like Dapper Dan in New Orleans, New York-based incubator Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) was doing what it does best: inspiring and empowering the next wave of designers of color. In partnership with Nike,…
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Tina ‘Knowles’ Black Excellence and Urges Us To Never Dim Our Light
As a people, we’ve been known to make it out on top in some of the most unfortunate circumstances. With all that we have been through, we still manage to find a way to celebrate the beauty that comes with being black. Even when you trod us down into the dirt, still we rise and…