I vividly remember the very first National Fried Chicken Festival opening its gates in 2016 at a tiny park in New Orleans ...

The most recent edition of Essence Fest earlier this month sparked several controversies. What needs to happen for it to rate ...

ESSENCE Film Festival honored Black filmmakers across genres with standout projects exploring race, justice, tech, mental health, and more.

ESSENCE Festival of Culture celebrated Black excellence through music, entrepreneurship, and community—while responding to ...

For 55 years, the ESSENCE brand has proudly driven meaningful impact through intentional, locally rooted activations, and this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture is no exception. In partnership with ...

The stage became a sanctuary for truth-telling and storytelling during the “Songs in the Key of Life: Navigating Identity and Dreams in Modern Fiction” panel at the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture in ...

The best-selling author and viral funnyman opens up about being scammed, undervalued and why betting on Black talent is non-negotiable.

From a 47-year low of 120 reported murders in 2019, an eruption of violence peaked in 2022 with 265 murders, a post-Katrina ...

The powerful political roundtable was a wide-ranging and candid conversation about the state of American democracy, health ...

Columnist Will Sutton answers the question he keeps getting asked since Essence Fest: "What do you think should be done?" ...

Columnist Will Sutton has a few ideas about how the Essence Festival and Black New Orleans should move forward. " With my ...

Criticism of Essence’s annual culture festival in New Orleans reached a fever pitch once the event wrapped; Essence and its owner have responded.