‘Time Of Essence’ Shows Essence Magazine’s Economic And Cultural Impact

The highly anticipated original documentary series, “Time of Essence,” premieres on Friday, August, ... [+] 18 at 9 pm ET/PT.

Before Protect Black Women was a proliferated catchphrase used as a hashtag on social media, Essence magazine created a complete enterprise based on this revolutionary ethos before the internet community articulated the sentiment. Clarence O. Smith, Denise M. Clark, Cecil Hollingsworth, Jonathan Blount, and Edward Lewis founded Essence Communications Inc. in 1968, a publication that covered the intersection of beauty, fashion, entertainment, and culture. The media outlet's mission was to establish a magazine for Black women to inspire, uplift, instill pride, shield them from societal castigation, and embolden women to reclaim their narrative in a society that sought to diminish their beauty, intelligence, and achievements.

For over 50 years, the publication has served as a pivotal staple in the Black community and is constantly at the forefront of reflecting American Black culture. Through Essence Studios LLC., executive producers Christian Sarabia, Nicole Elliott, Raymond Garcia, Emmet Dennis, Sidra Smith, Stephanie "NöNe" Dunivan, and Barkue Tubman-Zawolo have assembled a five-part documentary series aptly titled Time of Essence to explore how periodical provided the "freedom of self-reflection" and "expression."

Chief Content Officer of Essence Ventures, Afropunk, BeautyCon, and Essence Studios, God-is Rivera, spoke on how Essence continues to evolve its legacy and brand of amplifying the voices of Black women and continuing its agency of protection.

CEO and President of Essence Ventures, Caroline Wanga sit down interview.

"I think about the future of what that looks like. Unfortunately, so many of us are still under attack right now. I think about the stories around the Fearless Fund, a venture capitalist firm run by Black women who are now being very facetiously targeted for discrimination when they are at the opposite end of receiving most funds," she shares. "The work they're doing to invest in Black women is important. Those are the type of connections and stories we want to continue to show up for and make sure that we are a platform for Black women to feel protected and heard."

The docu-series also delves into the 1984 scandal surrounding actress and singer Vanessa Williams when she was stripped of her Miss America title and crown when her nude pictures were published in Penthouse magazine. Essence served as a forcefield for Williams and rehabilitated her image. Rivera wants the media company to continue showing up for Black women within its pages, digitally, across social media, and connect with people globally to portray the image of Brown-skinned women and girls accurately.

Editor-at-large for Essence magazine, Mikki Taylor.

The brand has amassed a global community of 20 million Black women and has designed fascinating covers seen within pop culture. Yet, it took some time before companies in the private sector recognized the value and the social and economic impact of the Black consumer. The spending power of African Americans is projected as $1.6 trillion, according to the 2021 paper "The Economic Gains from Equity."

Rivera notes Coca-Cola® partnered with the Essence Festival from its inception because the corporation saw the value of serving Black women and telling their stories.

"A major sponsor allowing this opportunity for community connection, direct investment into the city of New Orleans into the Black and Brown people who work at Essence, we're able to bring this to life, and mostly into the conversations, performances, and the celebration of culture that has been able to happen for almost, I can't believe this, next year is our 30th year, of this incredible celebration of the spectrum of Black culture. When I started my career on the advertising side, learning content strategy, it was always shaking the table to tell these brands, 'You are making money hand over fist; how are you reinvesting in the people that allow you to continue to be successful,'" she emphatically discerns.

She believes the collaboration with Coca-Cola® is a calling card for other brands to be aware of the high ROI support given to products and services geared to the African American consumer. Other returning and presenting sponsors include AT&T®, Disney, L'Oréal, and Target. The Essence Festival, held in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, is the largest annual multi-generational festival in the United States, with buy-per-day attendance, entrenched in culture, equity, celebration, and commitment to creating economic opportunities for local New Orleans Black-owned businesses.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JUNE 30: (L-R) Oprah Winfrey, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. ... [+] Henson, Blitz Bazawule and God-is Rivera attend the 'From the Page to the Stage and Beyond: A Discussion of the nearly 40-Year Legacy and Impact of The Color Purple' during the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on June 30, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Dillard University released its Economic Impact of 2022 Essence Festival of Culture, revealing the event contributes $327 million in economic impact and 3,605 jobs. The Essence Festival of Culture™ saw 1.9 million live and virtual attendees, increased revenue, and brought in new and reinvested sponsors – marking its highest revenue and largest audience. The 2022 Essence Festival of Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® became the most attended festival, populated by the most diverse audience ever, and was the highest-grossing multi-day event to date, generating $94.2 million in local wages for residents, as well as $24.9 million in the state –$13.8 million, local – $7.6 million and lodging – $3.5 million taxes, 2022 festival was also the most fiscally beneficial for New Orleans, with an economic impact of $251.3 million.

For 2023, the event hosted various experiential functions such as Essence Authors in partnership with Mahogany Books, a Black-owned bookstore, and The Collective Curates, designed to drive books sales and amplify authors of color like hip hop icon Jeezy who participated in fireside chats to discuss his new book "Adversity For Sale."

Essence Wellness House coupled health-conscious discussion from public and private specialists with attendees. Afropunk Blktopia brought attendees "on a journey of the brand's rich origins through the lens of Afrofuturism using textures, technology, sound, and space."

[Top Left: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Mayor of Clevaland Justin Bibb, Mayor of New Orleans LaToya ... [+] Cantrell, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Al Sharpton and Marc H. Morial; Top Right: Yo-yo, K. D. Aubert; Bottom Left: Jeezy, Jerid Woodst; Bottom Right: Pastor Jamal H. Bryant]

"The way that the festival has impacted the city of New Orleans - I think about something like the Soko market [which] is a part of the festival where we're focused on Black entrepreneurs and business owners who can set up different ways to sell goods. What we wanted to do is make sure that not only Black people from around the country were able to come there and create this amazing marketplace but also that we made sure that there was an opportunity for the city of New Orleans creators and makers to [ensure] they also had a place to showcase their goods and services," Rivera informs. "So that partnership is where you can see [where it's], it's not just the dollars that come into the city, through travel [and] the hospitality sector, but it's also the connection."

She explains the following Monday after the festival is designated Community Day, where Essence employs New Orleans vendors outside the convention center to celebrate the culture and music indicative of the city. The community and cultural partnership is what Rivera considers the "crux of trust."

"Essence Festival culture could not be without the city of New Orleans; it will never leave; it will always stay there," she says.

With the introduction of the internet to the general public, the publishing landscape has become even more volatile, with many outlets shuttering departments and excessive editorial layoffs. However, despite the volatility, Black publications like Essence continue to thrive within the digital age by creating different verticals that cater to various pockets within the demographics of Black women while exploring more people, moments, and ideas shaping Black culture today. Rivera boldly states that Black culture is popular culture which sets the trends and tone in every medium and points out in areas like phenomenons of meme culture catapulted by Black Twitter and how music and entertainment, ABC's hit show Abbott Elementary, FX's Atlanta, musicians such as Ice Spice and Coi Leray, are leading the charge in defining and current American mores.

"When it comes to content [and] perspective, although there are economic constraints, we are seeing a time where Black stories and voices can soar and be told. There were still, even in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, levels of constraints; which we opened this interview talking about Vanessa Williams, and what she was judged for then has changed very much in today's landscape. As Black Media and a Black community, we have a lot of stories and perspectives that need to be shared, and the hunger for that is what is keeping us alive," she adds.

Rivera describes how Essence continues to maintain its relevance by being the vanguard of such verticals like Of The Essence a new content play created by Essence Ventures' SVP of Creative, Corey Stokes, which digs deeper into influential Black voices, namely the new class of Hollywood, Dominique Fishback, Meagan Good, Brian Tyree Henry for its digital covers, as well as, highlighting significant moments occuring in the global community. Other divisions include Beautycon™, an event designed to "disseminate power from prominent brands and companies back to the individuals and deconstruct the old paradigm of what is considered beauty and drive global economic equity," also listed are Afropunk, Black Women In Franchise, Essence House Series, Essence GU – it's content vertical geared towards Gen Z, according to Essence. Rivera intends for everyone within the Black community to tell their stories and drive their particular point of view. For instance, Gen Zers live in a world rife with school shootings, where they discard the status quo and watch politicians reverse rights that previous generations benefited from. According to Rivera, Black women, despite age, are under constant threat.

"We talked about the Fearless Fund, Ron DeSantis is again attacking Black women, we saw [how former President Donald] Trump spoke out about the DA (District Attorney) in Georgia, [Fani T. Willis], a Black woman and made defamatory remarks, we are still [being] attacked. We need to make sure that we are incredible at using both print and digital to fight back, have our voices heard, and still celebrate joy and who we are in these spaces," Rivera vows. "I have every faith in us because we have done it in every era of any medium that exists, and I think it's a distinct honor of mine to be able to help usher in this digital era."

Time of Essence is the docu-series that will allow viewers to investigate further and appreciate the institutions built by African-Americans, realize the triumphs and mistakes the publication made, and spur discussion on how Black men used their gender privilege to give a voice to Black women.

Susan Taylor served as editor-in-chief of Essence from 1981 through 2000.

"Everybody picks up with Essence, where they met it. Were you in the 90s or the late 80s? But you have to understand what it was like to think about ad revenue for a Black publication in the 1970s—even just the initial investment. We're here talking about VC funds today that people don't want to invest in, and there are a number of things that are important for our community and those outside of our community to see how resilient we are, how creative we are, and how we will keep going," Rivera certifies.

The five-part one-hour series debuts Friday, August 18 at 9 pm ET/PT on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Viewers are encouraged to use a ‘Time of Essence Cover Creator’, to upload photos of themselves and design customized Essence cover. Visit own.tv/essencecover and tag @Essence and @owntv. #OWNTimeofEssence