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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 So I am one of the executive producers of this incredible five-part series.
00:05 When I tell you, you will absolutely learn multiple things that you never knew about
00:10 this brand.
00:12 If you love this brand now, wait till you see all five of these episodes to see all
00:16 the things that it took, all the trials and tribulations that we had to go through so
00:22 that this brand sustains across 53 years and will be here for 53 more.
00:28 And plus, and plus, and plus.
00:35 What does Essence mean to me?
00:37 Essence means black women excellence.
00:40 That's what it means to me, period.
00:41 What I love most about the brand, obviously, is the deep-seated history that we have, but
00:46 the ability to work with people who look like me.
00:50 I've been in this industry for over 15 years and I've never been able to look around and
00:54 see people who get it, who just get the rhetoric, who get the culture.
00:59 Essence means black girl magic, elegance, and just humbling for me.
01:06 I've been working with them for over six years now and I'm just so happy to have the opportunity
01:12 to just be in the presence of such amazing black people and black women.
01:17 Being able to work with powerful women who know what they want and are able to elevate
01:23 the brand of Essence.
01:24 So it's not just, there's no ego working with the team, whether it's Stephanie or working
01:29 with Yasmin.
01:30 It's a beautiful team of women coming together to keep Essence brand, legacy, and everything
01:36 that Essence has built from the foundation up alive.
01:38 To me, Essence means an access point to black excellence.
01:43 Essence takes black women from all strata and shows them all that they're all sisters.
01:48 So my time at Essence has been one word, phenomenal.
01:51 I had Essence Festival on my vision board a few years ago and I'm so happy I was able
01:56 to check that off.
01:58 I made it to Essence Fest and I did it two times.
02:01 The highlight of my career at Essence has been interviewing the incomparable Dionne
02:05 Warwick.
02:06 I'm a black girl from Newark.
02:08 That meant so much to me to have that opportunity at Essence Magazine.
02:12 Essence was one of the first places where I could really be my authentic self in every
02:15 space, whether it was on camera or in the newsroom.
02:19 I really, before then I worked in white newsrooms, quite frankly, and it just wasn't celebrated
02:25 enough.
02:26 I wasn't encouraged to do it.
02:27 And so really it felt like coming home.
02:29 I would have to say my favorite part was being able to art direct for Essence Festival 2022
02:36 and that was amazing.
02:38 (upbeat music)
02:40 (upbeat music)