The Knockturnal attended the world premiere of #OwnTimeOfEssence A 5 part docu-series about the story behind Essence magazine before it aired.
This new docu-series peels back the curtain and I learned multiple things that I never knew about this brand. An example of the things I never knew about Essence Magazine is that it was founded by four black men Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth, and Jonathan Blount founded Hollingsworth Group.
This would later be named Essence Communications, Inc. The four businessmen decided to start a magazine at a time when there was no representation of black women in American print media at the time.
The images that were seen on the television and in the new stands didn’t reflect the audience that the men envisioned. To me this was an audacious act, showcasing black women in this light was not only groundbreaking it had never been done before.
This is just 1 of the nuggets you’ll walk away with from just episode 1 that I as a black man can appreciate.
Originally before the name of the Magazine was not Essence as we now know, ideas were floating around amongst the 4 founders and the name of a popular black actress who was on television at that time came up. However, if a black woman was referred to by this character’s name it represented being loud uncouth etc., and was somewhat of a dig.
The name Essence was given by a black woman who worked with the 4 founders and she later took the helm of the creative direction of the magazine. Without giving too much away it serves as an open book of how Black creatives & business owners were able to navigate gain and build financial infrastructure and in return give its culture the same consideration and appeal of a then, sports illustrated or a Playboy magazine which dominated the newsstands but with our stories and in our voice.
Essence Magazine believed in Black Women from day 1 in a time when they were not viewed nor regarded As marketable, beautiful, or interesting. Iconic founder/photographer Jonathan Blount whose iconic eye has contributed to the aesthetic blueprint not only for Black culture and community loosely but for Home community and community full-stop specifically.
This Docu-series is produced by 51 Minds in partnership with Own & along with Executives from Essence. In attendance at the preview, were some of the original alumni staff, production partners, and the Essence Ventures team.
At the world premiere of #TimeOfEssence , There was a discussion on the legacy and an obligation to be the sixth episode of this brand’s story moderated by Essence Ventures CEO Caroline Wagna.
I spoke with dynamic Caroline @wangawoman one-on-one after the Q&A, and I had an epiphany of what she was referring to as the sixth episode.
5 documented episodes, however, the sixth She mentioned was a foreshadowing prophetically that as a community the influencers, writers, storytellers, songwriters, or the people need to share and tell our stories as it becomes a part of the tapestry of the 53-year legacy Essence essentially laid as a foundation for us to stand on and push forward. With a mission statement like this, it’s evident that Essence as a global home brand, shows no sign of stopping or slowing down. Leaving room open for the new as we celebrate the origins.
Episode 1 is binge-worthy leaving many gems, Set your DVRs & grab a nice snack and beverage. Make sure to watch #TimeOfEssence tomorrow ET/PT on OWN and streaming on Max!
JàMir
For The Knockturnal
