History
Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount founded Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) in 1968. It began publishing ''Essence'' magazine in May 1970. Lewis and Smith called the publication a "lifestyle magazine directed at upscale African American women". They recognized that black women were an overlooked demographic and saw ''Essence'' as an opportunity to capitalize on a virtually untouched market of black women readers. Its initial circulation was approximately 50,000 copies per month, subsequently growing to roughly 1.6 million.Bynoe, Yvonne. ''Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip-hop Culture''. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 263, . Gordon Parks served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation. In 2000, Time Inc. purchased 49 percent of Essence Communications Inc. In 2005, Time Inc. made a deal with Essence Communications Inc. to purchase the remaining 51 percent. The deal placed the ownership of the 34-year-old ''Essence'' magazine, one of the United States' leading magazines for women of color, under widespread ownership, rather than black ownership.Carr, David. ''The New York Times'', 2005. In January 2018, the magazine returned to a fully black-owned publication after its acquisition by Richelieu Dennis, the founder of Sundial Brands. In 2020, Black Female Anonymous, a group made up of former and possibly current Essence employees, published a Medium article alleging sexual harassment claims against Dennis, as well as egregious claims of bullying and mistreatment of employees by members of the C-Suite. Following the Medium post, an investigation was launched into the claims. As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, Essence furloughed staff in 2020 after receiving a PPP loan from the government.Contents
In "Black Womanhood: ''Essence'' and its Treatment of Stereotypical Images of Black Women," professors stated that diverse images of black women are not often included in white magazines and media but that those black women can see themselves in different lights in ''Essence''. The magazine features sections called Celebrity, Fashion, Beauty, Hair, Love, and Point-of-View."Essence"Format
The online version of the magazine opens with large images that also display links to main articles. Scrolling farther the down, viewers of the site will find "Top Stories", "Hot Right Now", and other sections. There are tabs to the various categories of the publication's material, including "Celebrity," "Fashion," "Beauty," "Hair," "Love," "Lifestyle," "News", and "Videos". Several spots on the website provide links to the magazine's social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Google Plus. The bottom of the page presents a "From the Mag" section that features content from the magazine.Imagery in advertisements
''Essence'' issues in the early 2000s featured mostly black woman models with lighter skin complexions. The magazine then began to include a greater number of models with darker skin complexions. In terms of hair types, long and wavy hairstyles were almost equally represented as short and curly styles. The sizes of the noses and lips of most of the models were considered average. The bodies of the models were not often displayed. When they were, thinner and average body types were more likely to be shown than fuller body types. These observations rose out of a study titled "Race and Gender in the Media: A Content Analysis of Advertisements in Two Mainstream Black Magazines." They were then used to comment on what the image practices of ''Essence'' may say about how black media represents black people, chiefly black women, and how these representations may reflect and reveal larger truths about how black people themselves.Circulation
* Rate base: 1,600,000 * Subscriptions: 78% * Single-copy sales: 22%Essence Music Festival
The Essence Music Festival is the nation's largest annual gathering of African-American musical talent, and has been going on annually since 1994 inActivism
In January 2005 ''Essence'' launched a 12-month initiative to combat misogyny in hip-hop culture. The campaign, titled "Take Back the Music", was intended to inspire public dialogue about the portrayal of black women in rap music. ''Essence'' also holds a Young Women's Leadership Conference, and released a book in 2009 titled ''Essence Presents: The Black Woman's Guide to Healthy Living''.Dumenco, Simon. ''Advertising Age'', 2008.Awards
Awards run by ''Essence''
Black Women In Hollywood Awards
This long-running award event, held each February on the Thursday before the Oscars, began in 2008 and continues to this day. His ceremony annually honors black women who have achieved success in Hollywood. In the event's first decade, awards were presented in several categories. Beginning in 2017, the event had a single theme and individuals were honored, with no specific award titles.= 2008
= * Power Award: Jada Pinkett Smith= 2009
= * Legend Award: Diahann Carroll * Power Award: Halle Berry * Star to Watch Award: Taraji P. Henson * Visionary Award:= 2010
= * Breakthrough Performance Award: Gabourey Sidibe * Legend Award: Cicely Tyson * Power Award: Queen Latifah * Songstress of the Year:= 2011
= *= 2012
= * Breakthrough Performance Award: Octavia Spencer * Legend Award: Pam Grier * Shining Star Award: Paula Patton * Vanguard Award:= 2013
= * Breakthrough Performance Award: Quvenzhané Wallis * Power Award:= 2014
= * Breakthrough Performance Award: Lupita Nyong'o * Trailblazer Award: Cheryl Boone Isaacs * Visionary Award: Ava DuVernay= 2015
= * Breakthrough Performance Award: Gugu Mbatha-Raw * Fierce and Fearless Award: Regina King * Visionary Award: Ruth E. Carter= 2016
= * Fierce and Fearless Award: Tracee Ellis Ross * Power Award: Nina Shaw * Legend Award: Debbie Allen= 2018
= * Honorees: Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Danai Gurira, Tessa Thompson= 2019
= * Theme: The Power of our Presence: Art and Activism * Honorees:= 2020
= * Honorees: Niecy Nash, Melina Matsoukas, Lashana Lynch, and the cast of ''Pose'', along with its executive producer Janet Mock''Essence'' Literary Awards
The first and only ''Essence'' Literary Awards ceremony was held in New York City on February 7, 2008, to celebrate both emerging and established African-American authors in nine categories: Fiction, Memoir, Inspiration, Non-fiction, Current Affairs, Photography, Children's Books, Poetry and Storyteller of the Year. The honorees were as follows: * Children's Books: ''Marvelous World'' by Troy Cle/Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing * Current Affairs: ''An Unbroken Agony'' by Randall Robinson/ Basic Civitas * Fiction: ''The Pirate's Daughter'' by Margaret Cezair-Thompson/Unbridled Books * Inspiration: ''Quiet Strength'' by Tony Dungy/Tyndale * Lifetime Achievement: Terry McMillan * Memoir: ''Brother, I'm Dying'' by Edwidge Danticat/Knopf * Non-fiction: ''Supreme Discomfort'' by Michael Fletcher and Kevin Merida/Doubleday * Poetry: ''Duende'' by Tracy K. Smith/Graywolf Press * Photography: ''Daufuskie Island'' by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe/University of South Carolina Press * President's Award: ''Reposition Yourself'' by T.D. Jakes/Atria * Storyteller of the Year: L.A. Banks * Save Our Libraries: Countee Cullen Regional Library in HarlemAwards received by ''Essence''
* 1970: National Magazine Award for Fiction for Hortense Spillers' "Isom" * 2008: AdAge American Magazine Vanguard Award for "magazines that are innovating smartly beyond print." * 2008: 12 New York Association of Black Journalists awards in the Investigative, General Feature, International, Business/Technology, Science/Health, Arts and Entertainment, Personal Commentary, Public Affairs and Online categories. * NABJ Magazine Specialty Award – This award was received for their two part series "The Story of AIDS in Black America" * NABJ Magazine Award for Business – This award was received for their Essence Home Ownership Campaign. * 2010: NABJ Award for Investigative writing for Angela Burt-Murray, Jeannine Amber, Rosemarie Robotham's "Lost Girl"; Single Topic Series for "Realizing the Dream"Controversy
The 2005 purchase of Essence Communications Inc. marked the first time an African-American magazine would be owned by a white man, sparking controversy because of the company's 34 years under African-American ownership. In 2011, the magazine engaged with controversy when the editor-in-chief, Constance C. R. White, announced that the magazine's new managing editor was a white male by the name of Michael Bullerdick. White assured readers that Bullerdick had no control over the content of the magazine and was only to oversee the day-to-day operations of the magazine. In April 2012, Bullerdick parted ways with the magazine after politically conservative views that ran counter to what Essence has historically stood for were discovered on his private Facebook page. In July 2020, controversy rose again when anonymous magazine staffers alleged mistreatment and abuse under the leadership of Richelieu Dennis. In a post called "Black Female Anonymous" on Medium, it is alleged that senior staffers subjected black female employees to sexual harassment, pay inequity and bullying. Dennis subsequently stepped down and named Caroline Wanga as interim CEO.Editors
* Ida E. Lewis (1970–1971) * Ruth Ross (1975) * Marcia Ann Gillespie (1971–1980) * Susan L. Taylor (1981–2000) * Monique Greenwood (2000) * Diane Weathers (2000–2005) * Angela Burt-Murray (2005–2010) * Sheryl Hilliard Tucker (2010–2011) * Constance C. R. White (2011–2013) * Vanessa K. De Luca (2013–2018) * Danielle Cadet (2022 – present)References
Further reading
*External links
* * {{Authority control African-American magazines Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Women's magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1970 Magazines published in New York City Women's fashion magazines published in the United States Black-owned companies of the United States