2019 Essence Festival

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THE 2019 ESSENCE FESTIVAL 25th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

by Carolyn Jones

the 2019 essenCe Festival presented

by CoCa-Cola this year for the 25th anniversary attracted more than half a million nationwide attendees to New Orleans. As always, it is held the Fourth of July weekend. The 25th anniversary had seven 2020 Presidential candidates who joined Power Stage at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The interview with Cory Booker was great. He had a lot to stand on to include reparations for the African Americans. Should Blacks receive reparations?

The Forever First Lady Michelle Obama is the frst headliner to appear at the Superdome

that completely sold-out. It was an amazing interview with host, Gayle King and Michelle was real. She literally told it all. She spoke on her personal life married to the man then married to the president. She even spoke about going from a normal living in Chicago to the transition of the royal palace White House. The transition was to be the same for the children in an efort to bring normality. She even spoke about the exit and entrance with number 45. What a lady she is and now a number 1 selling author.

“The 25th anniversary ESSENCE Festival represented a truly transformative global homecoming celebration for Black women and the Black community,” says ESSENCE Chief Executive Ofcer Michelle Ebanks. “This year’s extraordinary turnout refects ESSENCE’s uniquely powerful engagement of Black women around personal empowerment, community, and culture as only ESSENCE can. With the debut of 10 new Festival experiences, activations at more than 40 venues

across New Orleans, and engagement with more than 300 small businesses and local vendors, we have redefned the Festival as the largest and most impactful destination at the epicenter of Black culture.”

Ebanks continued, “Lastly, in honor of us embodying all that Black excellence and culture represent beyond entertainment and beauty, we were thrilled to reveal the Festival’s ofcial rebrand to the ‘ESSENCE Festival of Culture,’ with a mission to inform, inspire and uplift Black women and provide a holistic approach to how we ofer and deliver Black culture in every way.”

There is nothing like the Essence Festival. The performances of celebrity artist are absolutely amazing. Every year I look forward to Mary J. Blige. She puts so much into every song she sings. The ESSENCE Festival is defnitely a Girl’s Trip where a multitude of women come together and have fun, fun, fun and burn up together in the 100-degree weather in the sun.