As I sit down to write this, I am sipping on some peppermint tea to nurse my hoarse throat, a gentle physical reminder of the past few days at my first Essence Festival of Culture (EFOC), and my first as Chief Content Officer of Essence Ventures. A sore throat may seem like a nuisance to many, but to me, I can only smile as I think about the reason how it came to be—cheers of support for our editorial and content team as they graced the EFOC stages to guide powerful conversations, loud utterances of cultural solidarity like “I know that’s right!” during poignant, moving discussions that resonated, whispers, giggles, and back-slapping laughing moments with folks I haven’t seen in so long. I was so happy to finally hug in person, and of course, arms in the air, eyes closed in bliss, full-throated roars of lyrics alongside some of the most talented hip hop artists in the game celebrating 50 years of a musical genre that shook the world.
The reason that I smile as I recall all of this is the exact same reason why I signed on to this role just a mere 30-ish days ago; because Blackness is not a monolith; and the full spectrum of Blackness is not just celebrated at Essence Ventures and on grand display during EFOC, but because that is the very intention of the brand at its core.
It’s important to understand that the intended strategic direction of Essence is to continue to evolve the brand to reflect the full spectrum of Blackness and center the Black woman as the CEO of Home, Culture, and Community. Not just the Black Home, Culture, and Community, but all; because when the Black woman is whole, supported, nurtured, and thriving, all of society is uplifted.
The initial ethos of what Essence was founded on was a mission to elevate the Black woman, and the brand and all those who poured into it did exactly that; so it is a privilege to now have an opportunity to build upon the foundation that has been laid within the history of this legacy. This said, as we set out on this path to evolve, there were admittedly areas of the Black community that for too long had sometimes been pushed to the margins, and not supported and claimed fully as they should have been. The evolution of the brand is focusing on intra-community inclusion that highlights all the areas of who we are. In 2021 Essence Magazine ran their first same-sex couple for the Jan/Feb Love issue with Niecy Nash and her wife Jessica Betts. That next year the 2022 Love issue featured Lori Harvey, a young woman who moves through life and loves as freely as she feels. Both of those choices represent stories and subjects that may not have been a historically “traditional” take for Essence, but it’s the absolute direction we are committed to moving towards full inclusivity.
It’s important to also remember that real, complete inclusivity doesn’t exclude anyone, and we want all of our historic supporters to continue along the ride with us as others come aboard the train as well. We really don’t know who we can be until we all have the space to do so freely, and we are committed to providing that space.
This approach extends to and is bolstered by all the Essence Ventures brands; Afropunk is a place for the stories of and the community of those who are bucking the system, those who are here to dismantle the establishment and build it back up the way it should exist. Our radical creatives and artists, our queer and non-conforming communities, and all those who were told their place in the world was questionable, Afropunk holds space for their solace. BeautyCon has been revived with the exciting opportunity to reset the idea of beauty now being driven by people of color of all shades, sizes, and abilities. Essence Studios centers content that is representative of Black creators across the entire diaspora and from all backgrounds. Girls United (GU) is an important and necessary sub-brand of Essence Magazine that focuses on Gen Z and younger millennials who need and deserve a space to have their voices heard and cultivate community as they move through the world.
With all of this in mind, this set the stage for our approach to the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture. As we sat down to plan an experience and programming for EFOC this year one of the most important strategic beats was to ensure that we were coalescing around what is relevant in Black culture, which was the 50-year anniversary of hip hop. Through the lens of our centering Black women, an incredible lineup of all-Black women headliners (the first of its kind!) and great supporting artist performances were curated and focused on celebrating all Black women. What’s beautiful about the artists we hosted is that they did exactly what was our intention–representing a broad spectrum of Black women and their surrounding community.
Our brand, our festival, our pages, and our stages are a place where a Black woman artist who began her career donning a more conservative “uniform” to honor her blue-collar parents can evolve and celebrate her fluid identity and sexuality while belting out lyrics that challenge the system of patriarchy that judged her every performance. ESSENCE is a place where a Black woman artist who lost her mother at an early age, has navigated success and faced both trials and triumphs while doing so can command her sexuality confidently and dance and twerk alongside her fans of all sizes and shades in an act that is a communal share of energy and joy among Black women that has existed for centuries. And also a place where a Black woman artist can ask women to tap into their sensuality with just a deep baseline; a place where a Black woman artist can certify her stature as one of the most visionary creative minds of our time by literally taking the audience on a journey to another world, a place where a Black woman artist who needed to step away from her fame entirely at the height of her career can return triumphantly belting out the opus that almost took her from us. This is who we are, and this is what we very deliberately and intentionally are evolving Essence to be as we round the corner of 50+ years of the legacy of this brand, and I’m proud to be a part of that.
In addition to our artist performances, our inclusive approach was threaded through the conversations and discussions that took place throughout the convention center during EFOC 2023. Driven by a conscious mission to showcase the breadth of our community, conversations ranged across the gamut, from the Global Black Economic Forum Stage which focused on political and news topics such as a conversation from many of the nation’s Black mayors on caring for some of the largest cities in the US to health-focused conversations on the Essence Stage about the safety precautions when considering cosmetic surgeries, a lesson on investing in yourself and your businesses from a top name in hip hop Rick Ross at our Men’s experience In His Zone, a moving conversation on healing yourself and generations of your lineage anchored by Oprah Winfrey, to a discussion on the alternative education and unschooling options for Black children on the Afropunk stage, to a conversation around building a strong business with your best friend on the GU stage, complete with a GU kickback for our Gen Z attendees to connect. There was also a strategic focus on our commitment to the New Orleans community, with local vendors in the Soko Market, tributes to NOLA artists on stage, a (big!) surprise performance from Lil Wayne, and a beautiful community day featuring local businesses and amazing local bounce and musical artists like the legendary Big Freedia and more. This is not catering to one specific demographic within our community but to many. This also was no accident, this is who we want to be.
Now, does that mean that everything is for everybody? Nope. What it does mean is that people are free to choose and create their own adventure, their own personalized bespoke way to experience Essence. That is the beauty of evolution, it makes space for growth and grace, and we will continue to stretch ourselves to create the vision of the most inclusive community that we can and should be.
Lastly, I will say this, the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture kicked off with some gutting blows to our community by the highest court in the land. A decision so callous that it prompted its very first sharp rebuke from the United States Vice President Kamala Harris right on the GBEF Summit stage at EFOC. We are being judged, confined, and stifled in every way by forces outside of ourselves, so let’s ensure that within our community we are giving each other the air to breathe and just be, we all deserve it, and I am committed to making sure that we at least have the opportunity to see it truly come to life in our lifetimes right here at Essence.
God-is Rivera, Chief Content Officer, Essence Ventures
