Ready! Get Summer

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PECIAL

BEST IN BLACK BEAUTY AWARDS76 2018 WAYS Kerry TO Washington SLAY ON SCANDAL’S END, NEW BEGINNINGS & WHY REPRESENTATION MATTERS

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“Sometimes I’m feeling simple Kyrah Stewart knows a thing or two about style and color, especially CLAIROL PROFESSIONAL and my makeup will turn out JAZZING COLLECTION really minimalistic. Other times when it comes to makeup and fashion. Recently, she decided to step I’m in the mood for a colorful Of ering semi-permanent and temporary eyeliner and red lipstick.” out of her comfort zone to add color to her curly hair—and she loves color options, this product is perfect for her new look! “I’ve never had my hair colored before, but I’m ob- Kyrah, who likes to change things up. “It’s sessed with how it looks and how dif erent it is,” she says. “It adds a also important to me that the product is ammonia- and peroxide-free and doesn’t pop of color to everything, every day.” damage hair,” she says.

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104 74 SAVING OUR THE EXIT LANDMARKS Meet three women on a quest to preserve INTERVIEW our history for generations to come About to take her final By Wendy L. Wilson bow as TV’s handler, Olivia Pope, ESSENCE Woke honoree Kerry Washington 90 WOKE 100 shares her thoughts on the Our second annual list salutes the impact of Scandal and changemakers who fight the good fight the landscape of Time’s Up for us everywhere, from the health care By Rebecca Carroll field to the Hill to Hollywood Cover Photography 28 110 THE WOMEN by Kwaku Alston IN LIVING Kerry Washington wears WHO TURNED a Balmain dress, Rinaldy COLOR Yuhardi beret and Orange Is the New Black actress THE TIDE Jennifer Fisher hoops Danielle Brooks is altering the In a key yet controversial Senate election and ring. Other ring, perception of Black women in in Alabama, Black women answered subject’s own. entertainment and on the runway, the call to serve by organizing and For styling information so who better to showcase this voting to secure empowerment for us all and clothing details,

KWAKU ALSTON KWAKU season’s bold trends? By Donna M. Owens see Where to Buy.

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Style 15 | THROWING SHADE Futuristic sunglasses

20 | TRENDS We harken back 34 years for fresh inspiration that’s white-hot

22 | STREET STYLE It girl and brand consultant Marjon Carlos is a proponent of self-expression in wardrobes and writing

24 | DESIGNER TO WATCH We peeled away the layers of mystery from Whitney Mero and her whimsical Onion dress collection 28 Danielle Brooks came to slay in 26 | DOPE STUFF ON MY DESK television, theater On Mother’s Day (and and fashion. beyond), maintain your chicness during mommy and mini-me time 53 | ALL TIED UP How to be a Money&Power Beauty&Hair wrap queen 77 | SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON 35 | BEST IN BLACK BEAUTY THE JOB A realistic primer 2018 This year’s selection Scene on how to handle unwelcome of the creams, lipsticks, 61 | POETIC JUSTICE Survivor’s and unlawful behavior in foundations, scrubs, tools, Remorse alum Erica Ash the workplace influencers and more that courts a new prime-time landed in the winner’s leading role 82 | YOUNG PHENOM circle in our annual ode to After teaming up with a beauty excellence 62 | ENTERTAINMENT The partner, millennial brand fellas of Dear White People coach Meagan Ward 44 | GOTTA HAVE IT Essential drop knowledge, plus the decided to make room for illuminators and highlighters latest from power couple other women in business that will accent your radiance Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil on love Love&Life 46 | THE COMPACT What’s new! 115 | UNLEASH YOUR

64 | SPRING FESTIVAL GUIDE GREATNESS In honor of FROM TOP: YACHIN PARHAM; COURTESY OF BRAND. A roundup of events to tide our anniversary, we counted you over until Essence Fest 48 ways to bring you closer to good health and wellness 66 | PATRIK’S PICKS Five reads 35 by and about brave hearts 120 | FOOD Let culinary delights Lashes will be tops with this and souls and your palate be your trip Best in Black adviser for your next vacation Beauty awardee. 68 | BOOKS Editor-at-Large Mikki Taylor returns with In Every Issue more motivational words 10 |Let’sTalk 12 |What’s on Your Mind Issues 122 | Where to Buy 71 | TEN THINGS WE’RE 126 |Horoscope TALKING ABOUT 128 | Crossword Puzzle

8 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 * LET’S TALK : A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

ESSENCE 2018 sta not pictured

ESSENCE staf, photographed January 8, 2018

PRIDE AND JOY CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY JR.; FERGUSON, OF KARL (13); SUBJECTS ESSENC

orty-eight years ago, four Black men launched a publication for Black women, to celebrate, uplift and affirm us. With the small but F mighty crew (pictured at right), they collectively went on to build a brandthatvaluescommunity,inspiration,creativityandjournalisticexcellence. I keep this photograph in my office as a constant reminder of the shoulders on which we stand as well as the responsibility we all have to continue to build on their legacy. Fast-forward to 2018, and we are now once again 100 percent Black-owned, led by our CEO, Richelieu Dennis, who is seated in the second row above with the rest of the ESSENCE team. We took this photo the very day it was announced that we were under new ownership and that our female leadership team would have an equity stake in taking us all on this new journey. If there’s one thing that has been consistent over these years, it is the passion with which our team approaches the work we do, and for the audience we serve. ESSENCE staf in 1970 As we move into this next exciting phase, rest assured we will be putting your needs and wants ﬁrst. Now more than ever, we would like you to know how much we appreciate you. We also hope you’ll encourage others to support us with subscriptions, clicks, follows and likes, and attend our live events, such as our upcoming Essence Festival. We hope to see you all in New Orleans over the July 5–8 weekend, where our pride and joy in serving you will be on full display. Stay in touch,

LOOK FOR THESE ICONS TO E ARCHIVES. Twitter: @Vanessa_KDeLuca DISCOVER DIGITAL CONTENT: VANESSA K. DE LUCA Instagram: @vanessa_kdeluca ESSENCE.COM VIDEO Editor-in-Chief E-mail: [email protected]

10 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND

WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU! KEEP SENDING US YOUR FEEDBACK ON ALL THINGS ESSENCE VIA FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, TWITTER, E-MAIL, A LETTER IN THE MAIL OR ESSENCE.COM

SOCIAL MEDIA’S TAKE ON OUR MARCH ISSUE: ALL SUPERHEROES MATTER We love everything Black Panther, but the cover featuring the ladies of Wakanda had you spell- “Kudos on proﬁling bound the most, according to our Twitter poll. @NafessaWilliams and @chinamcclain [‘Wonder Women’]. They are so dope on the show Black Lightning. As a guy with a CHADWICK daughter, I really like that there are “I wish your cover BOSEMAN beginning to be more realistic and positive story ‘Watch SOLO 9% roles for young Black women to identify the Throne’ had COVER with on-screen.” —@J_Life2020 been longer. Then the issue would have been a must-read. The THE MEN copy needs to be OF BLACK as desirable as PANTHER 9% “Such a great article on @chefahki the cover art.” COVER [‘Eat Your Way Healthy’]. I originally —@suggswriter learned about electric foods from the late Dr. Sebi. My 96-year-old grandmother is no longer diabetic because we eat better. THE WOMEN OF BLACK Thanks for sharing.” —@deniseatpeace PANTHER COVER 82%

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU We picked three favorites from the posts you shared on Instagram using JOIN US! @STAY_SNATCH PHOTOGRAPHY; COSTELLO BRI LEFT: FROM INSTAGRAM, our hashtags #ESSENCEStyle, #ESSENCEEats and #ESSENCETravels Share your habits

and thoughts on S OF COURTESY HEMMERLE; SEAN ROMNEY; SHAY-LA LEFT: FROM CONTRIBUTORS, events, culture, style and new products. Become an Insider at ESSENCEINSIDERS.COM

Tell us what you think about this issue. E-mail us at #ESSENCEStyle: Houston #ESSENCEEats: Meet the #ESSENCETravels: Taking [email protected] living in stripes new king of Kansas City in the Mexican marvel of —@newtexacali —@stay_snatched Oaxaca —@hey_ciara

CONTRIBUTORS Tamara E. Holmes Rebecca Carroll Erica Génécé (@tamaraeholmes) is (@rebel19) is editor (@ericagenece) is a a Washington, D.C.– of special projects Brooklyn-based SUBJECT. OF COURTESY ED; based journalist who at WNYC. The photographer who specializes in money, writer of “The Exit loves to celebrate the health and careers. This month Interview” (page 104) is the author beauty of cultural traditions. The the veteran book editor expertly of several books, including Sugar daughter of Haitian immigrants, she

tackled a timely and crucial topic in the Raw, and her pieces have got to showcase her appreciation of UBJECT. in “Sexual Harassment on the appeared in The New York Times fashion and details as the shutterbug Job” (page 77). and Esquire. behind “All Tied Up” (page 53).

12 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

PUT TWO & TWO TOGETHER -m7o1oѴ7v-;

Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states, in all GEICO companies, or in all situations. Homeowners, renters and condo coverages are written through non-afi liated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2018 GEICO STYLE

THROWING SHADE FUTURISTIC SUNGLASSES ARE BOLD AND EDGY PHOTOGRAPHY BY YACHIN PARHAM FASHION EDITOR: JOIEE THORPE MOSCHINO “Cat-Eye Studs Triangle” lenses, $250, solsticesunglasses.com. FLACA JEWELRY bullet stud with tassel, $95, ﬂaca jewelry.com. Nose ring, subject’s own. HAIR AND MAKEUP, STEPHEN HUDSON/KENBARBOZA.COM. MANICURE, SUNSHINE HUDSON/KENBARBOZA.COM. STEPHEN MAKEUP, AND HAIR RESOURCES. STONE/HALLEY CHRISTOPHER STYLIST, PROP OUTING.

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 15 STYLE : CHIC FRAMES

From top: LOVE COLLINS “Wonder Woman” Lucite frames, $15, lovecollins

.com. FENDI “Eyeline” PROP STYLIST, MAI TRAN shades, $465, solstice sunglasses.com. OXYDO “O.No 2.6” sunglasses, $475, oxydoeyewear .tumblr.com for stores. COCO AND BREEZY EYEWEAR “Zesiro- Silver” sunglasses, $300, cocoandbreezy.com.

16 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 ADVERTISEMENT

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18 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 RECIPES CRAFTED TO TASTE AS GOOD AS THEY LOOK STYLE : TRENDS

WHITE STAUD “Ann” top, $200, staud OUT .clothing. GET READY FOR SUMMER WITH THIS CHIC COLOR FASHION EDITOR: JOIEE THORPE KENNETH JAY LANE square drop earrings, $100, THE kennethjaylane.com. INSPIRATION

JONATHAN ADLER “Muse Blanc” candle, $78, AERIN jonathanadler.com. Rose de Grasse parfum, $215, aerin .com.

ESSENCE July 1983 ADRIANNA PAPELL “Sky” pleated clutch, $48, adrianna papell.com. CENTER IMAGE, COURTESY COURTESY OF PRODUCTS, ESSENCE OF ARCHIVES. BRANDS.

ZARA “Sequin Midi” skirt, $60, zara.com.

SHOSHANNA “Valery” dress, $395, shoshanna.com. SHOEDAZZLE “Bexley” heels, $43, shoe dazzle.com.

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The Texas MARJON native is inspired by CARLOS writers Elaine Brown, Margo Jeferson and Zadie Smith, THIS JOURNALIST, EDITOR to name a few. AND BRAND CONSULTANT IS A MUCH-NEEDED VOICE IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY AND A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story BEYOND BY JULEE WILSON by Elaine Brown (Anchor, $17.95).

A WRITER’S LIFE: “I like meeting new Carlos hopes people and telling their stories. When to write a I was at vogue.com, I loved creating a book and certain kind of tension with my work— launch a podcast with taking unusual suspects in popular her brother, culture and aligning them with a huge comedian fashion brand to produce a really inter- Jordan Carlos. esting result. I enjoy shaking things up.”

DRESS TO EXPRESS: “My personal style is still evolving, but it will always be grounded in a love for colors and patterns with a tomboy flair. I’m a big pants girl.”

THOUGHT-PROVOKING THREADS: JACQUEMUS “I love brands like Jacquemus, Duro “Le Robe Sol” Olowu, Maki Oh, Area, Y/Project, Acne dress, $1,090, Studios, Adam Selman and Maryam net-a-porter.com. Nassir Zadeh. I am drawn to people who have something to say with their work— it translates in the clothes and makes them more special.” CARLOS, COURTESY OF SUBJECT (3). PRODUCTS, COURTESY OF BRANDS. OF COURTESY PRODUCTS, (3). SUBJECT OF COURTESY CARLOS, PRETTY AMAZING: “My favorite beauty products run the gamut from simple to luxe. I adore SheaMoisture Jamaican LUCAS’ Black Castor Oil Leave-In Conditioner. I Papaw Ointment, $8, 25 g, walmart.com. think Lucas’ Papaw is the best lip balm, and Diorskin Airflash Foundation always “My writing leaves my skin glowing.” is a reﬂec- tion of how I see the WHAT IS FOR world, and YOU IS FOR YOU. my style is MARYAM the way I NASSIR ZADEH wish to “Sophie” mesh slides, express $363, shopbop.com. myself to the world,” says Carlos.

LE SPECS X ADAM SELMAN “The Last Lolita” sunglasses, $120, net-a-porter.com.

22 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

STYLE : DESIGNER TO WATCH

WHITNEY MERO ESSENCE: How would you describe your designs? THIS NEW YORK CITY–BASED DESIGNER MARRIES WHITNEY MERO: They’re beautiful EASE AND ELEGANCE WITH HER EFFORTLESSLY clothes that feel like pajamas. CHIC DRESS COLLECTION, ONION BY JULEE WILSON ESSENCE: Who or what inspires your easygoing collection? W.M.: My muses are snacks and sleep. Check out more Onion I want women to feel as beautiful as I fashion do when I am full of delicious food. at whitney mero.com. ESSENCE: What’s the most exciting part of your career? W.M.: Having the freedom to create whatever I want without imposed limitations.

ESSENCE: What’s the best style advice you’ve ever been given? W.M.: Be mindful of your posture, and make your bed before you leave the house. You’ll glow all day knowing you have an attractive place to rest later.

ESSENCE: What would you say to aspiring designers? W.M.: Don’t assume you have to go to school for fashion. You can innovate a business that is successful without MERO, FROM LEFT: ALARIC CAMPBELL (3); GMD THREE (2). PRODUCTS, COURTESY O conforming to traditional models. Also, ask everybody everything.

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS ESSENCE: Which clothing brands do Mero models some of her creations. you love other than your own?

HAIDER W.M.: I am not superadventurous ACKERMANN when it comes to fashion but I adore pleated polka-dot Duro Olowu, Haider Ackermann and blouse, $1,085, net-a-porter.com. Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons because their inventiveness is awesome and beyond my purview.

COMME DES GARÇONS neon leather wallet, $105, ESSENCE: What are your must-have net-a-porter.com. beauty products? W.M.: I rarely wear makeup, because I have no clue what I am doing, but I do stick to a skin care regimen that includes Patricia Wexler facial cleanser. For my hair, I am absolutely lost without Oyin’s Hair Dew and Honey Hemp products.

OYIN HANDMADE F BRANDS. PATRICIA WEXLER Hair Dew Daily Hair Quenching Lotion Universal Anti-Aging and Honey Hemp Detangling and Cleanser, $16, wexler Moisturizing Hair Conditioner, $14 each, dermatology.com. oyinhandmade.com.

24 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Pulmonary hypertension puts unbearable stress on the heart.

Often misdiagnosed - as asthma, for example - Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) can cause death from heart failure. There is no cure. But at the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, we’re giving hope to PH patients and caregivers.

The food lover’s heart The book lover’s heart Learn how you can help at www.PHAssociation.org

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3 PHOTOGRAPHY, ERICA GENECE. PROP STYLIST, CHRISTOPHER STONE/HALLEY WILSO RESOURCES. 1. TRETORN X ANDRÉ 3000 BENJAMIN Nylitexab sneakers, $120, 5 bloomingdales.com.

2. 10&CO Motherlover Rejuvenating Body Oil, $35, 10andco.com. 6

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4. ART & EDEN “Hunter” T-shirt, $31, artandeden.com.

5. DIRTY LEMON +Collagen Beauty Elixir, $45/month for 6-bottle case or $65 for 6-bottle case with one-time purchase, dirtylemon.com. 7 6. BANANA BOAT Simply Protect Kids Sunscreen Lotion Spray SPF 50+, $8, walmart.com. 8 WhyThis brand I creates love... 7. THEMINICLASSY the coolest kids’ “Dots Dino” harem pants, clothing, ofering the $60–$68, theminiclassy.com. perfect mix of fashion and function. 8. MUSTELA Cleansing Wipes, $9, mustelausa.com. 9 10 9. AKID N, MANFRED KOH. “Axel” sneakers in Dalmatian, $70, akidbrand.com.

10. BABY DOVE GoMust-have! to dove.com to Rich Moisture Lotion, $6, 13 oz, add your child’s walmart.com. name to this bottle of lotion that will keep skin baby-soft. 26 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 PROMOTION

ESSENCE’s “Yes, Girl” podcast is an audio lovefest highlighting celebs and inﬂ uencers taking the culture a little higher. Hosted by ESSENCE® sta ers Cori Murray and Yolanda Sangweni— and bonus: our love guru Charli Penn gets real with Black women on their unique sex and relationships stories—“Yes, Girl” will feature aspirational conversations every Thursday. Subscribe now on iTunes and Google Play. www.essence.com/podcasts LIVINGN

COLORACTRESS DANIELLE BROOKS IS AS VIBRANT AND STYLISH AS THESE AMAZINGLY LOUD SPRING LOOKS! BY JULEE WILSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY YACHIN PARHAM ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREA PIPPENS | FASHION EDITOR: JOIEE THORPE

28 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Opposite page: Chromat “Garter Cage” bustier. Universal Standard “Thames Fog” dress. GabiFresh X Swimsuits For All “Prairie Underwire” bikini. Mignonne Gavigan “Madeline” earrings.

This page: Margarita Álvarez “Jazz Beaded Bomber” jacket. Onion “Long Sleeve Crop” top. Christian Siriano satin pleated-front wide-leg trousers. R.J. Graziano “Beaded Disco” earrings. Alexis Bittar “Druzy Stone Hinge” bracelets. » anielle Brooks isn’t your typical Dfashion girl—and that’s part of her magic. The Orange Is the New Black actress is redefining beauty standards every time she hits the red carpet and works the runway—like she did at the Christian Siriano Fall 2018 show. And—when she’s not shooting her films—Brooks is taking her sartorial status a step further by creating a capsule collection for Universal Standard. Known for its fashion-forward designs in sizes 10 to 28, the New York City–based company tapped Brooks to add some of her flair with a signature line. “You get exhausted asking people to design for you, regardless [of whether] it’s a red-carpet look or just a pair of jeans,” Brooks says. “So I was like, I want to work with people who are allowing me the opportunity to wear what I want to wear and design what I want to design.” But it isn’t all about the 28-year-old star. Brooks, who describes her style as “comfortable and sexy,” understands the power of her position and image: “It’s truly for that next girl to rise up and feel confident about herself and see people who are expressing themselves the way she hopes to, if she’s not there already. And loving themselves in a way she hopes to, if she’s not already.”

Onion “One-Shoulder Large Puff Sleeve” dress. R.J. Graziano “Beaded Disco” earrings. Kenneth Jay Lane coral amethyst stones and dragon bracelets. Brian Atwood “Sienna” sandals.

30 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Christian Siriano off-the-shoulder cross bodice dress. Kenneth Jay Lane wrap ball top with seedbead tassel earrings. » STYLE : PLAYFUL SPRING

Christian Siriano “Double Twist Front Victorian Sleeve” top. Eloquii “Trumpet Maxi with Ruffle” skirt. R.J. Graziano “Beaded Disco” earrings. Kenneth Jay Lane “Owl” brooch. Manolo Blahnik “Chaos” satin sandals.

32 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Marc Jacobs “Oversized Moto” jacket. Universal Standard “Tee Rex” shirt. Love Collins “Matrix” sunglasses. º For details, see Where to Buy.

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What makes BEST in BLACK

Worth the Splurge It’s an age-old dilemma for the chic crowd: prestige Beauty versus drugstore buys. And while we live for an afordable makeup find, there are those goodies that are actually When it comes to beauty, this worth the extra coins. These luxury brands make some of year has been unforgettable. From the finest hair, body and makeup products around. Period. epic launches (hey, Fenty Beauty) to red-hot stars (we see you, SZA) From left: DIOR Diorific Matte Lip & Cheek Colour ($38, whose creativity inspired us, we’ve dior.com); ORIBE Côte d’Azur Luminous Hair & Body Oil ($75, oribe.com); BYREDO Bal d’Afrique Body Lotion loved it all. Here are the products ($65, byredo.com); PAT MCGRATH LABS Mothership IV: and people that deserve our praise Decadence palette ($125, sephora.com). PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN HENN PROP STYLIST, MAI TRAN MAI STYLIST, PROP

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 35 BEAUTY : AWARDS

Best New Fragrances Finding a fantastic perfume is life- and mood-changing. There were plenty of fragrance launches over the past year, but these three really swept us of our feet. They all serve up a feminine ﬂoral vibe in very dis- Best Budget-Friendly Finds tinct ways: Ex Nihilo’s Viper Green These treats deliver major hydration is lavish, Ralph Lauren’s Woman is and color without breaking the bank. rich and spicy, and Giorgio Armani’s CELEB OF THE YEAR So you can totally skip feeling guilty when it’s time to re-up on these Sì Passione is oh, so sexy! SZA The Ctrl singer encourages us to must-haves. 1. RALPH LAUREN Woman ($110, be empowered by the diferences that 3.4 oz, macys.com); 2. EX NIHILO make each of us unique and beautiful, PALMER’S Cocoa Butter Formula Viper Green ($325, 100 ml, bergdorf which is why we’re obsessed with her. Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks ($5, target goodman.com); 3. GIORGIO .com); OGX BEAUTY L Salon-Technology Oh, and we can’t get enough of her ARMANI Sì Passione ($86, 1.7 oz, Restoring + Bonding Plex Collection ($9 giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com). voluminous curly mane and freckles. each item, ulta.com); COLOURPOP Super Shock Shadows ($5 each, colourpop.com).

2 6 5

1 3 4

7 SZA, GILBERT CARRASQUILLO/FILMMAGIC. PRODUCTS, COURTESY OF BRANDS.

Best Blemish Fighters Best Ash Busters When a pimple pops up there is only Keeping skin hydrated all day Best Green Beauty Brands one place we want it: gone. Blemishes is no easy feat. Thankfully these If organic, nontoxic blends are don’t stand a chance against this crew. picks do just that. your thing, then make sure to add these four fabulous brands VASELINE Intensive Care Cocoa TATA HARPER Clarifying Cleanser ($68, Radiant Smoothing Body Butter to your shopping list. They each tataharperskincare.com); PETER THOMAS ($6, target.com); HANAHANA have a clear focus on clean ROTH Acne-Clear Invisible Dots ($30, BEAUTY Body Butter ($15, hanahana sephora.com); M-61 PowerSpot Blemish beauty—and we love them for it. beauty.com); TGIN Organic Shea Lotion ($16, bluemercury.com). Butter ($15, 8 oz, tginstore.com). 4. LILAH B. Divine Duo Lip & Cheek in b. dazzling, Virtuous Veil Concealer & Eye Primer and Flawless Best Co-Wash Best Curl Deﬁners Finish Foundation ($46, $44 and Great for a variety of hair types, these two These creams will deﬁnitely $48, lilahbeauty.com); 5. ABA LOVE APOTHECARY Flower Crown Bright- fantastic formulations deliver shine and leave have you saying, “Wow. ening Facial Serum ($68, abalove frizz behind. My curls are poppin’.” apothecary.com); 6. SUSANNE KAUFMANN Witch Hazel Bath ($70, SHEAMOISTURE Mongongo & Hemp Seed Oils CANTU Coconut Curling Cream spacenk.com); 7. REN SKINCARE High Porosity Moisture-Seal Co-Wash ($12, target ($7, 12 oz, walmart.com); URBAN Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic .com); CREME OF NATURE Argan Oil From Morocco HYDRATION Coconut Oil Styling ($35, sephora.com). » Creamy Hydration Co-Wash Cleansing Conditioner Cream with Avocado Oil & Argan Oil ($8, select Target stores). ($10, jcp.com).

36 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

BEAUTY : AWARDS

Best Matte Lippies With Staying Power 1 Rocking matte lipstick is usually a major commitment, since it tends to mean constant application. These three, however, are nothing like that. One application and you’re good through cofee, lunch and even drinks.

1. NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment 2 ($26, narscosmetics.com); 2. NYX Natural-Hair Crush PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Powder Puf Lippie Lip Cream ($9, nyxcosmetics DEWANDA WISE The lovely She’s .com); 3. KAT VON D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick ($20, sephora.com). Gotta Have It actress teaches us that we have infinite options when it comes to styling our natural locks. Most Trustworthy From the many ways she rocks Extension/Wig Brands an updo or a wash-and-go, we can High-quality hair goes a long way, and 3 learn a lot from Wise. these extension and wig companies guarantee the look you want will last. No matter the hair texture you desire, Best Shampoo and supersleek to ultra wavy, these top Conditioner Duo performers will have you covered. It still warms our hearts—and slays our manes—knowing that this col- TRUE INDIAN HAIR True Signature Indian lection was formulated by a team Wavy ($100–$300, trueindianhair.com); MAYVENN Virgin Hair Line (starting at $55, of Black women scientists. The shop.mayvenn.com). sulfate-, paraben- and silicone-free products work Best Edge for both relaxed Tamer That and natural Won’t Budge 4 tresses. Basically, or Flake they should be a Finding a product staple in any hair- that keeps edges care regimen. laid sans visible buildup is no easy PANTENE Gold feat. It all depends Series Sulfate Free WISE, NOAM COURTESY PRODUCTS, GALAI/WIREIMAGE. OF BRANDS. on the consis- Shampoo and Moisture Boost tency. This one by Conditioner ($8 and Curls is the perfect $6, target.com). hybrid between a Best Body 5 wax and gel. It has Washes Best Precision Eyeliners a flexible hold and You’ve gotta love Whether you’re a makeup pro or a delivers hydration a product that novice, getting your winged liner to your strands. makes your daily to be symmetrical is tough. These showers feel like a CURLS Blueberry three options make it supereasy mini spa moment. Bliss Curl Control to achieve the perfect cat eye with Let’s be honest, Paste ($9, target one simple flick of the wrist. .com). you deserve it. 4. CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ Intensify- ing Liquid Eyeliner ($55, cledepeau CARESS Botanicals beaute.com); 5. REVLON ColorStay Shower Foam ($6, 6 Exactify Liquid Liner ($8, revlon walmart.com); .com for stores); 6. IT COSMETICS RITUALS The Ritual Superhero Liner ($24, ulta.com). » of Ayurveda Foam- ing Shower Gel ($15, rituals.com).

38 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

BEAUTY : AWARDS

Best Sunscreens for Us One of the most commonly used excuses Black women give for skipping SPF is, “It makes me look ashy.” And while that may have been the case, there are a lot of new products that blend perfectly into our rich skin. These three winners not only do that Breakout Beauty Star but they are also hydrating. Best Face Serum ANOK YAI A major modeling agency This brew packs a beautiful punch. 1. SHISEIDO Ultimate Sun Protection signedYaiafteraphotoofheratHow- The highly efective combination of Lotion WetForce SPF 50+ ($40, ard University’s 2017 homecoming went pure ferulic acid, pure vitamin E and shiseido.com); 2. 3LAB Perfect the herb Centella asiatica helps skin Sunscreen SPF 50+ Broad Spectrum viral. We were instantly mesmerized by ﬁght pollution, infrared radiation and ($50, barneys.com); 3. ZO SKIN hernaturalbeautyanddeepcomplex- HEALTH Smart Tone Broad-Spectrum ion and can’t wait to see her take the UVA rays. SPF 50 ($70, zoskinhealth.com). fashion world by storm. LANCÔME Advanced Géniﬁque Sensi- tive Serum ($78, lancome-usa.com).

1 5

4 6

2 COUR PRODUCTS, IMAGES. GETTY VIA VIRGILE/GAMMA-RAPHO VICTOR YAI,

Best No-Show Deodorant Best Stain-Fighting This instantly dry antiperspirant Toothpaste spray is dope. The lightweight Stained teeth are no match Best Resurfacing Mask formulation leaves underarms for Colgate’s newest hydro- If you don’t have one of these supersmooth and soft, and best of gen peroxide–formulated in your beauty regimen, add all you don’t have to worry about paste. That’s deﬁnitely one immediately. AHA and BHA any embarrassing marks being left something to smile about. formulations help improve the behind on your clothes. COLGATE Optic White Platinum texture of your skin, minimize DOVE Invisible Dry Spray Clear Finish Anti- Stain-Less White Toothpaste the appearance of pores and perspirant Deodorant ($6, target.com). ($4, target.com). remove dead skin cells. The result is a radiant and revitalized complexion. Need we say more? Best Game-Changing Best Flat Iron Hair Masks The shimmery heat-sensor plates on 4. ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Gel These masks deliver much-needed this awesome tool provide a sleek and Mask ($79, elemis.com); 5. DRUNK hydration to keep natural tresses in tip- ELEPHANT T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial BRANDS. OF TESY smooth ﬁnish and guarantee that hair top shape. ($80, sephora.com); 6. BIOLOGIQUE is healthy and protected from heat RECHERCHE Masque Vivant ($70, THE MANE CHOICE Heavenly Halo Herbal Hair damage. biologiquerecherche.com). » Tonic & Soy Milk Deep Hydration Mask ($20, target.com); BRIOGEO Don’t Despair Repair! GHD Gold Professional Performance 1'' Deep Conditioning Mask ($36, sephora.com). styler ($199, ghdhair.com).

Best Dark Spot Erasers Hyperpigmentation can be incred- Best Gotta-Have ibly stubborn. So ﬁnding a product Gadgets that actually helps to fade discolor- When tech and beauty 1 ation quickly without irritating skin meet, pure magic happens. can feel like a godsend. These three Any item that makes our standouts do just that. routine more eicient, efective or, heck, more enjoyable 1. PAULA’S CHOICE RESIST Triple-Action 2 Dark Spot Eraser 7% AHA Lotion ($27, is a clear champion in our paulaschoice.com); 2. URBAN SKIN RX book, and these products Super C Brightening Serum ($58, are all of the above. urbanskinrx.com); 3. CLINIQUE Fresh Pressed Daily Booster with Pure Vitamin DYSON Supersonic Hair Dryer C 10% ($20, clinique.com). ($400, dyson.com); DR. DENNIS GROSS SKINCARE Pro Facial Steamer ($149, sephora.com). Best Wellness Best Sheet Masks Digestible/ Vitamins We We’ll never stop appreciating the Don’t Mind convenience and efectiveness of a Taking good sheet mask. The stars in this Beauty starts from category are just that and so much 3 the inside out, more. Fresher and more fabulous Best and this powder, skin is just a few sheets away. Black-Owned Beauty Brand gummies and pills ensure you have NEUTROGENA Hydro Boost 100% We love absolutely Hydrogel Mask ($3, walmart.com); the right stuf. EDIBLE BEAUTY AUSTRALIA Express: every single item Bloom of Youth Infusion Masks ($44 for 4 in this line. The GOLDE Turmeric 5-pack, ediblebeautyaustralia.com). founder, Dana Tonic Blend ($26, Jackson, has cre- golde.co); OLLY Flawless Complexion ated a collection Supplement ($14, of nontoxic luxury olly.com); THE potions that is NUE CO Prebiotic + primed to become Probiotic Multivitamin a big deal in the ($85, thenueco.com). beauty industry.

BENEATH YOUR MASK Polish Detoxifying Body AINA, COURTESY AINA, OF SUBJECT. COURTESY PRODUCTS, OF BRANDS. Scrub ($70, beneathyour mask.com).

Best Skin Perfecting 5 Face Oils A great face oil can make all the difer- Blogger We Can’t Stop Watching ence in a beauty regimen (even if you have naturally oily skin), especially that 6 glowy and dewy look so many of us JACKIE AINA She is not new to the are after. The key is ﬁnding one that’s beauty blogging game. In fact, she’s an not superheavy and melts into the skin. OG who has nearly nine years of vlog- Look no further than these three gems. ging experience under her belt. But what keeps us tuning in after all this time is 4. EVE LOM Radiance Face Oil ($80, that Aina uses her platform to discuss spacenk.com); 5. TATCHA Gold Camellia Beauty Oil ($95, tatcha.com); 6. KIEHL’S crucial political and social issues that Midnight Recovery Concentrate ($47, 1 oz, afect Black women. kiehls.com).

42 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Best Foundations With Shades for Us If 2017 taught us anything about beauty, it’s that companies can no longer ofer one or two or even three brown foundation shades. We Most Exciting Beauty Launch need, and are entitled to, a range of It can be extremely diicult to stand out hues that match the diverse colors of as a newcomer in this business, but Fenty our melanin. While many brands still Beauty immediately became an industry Artists of the Year have a lot to learn, these three give sensation. With 40 hues of foundation and SHEIKA DALEY (MAKEUP) AND us tons of options. a killer matte liquid lipstick in the line, it’s VERNON FRANÇOIS (HAIR) These easy to see why we’re totally obsessed. beauty moguls are the artists behind 4. BOBBI BROWN Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation SPF 15 ($46, many of our favorite celebrity looks. FENTY BEAUTY Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear bobbibrowncosmetics.com); Foundation, Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Daley is the mastermind behind Nicki 5. MAYBELLINE NEW YORK FIT me! Lip Color and Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter Minaj’s and Lala Anthony’s ﬂawless Matte + Poreless Foundation ($8, ($34, $24 and $34, sephora.com). faces, while François continues to craft maybelline.com); 6. MARC JACOBS BEAUTY Shameless Youthful-Look the tresses of stars such as Lupita 24-H Foundation SPF 25 ($46, marc Nyong’o and Serena Williams. jacobsbeauty.com).

5 2

1 S, COURTESY OF BRANDS. OF COURTESY S,

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Most Innovative Product Best Hair Growth Vitamins Best Highlighters Launches When a combination of products These awardees took our lit- This past year we were blessed and massaging doesn’t help stim- ness to a whole new level. The with a ﬁrst-to-market pure vitamin ulate hair growth, hair vitamins shimmery hues work perfectly C dissolvable square and a facial are an alternative. This winner with our melanin and don’t moisturizer that releases 1,000 is dermatologist-approved, make us look shiny. They’re times its weight in hydration and and results start to show in both subtle and sensational. active ingredients. Amen. a matter of weeks. Win-win! MARY KAY TimeWise Vitamin C Activating NUTRAFOL For Women Dietary Squares ($24 for 12 pack, marykay.com); Supplement ($88, nutrafol.com). 1. FRESH FreshFace Instant OLAY Whips moisturizer ($29, olay.com). Glow Luminizer in Sunset ($38, fresh.com); 2. CHARLOTTE TILBURY Beach Stick in Moon Best Mascara That Truly Performs Beach ($45, charlottetilbury Best Can’t-Live-Without-It .com); 3. FARSÁLI Jelly Beam Brow Pencil Every lash will manifest with just one Illuminator in Glazed ($45, Impressive brows are easy to obtain sweep of its feather-fan brush. We’ve charlottetilbury.com). with this dual-ended pencil. ﬁnally met the perfect mascara. ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Perfect COVERGIRL Peacock Flare

DALEY, JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE. FRANÇOIS, COURTESY OF SUBJECT. PRODUCT SUBJECT. OF FRANÇOIS, COURTESY JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE. DALEY, Brow Pencil ($23, sephora.com). Mascara ($8, target.com).

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 43 BEAUTY : GOTTA HAVE IT Let here Be Light! IT’S TIME TO GET YOUR GLOW ON. THESE DAZZLING PICKS WILL MAKE SURE OF IT

CHARLOTTE TILBURY Unisex Healthy Glow Hydrating Tinted Moisturizer ($40, charlottetilbury.com).

TOM FORD Cream Color For Eyes in Platinum ($46, tomford.com). NARS Highlighting Powder in St. Barths ($38, narscosmetics.com).

LANCÔME Custom Highlighting Drops in Champagne Glow SEPHORA ($35, lancome-usa.com). COLLECTION Cream Lip Stain CYO Liquid Lipstick MAKEUP ($14 each, Bronzing sephora.com). Shimmer Oil in Gift of Gold ($7, walgreens

.com).

I love playing with PHOTOGRAPHY, PROP BRIAN HENN. STYLIST, MAI TRAN. illuminizers, because our shine knows no limit. —JULEE WILSON, FASHION & BEAUTY DIRECTOR

L’ORÉAL PARIS True Match Lumi Shimmerista AVON Highlighting Powder True Color Illuminating in Sunlight ($15, Stick in Rose Gold lorealparisusa.com). ($11, avon.com).

FIVE FRESH PICKS ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH BY JULEE WILSON 3 TAKE FLIGHT Believe it or not, cannabis IT WAS oil, aka CBD, is becoming beauty’s WRITTEN of-the-moment ingredient. Don’t worry: It won’t get you high, but it can do won- Finding a signa- ders for your lashes. Milk Makeup’s recent ture scent can be as CBD-laced mascara conditions and emotionally riveting nourishes. Combine that with its thickening as reciting a stirring heart-shaped fibers and you’ll definitely poem. With Floraïku you take your lashes to new heights. can do both. Launching this month, the brand, whose name MILK MAKEUP Kush Mascara is a hybrid of the words flower and ($24, milkmakeup.com). haiku, couples exquisite perfumes with equally splendid poetry by inscribing an original haiku on the MOTHERLY back of each bottle. Founders Clara and 4 LOVE John Molloy, who also own Memo Paris fra- Wellness and lifestyle expert grances, want to provide customers with Latham Thomas has teamed both a sensational aroma and an enthralling up with one of our favorite 1 experience. The combo evokes “hope, inspiration, natural beauty brands to intensity, subtlety—all of Floraïku’s values,” Clara tells develop products focused on ESSENCE. There are nine core scents divided into three self-care. Thomas believes the categories based on Japanese ceremonies: tea, flower line, which includes a lovely and incense. Two additional bouquets were formulated for body polish and perfume, “shadowing,” that is, the act of making your core perfume’s is “an invitation to mother smell deeper or lighter. How marvelously mysterious! yourself.” We’ll take it.

FLORAÏKU fragrances ($350 each, saks.com). MAMA GLOW + GOOD MEDICINE BEAUTY LAB

CROWD- Goddess Glow Blushing Body COURTESY IMAGES. PRODUCTS, OF WILSON/GETTY BRAD BRANDS. MODEL, PLEASERS Cream ($34, goodmedi cinebeautylab.com). Fashion Week isn’t only about identify- TRAN. MAI STYLIST, PROP HENN. BRIAN PHOTOGRAPHY, PERFUMES: ing clothing trends—we 2 also love being inspired by the stunning faces that THE FINER hit the runways. This spring THINGS it’s all about a moody and Curls has gotten fancy with romantic vibe, which designer its latest ofering. The amazing Erdem Moralioglu of the fashion hair care company has harnessed house Erdem nailed with both his the unique beautifying power of sartorial selections and limited edi- cashmere and caviar. Cashmere tion makeup collaboration with Nars. extract controls frizz, provides Strange Flowers, their 13-piece capsule shine and supports the mane’s collection, is perfect for creating a ﬁerce natural protein. Meanwhile, caviar smoky eye, rosy cheeks, an illuminating is a good source of omega-3 fatty highlight and, of course, a killer pout. There’s acids as well as vitamins A and a lip powder palette with a primer and two D. That trifecta adds moisture matte and two metallic hues that are stunning and helps prevent hair loss. whether worn alone or layered for extra depth. 5 CURLS Cashmere & Caviar Hair Bath ($15, curls.biz). ERDEM FOR NARS Night Garden Eyeshadow Palette and Carnal Carnation Lipstick ($49 and $28, narscosmetics.com).

Follow ESSENCE Fashion & Beauty 46 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Director Julee Wilson @MISSJULEE. PROMOTION More of What You Love is On

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SEE WHAT’S HOT

RIGHT NOW! BrBªØ™[ÃÜªãªó #ÉØÂè¼ôªã§ÉÉÃèãHª¼ ÃqªãÂªÃġ#ÉØÜ¹ªÃ ã§ãĺÜØÿÉØıèÂÕ¡Ø ÃÕØ¡ã¼úÜÂÉÉã§¡ÉØ èÕãÉďúÜġ BªØØġÉÂ Ŷ THE LATEST PRODUCTS NOW APPEARING IN THE CENTER RING

EXPO

BEAUTY & STYLE... MBIB & P&G CELEBRATE HOW #BLACKGIRLSDO IT! P&G’s My Black is Beautiful is at the 2018 ESSENCE Festival™ and we’re ready to celebrate your unique beauty! Join MBIB & the P&G brands you love as we treat you to an experience that only we can bring!

STAY COOL & CONFIDENT As the heat turns up, so does the festival style. Stay cool & conﬁ dent, while experiencing the best in summer beauty and grooming from Dove, Vaseline®, TRESemmé®, Degree® and Dove Men+Care. See you in NOLA!

OFFICIAL BEAUTY EXPO RETAILER CHECK OUT THESE BRANDS AT THE ESSENCE® BEAUTY & STYLE EXPO AND SHOP WALMART.COM/BEAUTY PROMOTION

WHOLESOME BEAUTY FOR ALL HAIR TYPES Maui Moisture’s formulas start with aloe juice and coconut water. All shampoo, conditioner and treatments are vegan and free from sulfates, gluten, paraben and silicone.

SHEAMOISTURE... BEAUTY WITHOUT LIMITS SheaMoisture® is excited to be a part of this year’s festival! Stop by for consultations, styling, inﬂ uencer meet & greets and giveaways featuring

BODY FACE our Jamaican Black Castor Oil collection.

DISCOVER YOUR SKIN’S NATURAL BALANCE Aveeno® Skin Relief with oat oil and natural Shea butter helps heal and soften dry skin. Aveeno® Positively Radiant®, with Total Soy Complex, reduces the appearance of dark spots and leaves skin glowing.

THE POWER OF NATURE FOR BEAUTIFUL HAIR Palmer’s Natural Fusions™ is a hand-crafted collection that contains nutrient-rich botanical infusions of the top recommended DIY natural ingredients. With two Cocktail Kits of 100% Natural Oils you can curate custom blends that work for your hair type or texture.

BORN IN BROOKLYN, MADE WITH LOVE “In 1993, encouraged by my mother, Carol, I began creating hair and body products in my Brooklyn kitchen. 25 years later, I’m excited to celebrate our momentous anniversary at the Festival.” Lisa Price – Carol’s Daughter Founder

VISIT ESSENCE.COM/EXPOS FOR MORE INFORMATION! PROMOTION

FREE DAILY! JULY 6-8, 2018 10AM-6PM ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER NEW ORLEANS, LA

EXPO

Join us for the best celebration of Black Beauty ever! Featuring live demonstrations by industry experts, DIY tutorials with leading inﬂ uencers, giveaways, conversations and more.

ESSENCE® FASHION STAGE HOST SOUNDS BY & BEAUTY DIRECTOR Kéla Walker DJ Kristi Julee Wilson Sugarcookie FESTIVAL BEAUTY & STYLE SQUAD

Anthony Cuts Ashunta Sherif J. Bolin Vernon François @anthonycuts @ashuntasheriff @stylistjbolin @vernonfrancois Follow the Festival Beauty & Style Squad on social today to begin getting your beauty tips! Get hair, makeup and expert style secrets LIVE at the Beauty Carnival!

Special es By… Appearanc

featuring Nicole Misa Hylton Murphy GAME SHOW

Hosted by Jackie Aina

Dapper Chrisette Bernadette Alonzo Kahh Dan Michele Thompson Naptural85 Arnold Spence

OFFICIAL BEAUTY EXPO OFFICIAL SPONSORS OFFICIAL PARTNERS VENDOR RETAILER PROMOTION In schools to encourage healing. As if dealing with his mom’s death wasn’t hard enough, EXPO Sean had to adjust to a new home and new school. It was a lot to handle, so he struggled emotionally and academically. Lee from Communities In Schools THE LATEST PRODUCTS NOW helped Sean develop coping skills by inding positive APPEARING IN THE CENTER RING outlets for his feelings. As his attitude improved, his grades followed—going from D’s to B’s. Now, he’s focused on football and a promising future. There are millions of at-risk kids like Sean who need a caring adult to help them stay in school and succeed in life.

See how we help all kids succeed. CommunitiesInSchools.org

COME GET HOOKED ON HONEY Discover what’s fresh and new from trusted haircare leader Creme of Nature with Pure Honey, an eight piece collection of moisturizing hair care and styling products made just for your hair type and needs. Stop by to savor sweet new products including Pure Honey Moisturizing Dry Defense Shampoo & Conditioner, Pure Honey Knot Away Leave-In Detangler, and Pure Honey Twisting Cream.

CHECK OUT THESE BRANDS AT THE ESSENCE® BEAUTY & STYLE EXPO AND SHOP WALMART.COM/BEAUTY

OFFICIAL BEAUTY EXPO RETAILER

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Copyright ©2018 Essence Communications ALL TIED UP Wearing head scarves is a beautiful nod to our culture. Nnenna Stella, founder of the The Wrap Life, styled our model in these fun fabric crowns. Follow her step-by-step guide so you can rock one too BY JULEE WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERICA GÉNÉCÉ

The Wrap Life “Ruby Woo” turban, $24, thewrap.life. Eloquii “Layton Parrot Print” top, $65, eloquii.com. Coco Loves Rome “Paislee” earrings, $14, cocoloves rome.com. N DORSEY.

turbanthe MAKEUP, GRISELLE ROSARIO. MANICURE, SUNSHINE OUTING. STYLING, AVO

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 53 ADVERTISEMENT A DAY IN THE LIFE: The Magical Mom

Being a mom is rewarding, beautiful—and busy! Between bus stops and karate classes, parties and lullabies, you just don’t stop, even for beauty. So, make sure your mane stays tame from morning to night with these hair must-haves.

1. MORNING | EARLY START Your little one is up with the sun, 1 so brew some coffee and set your strands with a curl cream. Perfect for quick wash ‘n go styles, a curl activator like Cantu with Shea Butter reveals frizz-free, bouncy tresses that leave you looking your best all day long.

2. NOON | WORK + PLAY Fitting in a little desk time before pick up time? You need hair 2 that keeps up with your hectic schedule. Ultra-moisturizing, yet lightweight, a little dab of Design Essentials Curl Deﬁ ning Gelée enhances curls without slowing you down.

3. NIGHT | DAUGHTER DATE End the day with a special night out. Revive curls with a super- rich detangler that moisturizes and controls frizz. Just a spritz of Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Combing Crème does all that and adds shine, so you’re ready for dinner—and dessert. 3

Find your favorite brands and shop the best products for your hair type, plus ﬁ nd style inspiration and more at Amazon’s new Textures & Hues shop: amazon.com/textures-hues ĖČĒďđĂĕđĒďĂĐ ĖČĒďąĒĂĐ

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knotThe Wrap Life “Nyala” head wrap, price upon request, thewrap.life. Swimsuits For All “Mastermind Kandinsky Underwire” swimsuit, $59, swimsuitsforall.com. Coco Loves Rome “Poppy” earrings, $16, step 5 and “Connie” necklace, $14, cocolovesrome.com.

56 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 step 1

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the step 4 twisted crown The Wrap Life “Equinox” head wrap, $28, thewrap .life. Lulla flower detail kimono, $28, lullacollection.com. Eloquii “Printed Kimono Maxi Dress” belt, $110, eloquii.com. Coco Loves Rome “Sunshine” earrings, $14, step 5 cocolovesrome.com. »

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 57 HAIR : WRAPS

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step 3 bowthe The Wrap Life “Jendayi” head wrap, $26, thewrap .life. Cooper & Ella “Nora step 4 Ruffle Tank” top, $138, cooperandella.com. Coco Loves Rome “Adrianne” earrings, $12, similar styles at cocolovesrome.com. º

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At 60GB, we reserve the right to review your account for usage in violation of Straight Talk’s Terms and Conditions. †To get 4G LTE speed, you must have a 4G LTE capable device and 4G LTE SIM. Actual availability, coverage and speed may vary. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. A month equals 30 days. “Save up to 30%” is based on a comparison of the monthly cost of the $55 Straight Talk Service Plan and the monthly cost for a single line on a comparable no-contract plan with unlimited talk, text and data on the top two carriers. Excludes taxes, fees, autopay discounts and limited time pricing. Source: Competitor websites, December 2017. Please refer always to the latest Terms and Conditions of Service at StraightTalk.com. POETIC JUSTICE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, ERICA ASH IS READY TO BE A LEADING LADY BY DANIELLE YOUNG

rica Ash is the physical embodiment of true, limitless talent. She’s an actress, but she also sings and makes you E belly laugh until it aches. And that’s not just from her days on the gone-too-soon series Survivor’s Remorse. Still, the sketch comedy vet gets serious as the lead in BET’s In Contempt, the network’s first procedural drama. It’s abouta fierce NewYorkCity public defender whonevergivesup onherclients. “I actually dreamedofmyselfin a courtroomaboutamonthbeforeIwasoferedthisrole,”shesays,smiling.“I’vebeenreadyforthisforawhile,soI’m glad that it’s finally ready for me.” Ash, who grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and lived in Tokyo, explains further: “Any journeyofanactor,ifthey’retrulyintoit,isaboutbuildingandmaintaininganincredibleamountoffaithand perseverance. Because along with every win, there’s always something that comes to test that win and to test your

STEVE WILKIE/BETSTEVE resolve in the midst of that win.” If this is Ash’s test, she’s passing it with ﬂying colors.

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 61 Marque A scene from Richardson season two of and Ashley Dear White Blaine People Featherson BACK ON THE YARD THE MEN OF NETFLIX’S COLLEGIATE DRAMEDY, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, CHECK IN ABOUT SEASON TWO BY TAIIA SMART YOUNG

MARQUE DERON BRANDON RICHARDSON HORTON P. BELL AGE: 32 AGE: 25 AGE: 33 HOME: Bellﬂower, CA HOME: Houston HOME: Dallas ALTER EGO: ALTER EGO: ALTER EGO: Reggie Green Lionel Higgins Troy Fairbanks

On auditioning for Troy and Lionel His love–hate relationship with On seeing a new side to “Troybama” for 2014’s Dear White People big- Lionel: “I love his sincerity, honesty after his arrest: “It’s a shattering of screen debut: “I argued with my reps and complexities. You want him to illusions and privileged ideals that Troy because those are not the roles I say so many things that he never had grown up with. How does Troy wanted; they didn’t feel right. From does. He’s such an outspoken continue when his image has been the beginning, it was always Reggie person when he’s writing in his ﬂipped on its head? How does he for me. He was described as this journal, but he can’t say it in person. measure up to the expectations of

Bohemian African rebel situation. Sometimes his voice kind of pisses others—after never really living up to GOLDEN/NET TYLER GREEN/NETFLIX; PATRICK SCOTT LEFT: FROM STILLS, TV Even down to the clothing, I had it.” me of, but that’s what adds his what he wants to become? We explore H FRAZER IMAGES; FURY/GETTY RICH IMAGES; LIVINGSTON/GETTY DAVID ﬂavor [to the show].” the journey of him coming into his WI OPRAH WARNER BROS./COURTESY OF OWN: DESMOND/© 2018 MICHAEL COUPLE, His reaction to seeing how his charac- own—or at least trying to ﬁnd his way.” ter changes in the second season: On growing up in Saudi Arabia: “Playing Reggie is like playing a super- “It kept me from having such a Remembering his days at his hero, because of what he does for me; narrow vision about what I thought alma mater: “At the time the campaign it’s therapeutic. We see how he deals the world was like. I got to share for USC student president was a pretty with the aftermath of the gun being everybody else’s cultural experi- big deal. You’d have thought it was a drawn on him, how he copes with PTSD ences. There was very little major political campaign. The budget and how his friends interact with him. prejudice or discrimination, and it was, like, a million dollars. There were Nobody knows what to say. It’s like real opened me to new ways of learning posters and advertisements in the life—how do you comfort somebody?” diferent things.” Daily Trojan newspaper.”

Michele Weaver MODERN LOVE and Will Catlett A NEW OWN DRAMA GOES DEEP ON RELATIONSHIPS Love is a many-splendored thing. Love Love Is_ (premiering next month).

is all we need. It’s also the subject of The pair use their marriage as the LEFT: FROM SHOTS, HEAD FLIX.

the new OWN series created and template for the dramedy, which IMAGES. ARRISON/GETTY executive-produced by husband and focuses on Nuri (Michele Weaver) wife duo Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil. and Yasir (Will Catlett) as they navi- NFREY NETWORK. NFREY Having collaborated on Being Mary gate coupledom, parenthood and Jane and, most recently, Black Hollywood. As the Akils prove in reality Lightning, they’re turning the lens and on-screen, love is deﬁnitely what toward matters of the heart in you make it. —Regina R. Robertson

Follow ESSENCE Entertainment Director 62 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Cori Murray on Twitter @CORIMURRAY.

ESSENCE FEST SCENE : ENTERTAINMENT July 6–8 New Orleans SPRING GOVERNORS BALL FESTIVAL June 1–3 New York GUIDE City OUR SOCIAL NETWORK OF BLACK GIRL MAGIC AND KELELA MUSIC THIS SEASON BY CORI MURRAY TANK & THE BANGAS, IMAGES MARCUS INGRAM/GETTY (3). SZA, DAN MACMEDAN/WIRE

IBEYI THOMS LORNE NONAME, TIDAL. FOR IMAGES MAZUR/GETTY KEVIN BEYONCÉ, IBEYI, STEPHANE IMAGES. FRAZE CARDINALE-CORBIS/CORBIS VIAIBEYI, KELELA, GETTY BEYONCÉ MUSIC NOTES “I’ve never felt so IM WINKELMEYER/GETTY MATT BABE, LION IMAGES. WINTER/GETTY KEVIN supported.” That’s what Kelela tweeted last January after her debut DEJ LOAF album, Take Me Apart, COACHELLA HANG OUT April 13–15, was added to 15 Best MUSIC FEST NONAME 20–22 Albums of 2017 lists. May 18–20 Indio, CA Gulf Shores, Weeks later the AL CHLOE X HALLE Washington, D.C., native was still feeling the love. “As a Black woman, in anything, honestly, you have to be your own cheerleader,” says Kelela, who’s eclectic- soul sound will be PRINCESS LION BABE’s heard at three music TANK AND NOKIA Jillian Hervey festivals. “It’s nice THE when somebody’s like, ROC FOR IMAGES WARGO/GETTY LOAF, THEO DEJ (2). IMAGES ON/GETTY BANGAS

SASQUATCH! IM HARRISON/GETTY FRAZER KAMAIYAH, ENTERTAINMENT. E! FOR AGES JORJA SMITH ‘Actually, go get that;

MUSIC R IMAGES. HARRISON/GETTY CHLOE X HALLE, STEVE GRANITZ/WI FESTIVAL that’s sick. You did that.’ IMAGE (2). PRINCESS SCOTT NOKIA, DUDELSON/WIREIMAGE. J May 25–27 It does help. It creates HIGH Quincy, more momentum.” Still, WA WATER she’s wary about the FESTIVAL April 21–22 BLURRY inequalities faced by North VISION Black women in music Charleston, SC May 12–13 (“The bar is set so much SZA Oakland KAMAIYAH higher for me and my peers who do music like me,” she says), but it efore summer even Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Fantasia, ROOTS PICNIC June 2; doesn’t overshadow peaks, Black female Xscape and more. Until then, Philadelphia; Brandy, Rapsody her moment in the sun. B artists on some of your we’re checking out these events: and speaker Angela Rye Says Kelela, “[To me, playlists will be gracing music success means] festival stages across the BROCCOLI CITY FESTIVAL FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL connecting with my country. We’ll be seeing a few April 28; Washington, D.C.; June 14–17; Dover, DE; leading up to our very own Cardi B. and H.E.R. SZA and Lizzo audience. First and Essence Fest—where we’ll be foremost, I am ORJA SMITH, REIMAGE.

rocking to girls’ trip–worthy BEALE STREET MUSIC BET EXPERIENCE expressing myself NATION. anthems from Janet Jackson, FESTIVAL May 4–6; Memphis; June 21–24; Los Angeles; honestly. That’s the AGE

Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Erykah Badu and Valerie June SZA, Ella Mai and Kamaiyah bottom line.” —C.M. S.

64 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 DisneyWorld.com

©Disney AA-18-63378 SCENE : PATRIK’S PICKS

KEEPING IT REAL Through Decoded, her popular MTV Web series, Franchesca Ramsey doesn’t just push the envelope on race and pop culture—she Having rips it up and sets it on ﬁre. She brings Our Say that same panache and Franchesca FIVE BOLD AND Ramsey aplomb to the AWESOME BOOKS insightful read BY AND ABOUT Well, That Escalated Quickly (Grand Central, $27), a FEARLESS WOMEN spot-on view of survival in a BY PATRIK HENRY BASS social media world that has few, if any, boundaries. THE HEALING In her debut novel, The FOR THE GIRLS Beauty That Remains One of the joys of reading is (Delacorte Press, $17.99), discovering new voices, and Ashley Woodfolk delivers among the best I’ve come a moving tale for across this year is young readers that of Morgan

that will touch Jerkins. BASS, SEAN BURROWES. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ROSADO; JOEY SYLVIE ROSOKOFF; mature audi- Her essay ences as well. collection,

In her assured This Will Be PRO HENN. BRIAN STILLS, BOOK CHIN. CASSIDY PHOTO/@FRAWLEYPHOTO; Ashley narrative, three My Undoing Woodfolk 16-year-olds from (Harper Morgan Jerkins Long Island, New Perennial, $15.99), York, are connected through is funny, alarming, illuminat- grief. Showing their struggle, ing, infuriating, humane and Woodfolk provides a path to complex—much like life itself, ease the pain of loss. from a woman who knows.

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL LIFE 2.0 TOOL KIT Food studies scholar Sara B. Leave it to Iyanla Vanzant Franklin serves up a deli- to get to the bottom of cious tribute to a doyenne what’s holding us back of the culinary world. In from focusing on our top Edna Lewis (The University priorities. In the engag- of North Carolina Press, ing and empowering Get $28), Franklin casts a wide Over It! (Hay House, Inc., net with the many colorful $24.99), the Fix My Life people who encountered host identiﬁes 42 domi- the legendary creator of nant negative The Taste of Country thought P STYLIST, MAI TRAN. MAI STYLIST, P Cooking.The now classic patterns CHRIS FRAWLEY tome was a trailblazing title that can in the farm-to-table move- undermine ment. Lewis took southern even the cooking global but always Iyanla most conﬁdent, remained grounded. Vanzant on the real.

Follow ESSENCE Editorial Projects Director 66 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Patrik Henry Bass on Twitter @PATRIKSPICKS. R % E % S % P % E % C % T e Songs % e Style % e Moments

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic song and honor one of the most inluential artists of our time in this new Collector’s Edition from ESSENCE

PVSDIBTFyour copy OPXfrom Bmazon.com

©2017 Time Inc. Books. ESSENCE is a trademark of Essence Communications Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. SCENE : BOOKS JOY, NO LIMITS MIKKI TAYLOR’S NEW BOOK OFFERS A PLAN FOR YOU TO FULFILL YOUR GREATEST AMBITIONS

o whether you are a longtime S reader of the magazine you’re holding or recent to the party, at some point you the world you create in your have been touched imagination is powerful. You by Mikki Taylor. If will reread this book several you’ve ever placed an times to get the laserlike preci- ESSENCE cover in your sion that Taylor demands you use scrapbook or on your refrig- to suspend fear and surrender to the erator, dorm room wall or vision board, faith in your journey. chances are our current editor-at-large Like Taylor’s debut, Self-Seduction: had a hand in shaping the look, feel and Your Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer energy of that image. Beauty (One World), Editor in Chic Taylor says she wrote Editor in Chic: dispenses heaping advice and in- How to Style and Be Your Most tersperses positive anecdotes from Empowered Self (Atria, $26) because a range of philosophers and wise she wants “every woman to own her life women and men. Those who still keep and master her distinction with the kind that first sumptuous tome on their of panache that sustains her in every cofee tables will appreciate her new way imaginable.” But she ofers so much ofering. In many ways, it’s a wonderful more. In this thoroughly instructive and companion to Taylor’s second ofering, TRAN. MAI STYLIST, PROP HENN. BRIAN BOOK, BLANKS. TAYLOR, DEREK uplifting guide, she aims to provide you Commander in Chic: Every Woman’s with a boost from head to toe, inside Guide to Managing Her Style Like a and out. Citing her mother as one of her First Lady, which was part homage to first fearless forces, the author discusses Michelle Obama and part blueprint her mom’s work as legendary jazz for self-actualization no matter your singer Sarah Vaughan’s “everywoman— background or circumstances. That secretary, hairstylist, makeup artist and work was full of Mikki-isms, which wardrobe stylist,” eventually opening ESSENCE readers will know as her own salon in Newark, New Jersey. Taylor’s signature wit and flair. The transformative space left a profound Editor in Chic brims with substance mark on the future beauty maven, who that helps us both inform and inspire seamlessly blends personal stories with our life. Each page encourages us to veteran advice in her new efort. Well fight our fears and prepare ourselves respected in the industry, she was on the to step into the future feeling whole front lines advocating at beauty compa- and looking great. And Taylor is clear nies for many progressive changes on about finding your path: “My mother behalf of Black women consumers. taught me that to be risk-averse is to be Taylor firmly believes that you are success-averse.” Amen and thank you in control of your destiny, and that for that sage advice. —P.H.B.

68 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

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80 Years 10 THINGS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

BY TANYA A. CHRISTIAN

LIFT EVERY VOICE 1. As organizers across the nation ﬁght tirelessly to efect change in a country led by a man who once asked the Black community, “What do you have to lose?” Alicia Garza, a cofounder of Black Lives Matter and the special projects director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, seeks to address that question. She’s the principal of the advocacy group Black Futures Lab, which has recently established the Black Census Project. By August 1, the initiative aims to get input from 200,000 Black Americans on the issues that matter most to us and our communities. The goal is to use the collected data to help with forming public policy that allows us to prosper. “If we’ve learned anything from this past election, it’s that Black folks drive the progressive political power in this country but rarely beneﬁt from the fruits of

AMY ELKINS AMY our labor,” she says of the project. For more information, and to participate in the census, visit blackfutureslab.com.

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 71 ISSUES : TRENDING TOPICS

2. 3. 4. THE KEYS TO THE C-SUITE INCLUSIVE CLOTHING A NEW BOSS IN TOWN New research from the Harvard Business With Muslim ladies in mind, Macy’s is The Dallas Mavericks has named Review has identified three skills that now ofering the Verona Collection, a Cynthia Marshall—the former chief successful Black women employ to make fashion line that includes modest diversity oicer and vice-president of it into the executive ranks at corpora- sweaters, dresses, pants, tops and human resources at AT&T—the team’s tions: emotional intelligence, authenticity religious headwear. The legendary interim CEO. Her appointment at one and agility. The authors found that these retailer is the first major department of the National Basketball Association’s women also overcame negative feelings, store in the United States to sell most valuable franchises is momen- like self-doubt, and adverse situations, hijabs. To view the reasonably priced tous: Marshall is now the first woman such as intense scrutiny, and leveraged selection and purchase items, visit of color in the history of the league to those obstacles to learn and grow. macys.com. assume such a position. 5.” 6. 7.

A PATH TO HISTORY Real change happens when SAVING OUR BOYS Travel South USA, in conjunction with we take tangible action, and A report titled Get Out! Black Male Georgia State University and the National that means giving young Suspensions in California Public Schools Park Service, has launched U.S. Civil women and people of color analyzed the disciplinary action against Rights Trail, an online road-trip itinerary. opportunities in the industry Black male students in the 2016–17 The site guides tourists to 100 Civil Rights early on so they have the school year and concluded that rates are Movement landmarks in Washington, chance to shape its future. decreasing, yet they are still excessive D.C., and 14 states. The former Wool- ” when compared with those of the overall worth in Greensboro, North Carolina, student population. It is hoped that the —Ava DuVernay, addressing attendees where counter sit-ins began, is included. at the unveiling of the Evolve ﬁndings will spur the creation of a task For more info, go to civilrightstrail.com. Entertainment Fund in Los Angeles force to combat the problem.

3 5 6 9 3. VERONA COLLECTION. 5. COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS CENTER &

MUSEUM. 6. FRAZIER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES. 9. VANIA STOYANOVA. VANIA 9. IMAGES. HARRISON/GETTY FRAZIER 6. MUSEUM. ” 8. 9. 10. How are we going to manage to get SAY SOMETHING A POLICY SHIFT beyond the smallness of our own lives and In the U.S., an estimated 49.5 percent A bail reform movement is sweeping the begin to see ourselves as American citizens broadly and to spark moral imagination of people between the ages of 13 and nation, and the Philadelphia district about the number of people who are lost, 18 live with a mental health condition. attorney’s oice is the latest to join in on who are being lost, who are sent to be lost? One of those teens, Hannah Lucas, the progress. Prosecutors there will no Can we really aord to just throw people and her brother, Charlie, developed longer seek cash bail for 25 nonviolent away? I don’t know the answer, but I can just try to pose the question. the NotOK app. With a quick tap, it ofenses. In Pennsylvania the Black–White ” gives suferers the ability to alert ratio for incarcerated individuals is 8.9 to loved ones of an anxiety attack or 1, according to a 2016 study by The —Actor/activist Anna Deavere Smith, on bringing light to the other feelings of depression. The tool Sentencing Project. For a list of nonviolent school-to-prison pipeline is now available for iOS and Android. ofenses, visit phillyda.wordpress.com.

For trending topics, follow Tanya A. 72 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Christian on Twitter @TANYAACHRISTIAN. ©2018 McDonald’s Mickey D’s. my place, that will always be The oneplace possibilities. community MY timeout great taste connecting a snack a smile a goodmorning My placefor... ® ISSUES : SPOTLIGHT

Then and now: Madam C.J. Walker’s estate from the 1920’s versus modern day. SAVING OUR LANDMARKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, PIECES OF BLACK HISTORY ARE SLOWLY DISAPPEARING BEFORE OUR EYES. THESE THREE WOMEN HAVE STEPPED IN TO SALVAGE THE PLACES THAT REVEAL OUR PAST AND INFORM OUR FUTURE BY WENDY L. WILSON FROM LEFT: A’LELIA BUNDLES/MADAM WALKER FAMILY WALKER BUNDLES/MADAM A’LELIA LEFT: FROM ARCHIVES; HISTORIC NEW ENGLAND/DAVID BOHL. he African American Cultural Heritage Action Huxtable on The Cosby Show or portraying the completely Fund (AACHAF) is a $25 million multiyear diferent mother hen Diana DuBois on Empire, the versatile initiative spearheaded by the National Trust for actress has left an indelible mark on Hollywood. It is, how- Historic Preservation and funded by partners ever, her family’s legacy that connects her to the National TattheFordFoundation,theOpenSocietyFoundationsand Trust for Historic Preservation, which recently named her others. The goal is to expand our perspective of the Black as adviser, and ambassador for the AACHAF. experience by uncovering and improving speciﬁc locations Rashad’s mother, Vivian Ayers-Allen, was born in Chester, that were once integral to our success and advancement. South Carolina, and attended the Brainerd Institute school. In Leading the charge are three Black women who have made fact, so did both of Ayers-Allen’s parents and her grandpar- preservation and conservation their personal passion projects. ents. The Brainerd Institute was started back in 1868 by the Presbyterian Church as a one-room schoolhouse for newly freed PROTECTING A FAMILY’S HERITAGE elementary school children. By 1935 it had grown to include sev- Tony Award–winning actress Phylicia Rashad is an icon. eral buildings as well as a tennis court and chemistry lab, with Whether it’s from her days playing family matriarch Clair some classes dedicated to math, science, history and literature. It

74 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 was renamed Brainerd Junior College and of my job is knowing that there are young gained a reputation as an excellent establish- Monica people who have light bulbs constantly Phylicia Rhodes ment for preparing young Black teachers. Rashad coming on. I see it when I’m talking to them The college closed in 1939, and Ayers-Allen about preservation,” says Rhodes. was a member of the last graduating class. When the property became available in the TAKING THE NON- late1990’s,Rashadandherequallyfamous TRADITIONAL APPROACH and talented sister, Debbie Allen, did what When Helena Doley first learned that her so many of us would do upon reaching husband, ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr., success—they bought the property in had planned to buy the dilapidated former their mother’s honor. estate of Madam C.J. Walker, reportedly “Mymothersaidtome,‘Well,theBrainerd America’s first self-made woman million- estate has come up for sale, and there’s talk aire, she was less than thrilled. Doley never of somebody putting cheap housing on it. believed she could transform a 34-room Somebody ought to do something.’ And 28,000-square-foot property and the aus- somebody did,” says Rashad, who trans- tere name that comes with it (Villa Lewaro) ferred the property to ADEPT, a 501(c)(3) My into a comfortable, livable home for their organization that her mother had started mother Helena family. “Basic things needed to be done,” for cultural programming in Houston. A Doley says Doley of the home they bought in Pulitzer Prize–nominated powerhouse, play- was the Irving, New York, in 1993. “We had water wright and publisher, Ayers-Allen provided inspiration issues. The house was overrun with rodents. an array of activities, including free dance It was not equipped for cable or phone use. classes (courtesy of the Debbie Allen Dance to do this. It was a vestige of what it once was with Academy). “My mother was the inspiration magnificent details.” Now Doley describes —PHYLICIA RASHAD to do this. My mother and my own presence the challenge as her greatest joy. in the community of Chester, South Carolina,” says Rashad. Walker’s family wanted to keep the house Black-owned, which was her intention after her death in 1919. She left the GETTING HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE estate to her daughter, A’Lelia, who then bequeathed the Conservation and restoration go hand in hand, and there is no house to the NAACP when she died in 1931. Unfortunately, better example of this than the National Trust for Historic the Great Depression forced the NAACP to sell Villa Lewaro, Preservation’s HOPE Crew (Hands-On Preservation Experience). which was then turned into a convalescent home for the Youth workers and volunteers are matched with skilled preser- aged. Purchasing this property 25 years ago, the Doleys vationistswhoteachthemthepropertechniquestorestore not only returned it to the hands of an African-American historical cultural sites. HOPE Crew projects spring up all across family but, working with the National Trust for Historic the country, and one woman is in charge of making sure every- Preservation, they also got it designated as a national trea- thing runs like clockwork. sure in April 2014. After four years, 700 crew members, 3,000 volunteers “We wanted to make sure that this house remained as a and more than 150 projects, HOPE Crew associate director monument to the tremendous deeds of a person and a peo- Monica Rhodes is taking the group into new territory. Rhodes ple who were underestimated and devalued,” says Doley. studied history at the University of Tulsa but discovered her “This house is a testament to that.” Madam, as Doley calls love for preservation when she completed a second master’s the entrepreneur and philanthropist, died of hypertension degree in historic preservation at the University of in the house—a subtle reminder to Black women every- Pennsylvania. “As I was writing about African-American his- where. She was on her way to Central America to help a toryandplacesthatweresignificant,thefrustratingpartfor group of friends start a business. Her doctors ordered her me was that a lot of these communities were no longer here,” to stay home to rest. Now when friends, family, visitors or says Rhodes. “I decided to go back to grad school and build even strangers stop by the house, Doley, an educator by a skill set where I’m able to have a more active hand in pre- trade, is amped to give them a quick history lesson. “One of serving places that are here, as opposed to writing about the things that makes Madam’s story so inspirational is that them ten years later once they had been torn down. Now I’m she was passionate about taking others along with her,” able to see the human imprints on communities and tell a says Doley. “She wanted others, especially women, to know little bit of something about the people who built this place they can do it too. We still need to be reminded of her and once lived here.” achievements for our sense of confidence and strength of Her projects run the gamut from restoring buildings located in character and to know it is doable in our own way.” º national parks to repainting veterans’ headstones in national cemeteries. Workers ages 18 to 25 receive on-the-job training Wendy L. Wilson is an award-winning journalist and former news from craft experts, gaining real-world knowledge that could ulti- editor at ESSENCE. Follow her rants, raves and reviews on Twitter

FROM TOP: LUIS BARRIOS; THEARTHYPE; COURTESY OF SUBJECT. OF THEARTHYPE; COURTESY BARRIOS; LUIS TOP: FROM mately guide them into other trades. “The most rewarding part @WendyLWilson_.

FOR MORE on the National Trust for Historic Preservation, visit savingplaces.org. PROMOTION ALL-ACCESS

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Sign up today for our free ESSENCE® All-Access e-mail newsletter for exclusive o ers and discounts, special event invitations, and sweepstakes/contests from ESSENCE® partners! www.essence.com/newsletter SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON THE JOB IN THE #METOO ERA, HERE’S HOW EVERYDAY WOMEN CAN RECLAIM THEIR POWER POSES ONLY. BY TAMARA E. HOLMES WOMAN, CHBD/GETTY IMAGES. PHOTOGRAPHS USED FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PUR

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 77 MONEY & POWER : SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

arly in her career Tana M. Session was an executive assistant to a boss who would constantly joke with her and make crude and sexually explicit comments. “It was in the nineties. I really felt I had no recourse except just to grin and bear it,” says Session, 49, who is now a human resources E consultant. When she couldn’t stomach it anymore, she started looking for another job and eventually found one, though she took a pay cut.

Sadly, Session’s story isn’t rare. professional women across the race card. In cases in which the According to a 2016 study by the country. Some described being offender was a Black man, some U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity subjected to remarks directly women were more hesitant to say Commission (EEOC), anywhere highlighting parts of our bodies that anything for fear of being labeled a between 25 and 85 percent of have historically been hypersexual- traitor to their own race. women have encountered sexual ized. Others refrained from voicing If you find yourself subject to harassment in the workplace. complaints because they were unwanted behavior, first tell the The difference between then and afraid they wouldn’t be believed or person to stop, says Sherry Sims, now is the upswing in the popularity might be accused of playing the founder of Black Career Women’s of the #MeToo movement, a campaign created a decade ago by activist Tarana Burke that put Always remember stories of sexual assault and you have the harassment in the spotlight. Ever right to call since numerous allegations of lurid out improper behavior. behavior from Hollywood bigwigs came to national attention in 2017, many companies have begun to take these claims more seriously. While #MeToo has largely focused on the rich and powerful in Hollywood, media and government, the truth is, sexual harassment can happen to any one of us—anywhere. Here’s what you need to know if it occurs at your job.

UNDERSTANDING THE RACIAL IMPACT “Black women tend to experience higher rates of sexual harassment [than any other group],” says Nicole T. Buchanan, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University. “They are more likely to be targeted for more severe forms of [it], and are likely to be economi- IMAGES TOMAZL/GETTY cally vulnerable or unable to extract themselves from [the situation] within the organization,” Buchanan says. To research this issue, Buchanan conducted focus groups with Black

78 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Network, a professional develop- labor law and civil rights attorney in exploring legal options. First file ment organization. “Let the [person] Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That your complaint with the EEOC. know that [the] statement made you means writing down the time and Federal protections against sexual feel uncomfortable.” location of the incident, what was harassment fall under Title VII of the Sometimes speaking up will nip said or done, and your reaction Civil Rights Act of 1964. If your state the behavior in the bud. It worked to it. Also include details such has laws against sexual harassment, for Merci L. McKinley, 35. In her early as the names of any witnesses, put in a claim with the agency that twenties she was in the military if possible. oversees this issue, advises Connie when a fellow soldier made quips If the bad behavior continues, A. Broussard, an employment lawyer about how her short stature was then you should bring the matter to in San Diego who investigates perfect for certain sexual acts. someone else’s attention, says Dee workplace sexual harassment. McKinley didn’t laugh. “I just made it C. Marshall, an executive coach However, you must act fast. The perfectly clear: ‘Hey, I’m here to get and diversity consultant. Your statute of limitations for a complaint my job done, and I don’t appreciate employer’s sexual harassment policy can be as short as three to six the comments that you’re making. should explain the procedures, such months, depending on the case and And if it doesn’t stop, then I’m going as whether you should initially go to where it happened, Broussard says. to elevate it higher,’ ” she says. your manager or to human resources When filing the claim, you’ll Next be sure to document what to report a violation. When you do, be asked to provide basic informa- transpired. “You need to provide be ready to produce your evidence, tion about the incident, such as specific details of what actions were Marshall continues. Also take notes what actions you believe were taken by whoever it is you are on what happens during your discriminatory and when the alleging is harassing you,” says session with human resources and actions took place. At this point you Annette Newman, an employment, every action the department takes should be looking for an attorney. Many ofer a free consultation, and some may even take the case on ust like contingency or partial contingency, men, we’re in the which means you would pay either nothing or a small sum unless the workplace to attorney wins money for you, make a living. Broussard says. You can contact Equal Rights Advocates for free We’re not there to advice on your options. be harassed. The EEOC will ofer mediation —TANA M. SESSION between you and your employer, but both of you would have to agree pertaining to your allegations. to it. (An attorney can help you Unfortunately, many women have through the process.) The goal is found HR to be less than helpful. In to resolve the situation quickly. fact, a 2017 poll by ABC News and Perhaps your employer could The Washington Post indicates that transfer you or the accused among women who had experienced harasser to a diferent department sexual harassment in the workplace, so you would no longer work a whopping 95 percent believed that together. Other possible outcomes the accused go unpunished. “You could be terminating the accused have to gauge if your human or negotiating a ﬁnancial settlement resources department is pro- for your emotional sufering. employer or pro-employee,” says If mediation fails or is not agreed Sims. If HR doesn’t do anything, take to, the EEOC would then pursue your concerns to a vice-president or an investigation. If the commission someone who oversees the HR determines there was indeed a department, Sims adds. violation, it will give you a Notice of Right to Sue. You need this form KNOWING to take your employer to court. YOUR RIGHTS However, it may take years to If you’ve followed all internal settle a lawsuit, experts warn. Even procedures to report a claim and a so, legal action could help you

RUSLAN DASHINSKY/GETTY IMAGES DASHINSKY/GETTY RUSLAN remedy hasn’t been offered, start receive damages. »

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 79 MONEY & POWER : SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

YOUR PERIOD, YOUR MOVE.

From subtle to extreme, harassment comes in many forms.

Remember, your documentation later, Troupe says. Another common of the incident should be on point. reaction is self-blame. But it runs Any retaliatory actions from your counter to the way we respond to company or steps you’ve taken as a other types of ofenses against us, result of the harassment will also be Troupe points out: “We never say to examined in court. the victim, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have been walking with your wallet in your RECLAIMING hand when that person stole it.’ ” YOUR POWER Women who experience sexual Because trauma afects everyone misconduct should seek support, says diferently, the emotional or psycho- Keisha M. Wells, a licensed professional logical symptoms resulting from counselor and founder of Transforma- sexual harassment can manifest in tion Counseling Services in Columbus, many ways, says Faith Troupe, Ph.D., Georgia. “Isolation is the breeding a licensed marriage and family ground for torment and sufering,” therapist associate in Cornelius, says Wells. Individual or group therapy, North Carolina. The ordeal can support groups and hot lines can help. impact your ability to fulﬁll your Self-care—in the form of responsibilities, says Marshall. “It will prayer, meditation, proper sleep show up when we draw back—things and nutrition—is also important, like fear of speaking up, fear of Wells says. showing up or fear of sharing space Regardless of what workplace or with men. It prevents us from climb- legal strategies you employ, your ing the ladder or [taking advantage emotional health should be para- of] opportunities for leadership and mount and you should know you promotion,” she says. have the right to feel safe at work. Victims often downplay what “Just like men, we’re in the work- happened to them, and they may not place to make a living for our family,” realize how detrimental an incident Session says. “We’re not there to was until days, months or even years be harassed.”

80 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

PATH TO POWER : YOUNG PHENOM

“All women crave purpose and sisterhood,” INDUSTRY says Ward. DISRUPTER

WITH THE COWORKING SPACE FEMOLOGY, MEAGAN WARD HAS HELPED USHER IN A NEW ERA OF PROGRESSIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL INCUBATION. THE BEST PART? WOMEN OF COLOR ARE PLACED FRONT AND CENTER BY MARQUITA K. HARRIS

eagan Ward was still a young college student when she watched her mother struggle after M being laid of from a job, a misfortune that led to the loss of her childhood home. Fortunately, a family friend took in both women as they worked through the rough patch. “I remember my clothes being stufed in garbage bags, getting dressed and making the best out ESSENCE: In addition to working on Femology, you of it,” she says. That ordeal drove the Detroiter to launch a participated in a speaker program with the U.S. Embassy. marketing business while she was in school. Along with How did that come about? co-owner Ashleigh Brock, she ultimately opened Femology. M.W.: I was invited by the folks at the U.S. Embassy to go The unique coworking space also functions as an incubator on a campaign with them [overseas]. They were inspired for Detroit’s community of Black women entrepreneurs. by Detroit, Femology and the revolution we have going on “It’s a hub for fostering collaboration, but also serves here. It went so well, I was also able to speak at a confer- as a strategic foundation for building businesses,” Ward ence for the United Nations and represent the U.S., says. Here the 28-year-old serialpreneur tells us how she discussing what women’s empowerment means and how did it and what’s to come. it can be a positive force for global change.

ESSENCE: How ESSENCE: What was did you get into We’re women-focused, that experience like, entrepreneurship? meaning everything we do has and has that led to MEAGAN WARD: other opportunities? I launched my first a woman’s life in mind. M.W.: What I learned business in my college is that all women apartment. I started these companies because my mom had crave purpose and sisterhood. People were so excited lost her job, her house was going into foreclosure and I about me attending, and the feedback was great [so I almost had to come back home from college. I had to grab was added to a database of preferred speakers for the reins like, Okay, you need to help Mom out. You need to the State Department]. I’ll potentially be partaking in provide a way so that you can finish school. missions that deal with women entrepreneurs and female empowerment globally. ESSENCE: What bumps did you face along the way to getting Femology going? ESSENCE: What advice do you have for women in the M.W.: People would make certain comments like, “Is this throes of starting a business? legal? Are they discriminating against men?” Of course, M.W.: Be authentic to yourself; that’s the first thing. As we’re not discriminating. We only said that we’re women- women we want to be fulfilled. That’s why so many of us are JEREMY CRANFORD focused, meaning everything we do has a woman’s life creating businesses. We want to live our dream life and to do in mind. When you go to WeWork [a popular chain of what we want every day. Own your story. Successes are as coworking spaces], it’s a generalized concept. When you important as losses. Losses are just as important as challenges, come here, as soon as you walk through our doors, you’re and all of this factors into your unique story. You never know like, “This is for me. I feel like I’m home.” who it can inspire and impact. º

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• Daily morning workouts Join us for the best celebration of Black Beauty with Lana and Lita Ector of ever! Featuring live demonstrations by industry Black Girls Workout Too experts, DIY tutorials with leading inﬂ uencers, • New & Next Artists giveaways, conversations and more. CARL LYNCH, JOHNNY JONES, DAVID WILLEMS, BENNETT RAGLIN, J.R. THOMASON, AARON THORNTON, CHRIS MITCHELL, KIM LAGRUE, DANIELLE MILES, NUBUZZ PHOTOS/JOHNNY NUNEZ, PHOTOS/JOHNNY MILES, NUBUZZ DANIELLE KIM LAGRUE, CHRIS MITCHELL, AARON THORNTON, THOMASON, J.R. WILLEMS, BENNETT RAGLIN, JOHNNY JONES, DAVID CARL LYNCH, PICTUREGROUP OMIKA WILLIAMS, TYLER KAUFMAN, MATTHEWS, SASHA GOSHORN, GUS BENNETT, FEHR, WALIK JONES, MARY SMITH, ANDI RICE, RANDY YOLANDA • And More!

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2018

VIVIAN HALLE and ANDERSON CHLOE BAILEY

ELIZABETH LAUREN ASH ALEXANDER WELLNESS EXPERT WRITER AND SCHOLAR @HELLOLAURENASH @PROFESSOREA With self-care at a premium, A noted poet, Alexander was recently the founder of Black Girl in Om THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: H. ANDREW WALKER; ELLIOT & ERICK; AX appointed president of the Mellon brings healing to the masses. Foundation—the largest fund of The uniquely targeted podcast GETTY IMAGES; AARON SMALLS. OPPOSITE PAGE, KRIS CONNOR/GETTY IMAGE CONNOR/GETTY KRIS PAGE, OPPOSITE SMALLS. AARON IMAGES; GETTY its kind in the country. In addition she cohosts is dedicated to to supporting the nonproﬁt’s all things wellness and acts humanities-driven agenda, Alexander as an ongoing love letter to has been tasked with bringing women of color. more diversity into the fold.

VIVIAN ANDERSON CHLOE and FOUNDER, EVERY BLACK GIRL HALLE BAILEY @EVERYBLKGIRL In 2018, women of color SINGERS AND ACTRESSES Following the forceful removal of a continue to wield their power @CHLOEXHALLE young Black girl from her classroom, for the greater good of our The energetic siblings have Anderson established an organization created music for years, but to shine a light on the state of our community and beyond. On the with the release of their youth. The #everyblackgirl campaign following pages, check out the much-anticipated debut raises awareness of violence and other change agents, shape-shifters album, The Kids Are Alright, societal issues impacting our children Beyoncé’s protégés are in schools, the foster-care system and and power players who inspire pushing for major change juvenile detention centers. us and ignite movements through their chosen art. ELLE/

BY TANYA A. CHRISTIAN, CHRISTINA COLEMAN, VANESSA K. DE LUCA AND MARQUITA K. HARRIS S.

90 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 TARANA BURKE ACTIVIST AND #METOO FOUNDER @TARANAJANEEN Long before #MeToo became a movement, the senior director at Girls for Gender Equity coined the phrase as a sign of support for victims of sexual assault. The civil rights activist continues her advocacy to help young women of color beat the odds and thrive. » MOYA MOYA BAILEY BAILEY LATOYA CANTRELL FEMINIST SCHOLAR, @MOYAZB MAYOR-ELECT OF NEW ORLEANS After realizing that the erasure of Black NOLA voters helped make history women was a societal problem, the when they ushered in Cantrell Northeastern University professor came up LATOYA CANTRELL as their first female mayor. Deeply with the term misogynoir in 2010. Like connected to her community, Bailey, it addresses race and gender bias. Cantrell plans to continue revamping Through her life’s work, she also explores the city post-Katrina and has vowed NEISHA culture and sexuality. TWEED BELL to address inequity among its African-American residents. FROM TOP: MATTHEW MODOONO/NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY; FORWARD TOGETHER NEW O

NEISHA TWEED BELL SAMSON JACQUES ANDERSON; JARROD BENNETT; GUS IMAGES; BEDDER/GETTY CREATIVE STRATEGIST, FACEBOOK GLYNDA C. CARR Beyond her role at the tech giant, Bell and KIMBERLY brings more diverse faces to the industry PEELER-ALLEN through various initiatives. The former COFOUNDERS, HIGHER HEIGHTS @HIGHERHEIGHTS copywriter is a master collaborator who’s The Trump efect has seen passionate about inclusivity and mentor- GLYNDA C. CARR an unprecedented number of women ship in the industry. running for political oice. To help, this dynamic duo advises female CACSMY BRUTUS KIMBERLY candidates around the country on PEELER-ALLEN BODY POSITIVITY ACTIVIST how to become leaders. @MAMACAXX Also known as Mama Caxx, the Haitian- American blogger and model promotes CAROLYN self-love to her 137,000 Instagram followers. WAITERS CARTER The fearless amputee also works to AND OTHER CONFEDERATE dismantle the stereotypical image of what STATUE REMOVERS people with disabilities look like. Last year brought a wave of renewed CACSMY interest in Confederate statues, BRUTUS which have been left over from a JAMIRA BURLEY, ERICA time in history that celebrated the FORD and AMBER GOODWIN denigration of Black lives. Leading AND THE WOMEN OF THE COMMUNITY M KEIPHER DIGITAL; ; BOBBI CAROLYN the way in denouncing these ﬁgures JUSTICE REFORM COALITION WAITERS CARTER were the folks in New Orleans. An @CJRC_INFO

overwhelming number of residents RLEANS; IAN J. YOUNG; SHADONNA JACKSON; MARGOT JORDAN; Under the umbrella of a national advocacy of this Black-majority city used their coalition, these women, who are each voices to express their outrage. dynamic in their own right, have come Through Carter’s actions and those together to confront inequities in the criminal of other protesters in numerous justice system. Advisory board members

states, some of these racist monu- C Burley and Goodwin, along with speakers KENNIE/GETTY IMAGES; J COUNTESS/GETTY IMAGES. ments have been removed. bureau member Ford, work passionately on JAMIRA training programs and events to reduce BURLEY gun violence in the Black community. RUTH CARTER COSTUME DESIGNER AMBER ERICA SUSAN BURTON GOODWIN FORD @IAMRUTHECARTER ACTIVIST AND AUTHOR In a cinematic universe known for @SUSANBURTONLA dressing crime-ﬁghting women in After her 5-year-old son died, Burton went impractical costumes to satisfy the male into a downward spiral, eventually being gaze, Carter’s Black Panther designs imprisoned on drug charges. She now shares provided a fresh perspective. Through her story in Becoming Ms. Burton: From RUTH the two-time Oscar nominee’s adorned CARTER Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for ensembles, rooted in traditional African BRYAN workmanship, viewers were given a Incarcerated Women and visits prisons SUSAN nationwide to inspire women to rise higher. BURTON cultural history lesson.

92 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 CRYSTAL CHEATHAM BRITTNEY COOPER CREATOR, OUR BIBLE APP SCHOLAR, @PROFESSORCRUNK @CRYSTALCHEATHAM When she’s not schooling students As a lesbian activist, Cheatham CRYSTAL on racism, feminism and gender CHEATHAM understands the need for other representation, the Rutgers University LGBTQ Christians to have a safe professor examines the politics of space. That’s why she created an race through her authentic style of app that features daily devotionals BRITTNEY writing and public speaking. In 2018 and promotes community to uplift COOPER she released Eloquent Rage: A Black and reairm those who have felt Feminist Discovers Her Superpower. traditionally marginalized by religion. MARI COPENY CLEAN WATER ADVOCATE YVETTE D. CLARKE @LITTLEMISSFLINT NEW YORK CONGRESSWOMAN The 10-year-old, aka Little Miss Flint, has @REPYVETTECLARKE YVETTE D. been an activist in the Flint, Michigan, water The U.S. representative is amplify- CLARKE crisis. In 2017 the youth ambassador for ing the chorus supporting Black the Women’s March on Washington women’s physical and mental teamed up with Pack Your Back and raised well-being. In October Clarke more than $10,000 to aid Flint children. introduced a resolution to add Black MARI Women’s Health Week to the COPENY National Health Observances roster. CARMEN YULÍN CRUZ MAYOR, SAN JUAN @CARMENYULINCRUZ BONNIE WATSON In late 2017 the Democratic leader COLEMAN called out Donald Trump for his adminis- NEW JERSEY CONGRESSWOMAN tration’s inaction after devastating D. CLARKE; LOUI BREZZELL/MY’ANGEL LOUI CLARKE; D. @REPBONNIE BONNIE WATSON hurricanes wreaked havoc on At a 2017 Congressional Black Caucus COLEMAN Puerto Rico. She continues to ring Foundation event, Coleman helped to the alarm about the seemingly highlight a poster series for the Do forgotten U.S. territory. You Know My Name campaign CARMEN featuring some of the Black women YULÍN CRUZ and girls who died in police custody ETTY IMAGES; JOCELYN AUGUSTINO; AMAAL SAID; MEG WACHTER. RENI EDDO-LODGE or went missing. The longtime AUTHOR, @RENIRENI lawmaker continues to address a sad The U.K.-born writer released reality: When minority groups lack Why I’m No Longer Talking to White representation in the media, their People About Race in 2017. It is a celebrated stories are often written by others or collection of essays that in March won remain untold altogether. the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by EDDA COLLINS a Writer of Colour. Eddo-Lodge’s candid COLEMAN take on gender, race and inclusion has EDDA COLLINS garnered her a global following. COLEMAN POLITICAL STRATEGIST RENI EDDO- LODGE @EDDACOLEMAN GLORY EDIM As cofounder of The All In FOUNDER, WELL-READ BLACK GIRL Together campaign, Coleman @GUIDETOGLO combats the gender gap in With Edim at the helm, the Instagram political, civic and professional leadership with tools and community of more than 69,000 lovers resources that help women to of Black literature hosted its ﬁrst engage in the process and drive festival to celebrate Black female change on the issues we care GLORY authors and has carved out a place for

FROM TOP: JESSICA GRIFFIN; RYAN LASH PHOTOGRAPHY; OFFICE OF CONGRESSWOMAN YVETTE CONGRESSWOMAN OF OFFICE PHOTOGRAPHY; LASH RYAN GRIFFIN; JESSICA TOP: FROM PHOTOGRAPHY FLINT; TOM WILLIAMS/GETTY IMAGES; SLAVEN VLASIC/G about most. EDIM fans to share their passion for books. » PHAEDRA ERICKA HART SEX EDUCATOR, @IHARTERICKA ELLIS-LAMKINS PHAEDRA COFOUNDER, PROMISE ELLIS-LAMKINS The body positivity advocate is a breast @PHAEDRAEL cancer survivor and speaker who uses In the age of mass incarceration, Ellis- social media to shine a light on those Lamkins has engineered a way to help living with the disease and life after a reduce the prison population. Through ERICKA double mastectomy. Promise, a de-incarceration start-up and HART app, local authorities can forgo detaining low-risk individuals pretrial and instead ANITA HILL CHAIR, THE COMMISSION ON SEXUAL monitor them with the company’s help. HARASSMENT AND ADVANCING EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE CYNTHIA ERIVO The law professor has become a promi- ACTOR AND SINGER–SONGWRITER nent force in the #MeToo movement. Last year she was selected to head the

@CYNTHIAERIVO CYNTHIA DIMITRIO THOMPSON; FRANKLIN IMAGES; MORIGI/GETTY PAUL TOP: FROM ERIVO BURTO ANDREW ANDERSON; BROOKE IMAGES; GUTMAN/GETTY HEIDI BARLOW; The Nigerian-British performer is perhaps commission to address sexual harassment best known for playing Celie in The Color in Hollywood. As chair, she leads the Purple on Broadway, but the rising star also charge against the mistreatment of women has a spirit of activism. She used her role ANITA across professions and industries. HILL in The Rape of Recy Taylor documentary to bring awareness to systemic injustice. JEMELE HILL JOURNALIST, @JEMELEHILL EVE L. EWING The former cohost of SC6 is no stranger WRITER, @EVEEWING to controversy. While always candid on The sociologist and poet, also matters of race and the way it plays into known as Wikipedia Brown, professional sports, The Undefeated studies racial inequality in schools. EVE L. journalist has been particularly vocal In September the author released EWING about the current administration’s poor her first book, Electric Arches, race relations. which explores Black girlhood and womanhood through poetry, JEMELE BISEAT HORNING, visual art and narrative prose. HILL EBELE IFEDIGBO and LANESE MARTIN

COFOUNDERS, THE HOOD INCUBATOR DANIEL IMAGES; MORRIS/GETTY PAUL DAVID IMAGES; S KAMBOURIS/GETTY ERICA GARNER @HOODINCUBATOR

ACTIVIST Their community-focused nonprofit SUBJECT. OF COURTESY IMAGES; MTV/TRL/GETTY IMAGES; N/GETTY POSTHUMOUS RECOGNITION seeks to ensure that Black and Brown After the murder of her father, Eric Garner, people have access to the legal cannabis LANESE MARTIN at the hands of the NYPD, the mother BISEAT HORNING and industry. Through the trio’s eforts, became a crusader against police brutality EBELE IFEDIGBO entrepreneurship is taking on a whole and other racially motivated injustices new meaning. facing the Black community. She passed away in December 2017. ERICA GARNER KAREN HUNTER CHANGE AGENT, @KARENHUNTER AMANDA GORMAN As the host of an eponymous radio COMMUNITY ORGANIZER AND show on Sirius XM Urban View, Hunter POET, @AMANDASCGORMAN rallies listeners around such causes as The Harvard freshman holds the title the removal of the Confederate ﬂag at of the ﬁrst-ever National Youth Poet the statehouse in South Carolina and Laureate. She uses her gifts to KAREN the restoration of voting rights to HUNTER promote literacy and youth activism as previously incarcerated individuals. In AMANDA the founder of One Pen One Page, an GORMAN March, The Party of Lincoln app creator organization helping kids transform is participating in a multicity voter the world through words. registration drive.

94 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 SHERRILYN A. IFILL BARBARA LEE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR– CALIFORNIA CONGRESSWOMAN COUNSEL, NAACP LEGAL SHERRILYN @REPBARBARALEE DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL A. IFILL The progressive Democrat has no FUND, @SIFILL_LDF qualms about calling out Donald Whether it’s through her media appear- Trump’s eforts to arouse hate. But ances, scholarly writings, litigation of beyond being a member of the BARBARA milestone cases or push for common- LEE resistance, the East Bay representa- sense legislation that creates equity for tive advocates for racial justice and Blacks, Ifill vigorously fights the ill efects human rights. of disenfranchisement among the African-American community. EUNICE LIRIANO VICE-PRESIDENT, BRIDGE BLAIR IMANI PHILANTHROPIC CENTER FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE @BPCFUND OFF/ DIRECTOR, EQUALITY FOR BLAIR IMANI As a partner at one of the largest HER @BLAIRIMANI African-American- and women-owned As a nonconforming bisexual Muslim fund-raising firms in the U.S., Liriano activist, Imani started a feminist organiza- EUNICE has worked with a number of tion to advocate for women who, like her, LIRIANO nonprofits to help them exceed don’t fit inside traditional identity boxes. their fiscal goals. In February the Black Lives Matter supporter was selected by NBCUniversal as an Erase the Hate Change Maker. TANYA LOMBARD ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AT&T VALEISHA Corporate wealth meets social good in the hands of this New Orleans native. BUTTERFIELD JONES VALEISHA DIVERSITY ADVOCATE, @VALEISHA BUTTERFIELD Over the years Lombard has sat on the The recently named global head of women JONES board of the National Action Network, and Black community engagement at The National Coalition on Black Civic Google was the driving force behind the Participation and several other commu- TANYA nity organizations, ensuring support. 2017 opening of Howard West—a 12-week LOMBARD RLY WHITE/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF SUBJECT; GARY GERSH GARY SUBJECT; OF COURTESY IMAGES; WHITE/GETTY RLY coding program for upper-class students ULF SHEEHAN; COURTESY OF SUBJECT; REIGNY DAY PHOTOGRAPHY. DAY REIGNY SUBJECT; OF COURTESY SHEEHAN; ULF majoring in computer science at the D.C.-based HBCU. LISA LUCAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION MARIAME KABA @LIKALUCA MODERN-DAY ABOLITIONIST The longtime lover of books is also a @PRISONCULTURE staunch proponent of diversity. Since The educator and activist is out to MARIAME KABA taking her position in 2016, she has abolish the American prison industrial been vocal about the organization complex and to transform the criminal being more inclusive and passionate justice system. Kaba established Project about implementing changes that NIA, a grassroots organization with a LISA LUCAS motivate everyone to read. goal of ending youth incarceration. SABRINA MADISON ROBIN KELLY FOUNDER, PROGRESS ILLINOIS CONGRESSWOMAN CENTER FOR BLACK WOMEN @REPROBINKELLY @HEYMISSPROGRESS Kelly is a cochair of the Congressional After a massive fund-raising efort, Caucus on Black Women and Girls and sits Madison opened The Progress Center for Black Women in Madison, Wisconsin, to on the Congressional Gun Violence Preven- ROBIN tion Taskforce. She also authored a 2015 KELLY help women of color with professional report on health disparities in America to call development, entrepreneurial pursuits

FROM TOP: DAVE KOTINSKY/GETTY IMAGES; BENNETT RAGLIN/GETTY IMAGES; KIMBE IMAGES; RAGLIN/GETTY BENNETT IMAGES; KOTINSKY/GETTY DAVE TOP: FROM BEOW SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS; DUPEUX/OPEN TURNER; AXEL ELI GETTY IMAGES; attention to underserved communities. SABRINA and small-business loans. » MADISON

A GREAT DAY IN D.C. ON JANUARY 24, 2018, 19 AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN MAYORS GATHERED AT THE HISTORIC HAY-ADAMS HOTEL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., FOR A SPECIAL RECEPTION COHOSTED BY MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER’S OFFICE » PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDRÉ CHUNG

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 97 SADARA BARROW VIVIAN E. COVINGTON MAYOR OF COLMAR MAYOR OF UNIVERSITY MANOR, MD PARK, IL On why political representation SADARA On why being the ﬁrst Black mayor matters: “I want people to see me BARROW of her village is important: “It’s not with my trials and tribulations and so much being Black—it’s being the things that I’ve gone through to be ﬁrst. That is so phenomenal. It’s an able to still stand up and be a VIVIAN E. honor. For young girls who are mayor. So people who look like me COVINGTON looking up, I want to make a and girls who look like me will know diference. I want to shine for you. I that they can do the same thing.” want to be your political mother.”

KAREN FREEMAN-WILSON KEISHA LANCE MAYOR OF GARY, IN BOTTOMS On honoring the past and future: MAYOR OF ATLANTA KEISHA LANCE “I think about my mother’s generation, On Black women running BOTTOMS who probably never saw themselves in for oce: “We don’t our shoes. And from my daughter’s recognize our own power as generation...to serve in that capacity as women. We organically lead KAREN FREEMAN- WILSON validation of my mom’s generation in our communities, we lead in and inspiration for my daughter’s our churches, we lead in our generation, it’s really an honor.” workplace, we lead in our families. Too often we look to other people to lead in a very TRACY FARRISH GANT public way. Don’t be afraid to MAYOR OF EDMONSTON, MD fail. You’re already leading.” On how she paved the way: “I ran for MURIEL [city council] in 1992.... It was a little BOWSER diferent because I was the ﬁrst Black councilwoman in my community. My MURIEL BOWSER point when I got in was to just stay there MAYOR OF TRACY WASHINGTON, DC FARRISH GANT so I could be a presence. Like others On how she deﬁnes success: during that time and before me, we made “Women are frequently a way for [women who are] running now.” judged more quickly, more harshly and more wrongly. And for those of us who TONI N. HARP have won elections, I want MAYOR OF NEW HAVEN, CT each and every one of us to On the impact of Black women running be successful, not just for SHARON WESTON American cities: “This is just the BROOME our own political careers beginning. It indicates that something but for the millions of has changed in America, that women people we represent.” are considered leaders and are trusted TONI N. HARP to take care of the overall political apparatus of that community.” SHARON WESTON BROOME MAYOR OF BATON TAKISHA D. JAMES ROUGE, LA MAYOR OF BLADENSBURG, MD On what it takes to run for On the 2016 presidential election: “The oce: “You don’t have to have Trump efect was eye-opening. It showed political experience to serve TAKISHA D. me I had to get out of my head. Seeing JAMES people; you have to have a Trump for who he is helped me realize if he heart to serve people. And you can do it, so can I. I kept hearing in my have to have the passion.” spirit, You have to step up.”

98 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 VI LYLES ACQUANETTA WARREN MAYOR OF CHARLOTTE, NC MAYOR OF FONTANA, CA The city’s former budget director On breaking barriers: “It’s an honor. developed a deep love for the area’s I always feel like I need to represent VI art, culture and people. Now, as its first LYLES and I always try to help and show an African-American female mayor, she example. I am the first female mayor plans to grow Charlotte through and African-American mayor, strategic partnerships. ACQUANETTA so I hold two titles that I’m very WARREN proud of.” CATHERINE E. PUGH MAYOR OF BALTIMORE LOVELY A. WARREN On how she defines “woke”: MAYOR OF ROCHESTER, NY “Being woke is to be focused, to On the meaning of “woke”: “It means be attentive, to recognize your take nothing for granted, that you are purpose. What matters is that a part of the change you want to see. we create a society that is more CATHERINE E. And staying woke means to wake up PUGH equal and more just.” and realize that no one else is going to do this for you—you have to get out there and do the work. You have to DEANNA R. REED LOVELY A. WARREN want to climb that stairway. There’s MAYOR OF no sitting on the sidelines for this.” HARRISONBURG, VA On what the position means to her: “There has not been a female mayor DEIRDRE WATERMAN in Harrisonburg in more than 20 MAYOR OF PONTIAC, MI years. I’m the first Black woman. I’m On why she ran for oce: “I came very proud that I stepped up to do because I thought I could efect it, but I truly did it for our little Black DEANNA R. change in our community.... I just girls so they could see that they REED wanted to make sure I had left my could do it one day.” mark on our community and to be able to give back in a way that I DEIRDRE thought I could contribute.” PETRELLA ROBINSON WATERMAN MAYOR OF NORTH BRENTWOOD, MD On the benefit of having a strong KAREN WEAVER network of Black women mayors: MAYOR OF FLINT, MI “We’ve always been strong, and we’re On voting more Black women into getting stronger. We can make a political oce: “We need to be there. powerful change like our ancestors It’s time to stop letting other people make decisions for us and about us did. The more women who come out PETRELLA and do what they’re doing, the more ROBINSON and our communities. We must take we can keep our families together.” charge to make sure we’re getting the things we need and what we deserve: KAREN WEAVER the opportunity.” YVONNE M. SPICER MAYOR OF FRAMINGHAM, MA VICTORIA WOODARDS On being the first mayor of the MAYOR OF TACOMA newly formed city: “I stand on the On women saving America: shoulders of all the women who have “Women play a substantial role in come before me—my aunties, my moving this country forward. If we’re grandparents—and celebrate a legacy going to make a diference, we have YVONNE M. of greatness. I have a responsibility to SPICER to put people in oice who aren’t use everything I have learned in my afraid to roll up their sleeves and get career and my personal life to move to work. That’s what we as women VICTORIA

THE MAYORS: MAKEUP, ZIANNA COATES/KENBARBOZA.COM, MONICA COOK COATES/KENBARBOZA.COM, ZIANNA MAKEUP, MAYORS: THE GREENE. KENYETTA AND EDWARDS LA’KEA JOHNSON/KENBARBOZA.COM, my city forward.” WOODARDS have always done.” » JANET MOCK AUTHOR AND PRODUCER @JANETMOCK For years the prominent activist has been a staunch crusader for the LGBTQ community. In June 2017 the best-selling writer released her second book, Surpassing Certainty, as a sincere guide to achieving self-acceptance. NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES

100 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 SYDNEY MAGRUDER JUDY REESE MORSE BALLERINA AND MENTAL DEPUTY MAYOR AND CHIEF HEALTH ADVOCATE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, @THEBLACKSWANDIARIES CITY WIDE INITIATIVES, The importance of representation is SYDNEY NEW ORLEANS MAGRUDER not lost on this third-generation The public servant wants to ballerina. Magruder uses her talent build a better New Orleans with and social media presence to end a specific focus on “equity, stigmas about queer women, Black JUDY REESE justice and fairness.” In her role, women and dancers and to promote MORSE Morse oversees policy develop- self-love and emotional stability. ment and strategic planning for the city’s social innovation, economic development ZERLINA MAXWELL and beyond. and DANIELLE MOODIE-MILLS THE WOMEN OF ZERLINA HADIYAH MUJHID SIRIUSXM PROGRESS MAXWELL FOUNDER AND CEO, HBCU.VC @SXMPROGRESS @HADIYAHDOTME Helping listeners to navigate Trump’s After more than a decade of America enlightened is the mission for experience as a software engineer, DANIELLE these two progressive pundits. As MOODIE-MILLS the cofounder of the entrepre- director of programming, Maxwell has neurial empowerment organiza- organized a dynamic lineup of new tion Black Founders launched voices and seasoned pros to deliver a HBCU.vc to teach scholars at bold take on what’s needed for the HBCUs the basics of start-up resistance. As host of #WokeAF, investing. The program also offers Moodie-Mills tells people what they valuable insight on breaking into need to know about the weekly the tech industry. news headlines. HADIYAH MUJHID ; MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY MIKE ; IMAGES; DEMETRIA OBILOR ELFMAN; ERNEST WASHINGTON. RENÉE A. MIDDLETON JOURNALIST DEAN, OHIO UNIVERSITY DEMETRIA OBILOR @DEMETRIAOBILOR @RAM_MIDDLETON A traic reporter in Dallas, Obilor Her research on racial identity made headlines late last year for and multicultural competency calling out a racist body shamer. is the epitome of teacher prepa- In an environment where Black ration. Middleton’s advocacy professionals are often expected has served as a guide for to grin and bear it, Obilor’s public public-school teachers response was a lesson in how to and school leaders. RENÉE A. handle hate-ﬁlled criticism. MIDDLETON

TIFFANY MIKELL MAYA PENN COFOUNDER, APPOLITION TIFFANY FOUNDER, MAYA’S IDEAS MIKELL @MIKELLSOLUTION @MAYASIDEASSHOP The Chicago techie cofounded The 18-year-old entrepreneur, the Web-based app Appolition, philanthropist and artist has which allows users to link their become a role model for her credit card to the app and donate peers. A budding designer, Penn spare change to bail out Black is also the CEO of her own eco- detainees. Within the first month friendly fashion company, Maya’s of its launch, the app paid for the Ideas, which donates proceeds from MAYA

FROM TOP: RACHEL NEVILLE PHOTOGRAPHY; LESLIE SPILLMAN; CINDY ORD/GETTY IMAGES ORD/GETTY CINDY SPILLMAN; LESLIE NEVILLE PHOTOGRAPHY; RACHEL TOP: FROM METTE LUNDSBY JENSEN; JAMIE RUBEIS; COURTESY OF OHIO UNIVERSITY; NOAH G bail of 14 of them. PENN sales to global charities. » AMBER J. PHILLIPS and NOËLLE SANTOS JAZMINE WALKER FOUNDER, THE LIT. BAR COHOSTS, THE BLACK JOY @BOSSYNBOOKISH JAZMINE MIXTAPE PODCAST WALKER and After Barnes & Noble closed its Bronx, @BLACKJOYMIXTAPE AMBER J. New York, location in 2017, 1.4 million PHILLIPS When it comes to Black women, no people were left without a convenient subject is of-limits to these unabashed spot to buy general-interest books. commentators, who boldly and That’s when Santos stepped in and comedically address everything NOËLLE raised more than $150,000 via SANTOS from reproductive rights to the crowdfunding to open The Lit. Bar. The bonds of sisterhood. independent bookstore is scheduled to receive its ﬁrst customers this spring. RUBY PINTO ACTIVIST, @RUBYREDRADIO Along with Chicago’s For the CHERISSE SCOTT People Artists Collective, the REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS young community activist devel- RUBY ADVOCATE, @SISTERREACH oped Do Not Resist? 100 Years of PINTO A woman’s right to choose is an Chicago Police Violence, a city- entitlement Scott does not take wide exhibit that allows people to for granted. The founder and CEO learn about Chicago’s history of CHERISSE of SisterReach, an organization police brutality. SCOTT that teaches sex education to young women of color, is committed to sharing the realities of STACEY PLASKETT reproductive health care with DEMAR ROMEO; SIERRA CICCONE; CYNTHIA BRISKER; MARISSA TOP: FROM C FLANIGAN/GETTY IMAGES; KARWAI TANG/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF P OF COURTESY IMAGES; TANG/GETTY KARWAI IMAGES; C FLANIGAN/GETTY U.S.V.I. CONGRESSWOMAN disenfranchised communities. @STACEYPLASKETT Intent on keeping the plight of the citizens of the U.S. Virgin Islands front and center following hurri- STACEY AMANDA SEALES PLASKETT canes Irma and Maria, Plaskett took ACTRESS AND COMEDIAN the emotional stories of her constit- @AMANDASEALES uents to Congress, mainstream The Truth campaign spokesperson media and anybody willing and able AMANDA is arguably one of the most outspo- to lend a helping hand. SEALES ken Black women on the Internet. Never mind her recurring role on HBO’s Insecure: Seales’s controver- RIHANNA sial opinions and ability to deliver ENTERTAINER, @RIHANNA receipts in a timely fashion are what Last year the pop star and business- keep fans returning for more. woman shook up the cosmetics industry with the release of her Fenty Beauty line. Well received for the quality of the RIHANNA KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA products, it was also celebrated for its TAYLOR range of shades for women of color. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR CUS BOWSER; HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY; HOUSE BOWSER; CUS KEEANGA- PRINCETON UNIVERSITY RINCETON UNIVERSITY; ALEX ASHE. ALEX UNIVERSITY; RINCETON YAMAHTTA @KEEANGAYAMAHTTA TAYLOR DOREEN ST. FÉLIX Through her writing and research, WRITER, @DSTFELIX injustices predicated on race, She is known for her wit and ability to tie structural inequality in incarceration, contemporary topics to deeper discus- discriminatory housing policies, sions about race and womanhood. pervasive police violence and chronic The accomplished journalist has penned unemployment are explored. In articles about everything from the 2017 the notable author edited How concept albums of Janelle Monáe to the We Get Free: Black Feminism and radical legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks. DOREEN the Combahee River Collective. ST. FÉLIX

102 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 ROBIN THEDE MIMI VALDÉS HOST, THE RUNDOWN WITH MULTIMEDIA EXECUTIVE ROB IN THEDE, @ROBINTHEDE @MIMIVALDES

The comedian and writer has a brilliant ROBIN Through films like Roxane Roxane and weekly news satire show on BET. There THEDE Hidden Figures and other media projects, the lone Black woman in the lineup of the former magazine editor showcases the late-night hosts tackles topics that impact diverse experiences of women of color. the African-American community with MIMI wry wit and cutting-edge humor the VALDÉS former head writer of The Nightly Show LENA WAITHE with Larry Wilmore is known for. ACTRESS AND WRITER @LENAWAITHE When the Chi-Town native saw the stories LATHAM THOMAS of our community being lost in politically WELLNESS GURU, @GLOWMAVEN ; charged headlines, she created a show to Known to many as the GlowMaven, explore our struggles. It’s what the Emmy Thomas published the inspirational Award winner and 2018 ESSENCE Black wellness guide Own Your Glow in 2017. LENA Women in Hollywood honoree has built WAITHE The Mama Glow founder is also a much her career on—using her talent to bring sought-after doula who works hard to issues afecting Black Americans to the shine a light on the ancient traditions that forefront of mainstream consciousness. inform wellness practices. LATHAM THOMAS CRISSLE WEST VILISSA THOMPSON COHOST, THE READ PODCAST ADVOCATE, @VILISSATHOMPSON @CRISSLES In 2016 Thompson shared the Black Since The Read podcast launched in Disabled Woman Syllabus, conceived 2013, West, alongside cohost Kid Fury, for individuals seeking to understand has entertained a growing audience this unique community. As the creator while educating them on the ins and outs of pop culture, politics and dating of the #DisabilityTooWhite social media CRISSLE movement, Thompson continues to WEST through an unapologetically Black lens. carry the torch for a demographic often R/GETTY IMAGES; RICH FURY/GETTY IMAGES; AUBRIE PICK. AUBRIE IMAGES; FURY/GETTY RICH R/GETTY IMAGES; left out of public discourse. VILISSA THOMPSON EBONI K. WILLIAMS S; MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES; JESSICA MORRISEY PHOTOGRAPHY JESSICA IMAGES; LOCCISANO/GETTY MICHAEL S; NINA TURNER TV COHOST, FOX NEWS PRESIDENT, OUR REVOLUTION @EBONIKWILLIAMS @NINATURNER On a conservative news network, When it comes to workers’ rights, this Williams spotlights African-Americans. Ohio politician has a few demands. The assertive analyst, attorney and Taking to the streets, social media and author made headlines after oppos- television, Turner speaks out against ing Trump’s Charlottesville response and for “schooling” one of his the injustices big corporations inflict on EBONI K. their employees and has pledged to WILLIAMS loyal supporters on the contributions fight for economic equity and sustain- of Congressman John Lewis. able prosperity for all Americans. NINA TURNER JAMIA WILSON GABRIELLE UNION FEMINIST ACTIVIST, @JAMIAW ACTRESS AND AUTHOR In 2017 Wilson took on the role of executive @ITSGABRIELLEU director and publisher at the Feminist Press Last year the actress released a best- at CUNY. Outside of her position at the selling book, We’re Going to Need More literary publisher, the social justice fighter Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, JAMIA contributed to the release of Together We and True. In it she continued her longtime WILSON Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard crusade of speaking out against sexual Around the World, which highlighted stories GABRIELLE

FROM TOP: LEON BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; MICHAEL STEWART/GETTY IMAGE STEWART/GETTY MICHAEL IMAGES; BENNETT/GETTY LEON TOP: FROM MILLE ETHAN IMAGES; BENNETT/GETTY LEON SUBJECT; OF COURTESY NEREE; PATRICK assault and its lingering efects. UNION of the 2017 Women’s March. º

EXITTHE

SCANDAL’S FINALE MAY BE HERE, BUT KERRY WASHINGTON IS JUST GETTING STARTED. AS SHE REVS UP HER PRODUCTION COMPANY, ALONG WITH HER COMMITMENT AS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF TIME’S UP, THIS WOKE WOMAN SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN

BY REBECCA CARROLL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KWAKU ALSTON | STYLING BY JOSEPH CASSELL

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 105 Opening page: Kerry Washington wears a Faith Connexion jacket, Ben Taverniti Unravel Project dress, Jennifer Fisher earrings, Eriness knuckles, Sara Weinstock midi ring (on right hand), Graziela Gems swirl ring, Movado watch (on left hand) and Christian Louboutin boots.

This page: On Kerry: Johanna Ortiz dress and Neil Lane earrings and ring.

here’s something magnificent about Kerry Washington. Yes, she is Tstunningly beautiful, thoughtful and wise, talented and independent, but she’s also fiercely private. For an actress best known for playing one of the most visible and beloved characters on network television for the past six years, and in an era when everyone from Oprah to the 45th President of the United States regularly—if at times uncomfortably—lays their souls bare on Twitter, that’s no small feat. A Bronx, New York, native rooted in the values of education, political engagement and activism, Washington, 41, has built up momentum with her compelling yet grounded performances in films such as Django Unchained and Confirmation, which she also executive-produced, and, of course, ABC’s Scandal. Duringherseven-seasonrunasOliviaPope,Washingtonhasgottenmarried(to Nnamdi Asomugha) and welcomed two children, Isabelle and Caleb. She has also launched a production company, Simpson Street, which has several projects in development, including a film adaptation of the novel The Mothers by Brit Bennett. Washington is free now to paint on a whole new blank canvas, just as the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements crack open the industry around her. It’s as if Kerry Washington timed it all perfectly.

ESSENCE: In the 2000 independent ﬁlm Our Song, you play a very particular kind of young Black girl—a pre–Black Girl Magic Black girl—and I wonder what your memories are of that role but also, more speciﬁcally, that girl. KERRY WASHINGTON: Oh, that’s so interesting. What makes you contextualize that character as pre–Black Girl Magic? Because I don’t think there’s such a thing aspre–BlackGirl Magic. Imean,there’s such athingas prethehashtag,but Ithink webothagree:Black GirlMagicisfromthebeginningoftime.Doyoumean, before she had a community to identify with in that way?

ESSENCE: Yes, absolutely. I mean, certainly, if I were living in, yes, this hashtag moment, or had had a Storm Reid as Meg in A Wrinkle in Time, it would have made for a diferent young Black girl experience. WASHINGTON: I feel like I lived in a world in which my mother created a micro- cosm of all the things you’re talking about. When my mother read A Wrinkle in Time to me when I was a little girl, it was just when I had chicken pox and I had to drop out of gymnastics camp. And I guess because it was coming from my mother, I did imagine myself as Meg, because I lived in a house where my mother subscribed to ESSENCE. My mother would drive to another state to buy the Cabbage Patch Kids that were Black and Brown so that they looked like me and my Puerto Rican cousins. That was the world I grew up in. There was no Black woman directing a $100 million ﬁlm of A Wrinkle in Time, but there was a Black mother instilling the idea that I could be the protagonist of whatever story my imagination allowed for in my little apartment in the Bronx.

ESSENCE: You’ve always been very particular about the work you choose. But it feels as if there’s a kind of sea change happening that is resulting in not just thoughtful scripts and roles but also very politically and culturally savvy kinds of stories. The sheer inﬂux of books by women of color that are being adapted— you and Reese Witherspoon are doing Celeste Ng’s book Little Fires Everywhere. Do you think you’d have thought to do the same a decade ago? WASHINGTON: Well, it was Reese’s idea to do Celeste’s book. Reese had it ﬁrst and sent it to me and said,…“You know, we’re friends and we had been kind of »

106 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018

On Kerry: Balmain dress, Jennifer Fisher hoops and “Overlap Pinky” ring, Neil Lane ring (on right hand) and Giuseppe Zanotti boots. Other ring, subject’s own.

Hair, Takisha Sturdivant at Exclusive Artists using Neutrogena. Hairstylist assistant, Diana Lucia. Makeup, Carola Gonzalez at Forward Artists using Neutrogena. Manicure, Emi Kudo at Opus Beauty using Chanel Le Vernis. Set Design, Walter Barnett at Opus Beauty.

For clothing details, see Where to Buy. looking for something to do together,” and was like, “I found it.” And I was so ESSENCE: Do your kids see you on TV or curious. Like, what was the thing Reese read and thought was right for me? thebigscreen,ordoesthatnotcome Then I read it and was blown away. I was actually talking to Gabrielle Union, into play? and Gab was like, “Are you playing so-and-so in the book?” And I said, “Yeah.” WASHINGTON: Yeah, they do. They do, And she said, “I didn’t know she was Black.” And I was like, “She is now!” because I’m not like Rapunzel: My kids don’t live in a tower with no TV. They drive ESSENCE: I loveit.Ifeel likethereasonthatthecultureofHollywood by billboards on Sunset [Boulevard in L.A.] seems smarter lately is because women—not just those supporting with my face on them. That happened. #MeToo and Time’s Up—are saying, “We’re not here to complain. We’re here to create.” ESSENCE: Which is kind of bananas, WASHINGTON: I agree wholeheartedly. And a big part of that is actually right, for a little kid? Or maybe it isn’t. I resisting this idea of [us] being siphoned of and only allowing one [of us] in don’t know. the room. I have noticed in the last three years or so, we’re just reaching out WASHINGTON: I’m not going to attempt to each other more. That’s been one of the most powerful parts, for me, of to know what it is for them, to be honest, beinginvolvedwiththeTime’sUpmovement.Ithaschangedthewayswe because they’re going to have their own operate. It changes what awards shows and parties feel like. We are becom- journeys processing it and what it means ing stronger as communities, as Black women, as larger circles of women of andwhatthe experiencewasfor them.I color, larger circles of women in Hollywood, larger circles of just people in trytoupholdthevaluesofhardwork Hollywood who give a s--t.

ESSENCE: I feel like it’s a sweet little “ef you” to what’s happening in the White House. Not just in Hollywood, but there are pockets of us whoaredoingeverythingwecantoshowupandshowoutincreative ways to preserve what we hold dear about America. I just want us to WASHINGTON: I just want us to show up and show out for the next election the way we show up and show out for Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder and Black Panther. I don’t even know if we’ve under- show up and stood our purchasing power. And I think we need to start to exercise our democratic power with the same kind of vibrancy and commitment. I show out for feel like my role as a storyteller is to keep tapping into the humanity that connects us so that we actually care about each other, that we give a damn about each other, so that we pay attention when liberties are the next election being stripped away from us, that we understand that we matter. the way we ESSENCE: Let’s talk about Scandal for a minute. How are you processing the end of such a phenomenal era? WASHINGTON: I’m probably just at the beginning of it, although it’s show up and pretty great. Going into the final year knowing that it was our final year really allowed us to process at every step along the way. We’ve been show out for talking about “This is the last,” whatever it is, for a year now—“This is our last Halloween together.” We’ve been living in the awareness, and what that has allowed us [to do] is to really approach the ending with a sense Scandal and of reverence and gratitude for what we’ve been able to share with one another and with our community as gladiators and fans. Black Panther.” ESSENCE:InarecentinterviewyousaidthatthecharacterOlivia Pope had given you the courage to have kids. What does that mean? WASHINGTON: That’s what happens when you do an interview and it gets and striving for excellence and generos- reduced to clickbait. What I said was that I feel like whenever I play a char- ity in the workplace, and being respon- acter, I feel she comes into my life to teach me something. I’ve never had sible and accountable in the workplace, the privilege of playing a character for this long, but of the many things andbeingkindintheworkplace.Idon’t Olivia Pope has given me is this sense that anything’s possible, that there’s do what I do because I want or like to be always a way through, All cylinders, people. Let’s go. I think it’s one of the famous. I do what I do because I really reasons why I started a production company. It’s one of the reasons why love storytelling. º I’ve done a lot of things that have required courage, but definitely I think being a parent is an adventure, and it’s one that I embarked on in this win- Rebecca Carroll (@rebel19) is a writer and an dow of time in my life. editor of special projects at WNYC.

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 109 ORGANIZERS IN ALABAMA, A CONTROVERSIAL o understand why voting has long been a matter of life and death SENATE for Black folks in Alabama, consider the trajectory of Esther Calhoun. “Mama Esther” was raised on a 300-acre plantation in ELECTION the Black Belt, a swath of nearly 20 counties originally named for FORGED A its dark, fertile soil in fields once tilled by slaves. Centuries later the Tregion remains largely Black and poor. “As a child I remember pulling a sack HISTORIC across the cotton fields,” says Calhoun, 55, whose parents and grandparents were sharecroppers. “We farmed using a mule.” OUTCOME TodayCalhounispresidentoftheBlackBeltCitizensFightingforHealthand BY DONNA M. OWENS Justice, a grassroots community organization confronting environmental and economic injustice. Her neighbors have been seeking to stop coal ash from being dumped in a landfill in Uniontown, a small rural community in the west-central part of the state. Once fearful about speaking out, the mother of three believes nothing can be taken for granted, whether it’s environmental equality or voting rights, another facet of the organization’s work. “I dare not give up,” she says. “Why do we have to be so satisfied?” Calhoun is among the African-American women across Alabama whose collective eforts—from knocking on doors and making phone calls to raising millions of dollars—helped seal a major victory for

110 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 THE MOBILIZERS During the special election, Black women showed up at ballot boxes across the state in droves. We U.S. Senator Doug Jones in a special election that garnered national atten- women voted at the highest rate tion. The Democrat won the seat vacated of all race and gender groups. byJefSessions,theTrumpadministra- Some 48.2 percent of Black women tion’s attorney general; it was an upset voted, compared with 41.3 percent in a “red” state where Republicans hadn’t of White men, 39.6 percent of Black lost a seat in 25 years. “Black women in Alabama were the ‘secret sauce’ for men and 36.9 percent of White Doug Jones winning the Senate race, women. Check out just a few of by voting 98 percent for him over the women who helped get voters [Republican candidate] Roy Moore,” to the polls. says Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, which has chapters in Alabama. “[We] led the way by organizing efective grassroots campaigns that turned out Black voters in rural and urban communities statewide, and raising funds to support civil rights and social justice organizations.” According to The Chisholm Effect: Black Women in American Politics 2018, a report released in February by Felecia L. Jazlyn Lucky Fuller Higher Heights Leadership Fund and the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, data from TargetSmart showed Black women came out to vote at the highest rate of all race and gender groups in the special election. Some 48.2 percent of Black women voted, compared with 41.3 percent of White men, 39.6 percent of Black men and 36.9 percent Sheryl Threadgill- DeJuana L. Ebony E of White women. Matthews Thompson Washington AN EMPOWERED COMMUNITY LaTosha Brown is a longtime political strategist and organizer whose eforts proved pivotal in the Alabama results. In 2016 she cofounded the Black Voters Matter Fund with fellow activist Clif Albright. The nonproﬁt supports voter mobilization, primarily in Black and marginalized communities. It funds, strengthens and augments already existing infrastructure in Black communities that may have been underinvested in or underfunded. “The goal is to build power in our communities,” says Esther Sheila Terri Brown, 47, born in New Jersey andraised in Mobile. The Calhoun Tyson Sewell onetime statewide candidate has two decades of political experience. Traveling by car, Brown and Albright traversed the state’s back roads and byways, raising money to help grow support for participation in the election and future ones. Launching the Alabama Grassroots Mobilization Project, the duo brought in nearly $200,000 in just eight days to assist typically ignored counties. The two awarded micro-grants to community-based groups—the NAACP in Macon County, for instance—to get out the vote. About 32 grassroots organi- Faya Rose Touré (center) and her daughters, Ainka Jackson zations, most led by African-American women, beneﬁted (left) and Malika Sanders Fortier

MOBILIZERS, COURTESY OF SUBJECT (7). CALHOUN, EARTHJUSTICE. TOURÉ, JACKSON AND FORTIER, BAILEY KC CABRAL_AUGUST083/GETTY. PIN, VOTE ARRVCS. from grants of $1,000 to $10,000, which provided » stipends for workers, transportation assistance, printed materials and more. “Black women in the South depend on our relationships for our very existence and survival and are stronger for it,” says Ainka Jackson, 39, a lawyer and the executive director of The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation; her group received a grant. “Our relationships aren’t political. They’re based in love and trust, which makes it harder to infiltrate and corrupt.” Jackson is an alumna of Spelman College and Vanderbilt LawSchool.Herparents,HankSanders and Faya Rose Touré, were active in the Civil Rights Movement. Sanders is the first Black state senator from the Alabama Black Belt since Recon- Sanders clan, who hopes to win her father’s seat in the Alabama legislature struction. Touré is reported to be the after he retires, is part of a wave of Black women seeking elected oice here. state’s first African-American female “So many people sacrificed to help make America a democracy,” says the judge. “A lot of poor people stopped vot- wife and mother of six. “That promise has not yet been fulfilled.” ing,” says Touré, 73. “The White oicials throwoutacarrot.AndevenBlackoicials INTERGENERATIONAL FOOT SOLDIERS have not always served their interests.” In Across Alabama there are countless unsung Black sheroes leading grass- response she founded the Vote or Die roots groups whose missions often meld community uplift and voting. campaign in Alabama and leads direct Sheryl Threadgill-Matthews, a social worker, cofounded BAMA Kids, Inc., action work for the Saving OurSelves back in 1993, which serves toddlers to teens by ofering tutoring, mentor- movement. Touré has staged voting rallies ing, exposure to the arts and life skills, including voter education and and stood on corners as a “human bill- advocacy. As one of eight students who integrated the all-White school board,” she says. “We’ll ask nightclub system in Wilcox County in 1967, the lifelong voting advocate is training the next owners to make an announcement. Any- generation. In the recent election children knocked on doors, made calls and thing to get people to vote.” handed out nonpartisan flyers. “I tell kids how politics impacts so much of their It wasn’t so long ago that African- everyday lives, from their driver’s license to the old textbooks they have at school,” Americans couldn’t cast their ballots in the says Threadgill-Matthews, 65, a great-grandmother whose minister father knew deep South amid the era of segregation and worked with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “The kids understand and Jim Crow laws. The heart of Dixie voting. We’re gathering young people and pouring hope and ambition into them.” helped shape the Civil Rights Movement Felecia L. Lucky is president of the Black Belt Community Foundation in Selma, which with seminal events the nation and world addresses health care, education and economic and community development. “My watched. “After Emancipation, the minute mother is a teacher, and my father was part of the Civil Rights Movement as a member they got their freedom, Black people of SNCC [Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee],” says the Livingston native. immediately set about building institu- “On Saturday mornings we had to get up to do voter registration.” Hailing from a family FLIP SCHULKE/CORBIS/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES GETTY VIA SCHULKE/CORBIS/CORBIS FLIP tions and trying to vote,” says Melanye of Tuskegee University graduates, the M.B.A. holder traveled the globe in a former job Price, Ph.D., an associate professor of but knew there were serious issues to tackle in her own backyard. “So many of these Africana studies and political science at systems—poverty and substandard education and housing—have been created to Rutgers University. “During Reconstruc- oppress us. We must fix it, and it takes all of us to move forward. If we [allow] these sys- tion Black women used to accompany tems [to remain], the work of our ancestors [would be] in vain.” their men to the polls with rifles to protect DeJuana L. Thompson created Woke Vote, a program designed to educate, mobilize them. And Black women participated in and turn out the African-American community during the special election. Targeting mil- sufrage eforts.” lennials and faith-based voters, the program had an independent outreach strategy that The Voting Rights Act, signed into law raised more than $4 million from donors and made 100,000 contacts on HBCU in 1965, was a triumph, though it wasn’t campuses, churches and elsewhere. “Many of us feel it’s time to build our own structures the end of the struggle for equality. and institutional pathways,” says Thompson, 35, who has held posts with the “There’s unfinished business of the Civil DemocraticNationalCommittee(DNC)andbeenastaferonthecampaignsofSenator Rights Movement,” says Malika Sanders Cory Booker and former President Barack Obama. Still, “movements cannot be centered Fortier.Thelawyerandactivistfromthe aroundacandidateoracampaign,”saysthepartnerintheWashington,D.C.,consulting

112 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 Clockwise from top left: Voters making their voices heard, thanks to the Voting part of voter mobilization eforts, too. Sheila Rights Act. On the day Tyson is a Birmingham city councillor and of the special election, activist Letetia Daniels convener of the Alabama Coalition on Black Jackson drove a van Civic Participation. “I’ve been registering voters around town with a sinceIwas 6years old,” shesays.Congress- Vote as if Your Life Depends on It poster woman Terri Sewell, the first Black woman on display. After wait- ever to serve in the Alabama Congressional ing in long lines, voters delegation, is a graduate of Princeton finally arrive at the Beulah Church polling University and Harvard Law. (She was class- station to cast their mates with Michelle Obama during under- ballots. Buttons for grad and Barack Obama in law school before Republican candidate Roy Moore, who was the couple met.) Sewell is known for her defeated by Democrat “organic” get-out-the-vote eforts—from Doug Jones. National Urban League events to fish fries to fraternity–sorority gatherings. “I was glued to the hip with Doug Jones,” she says about being on the campaign trail, noting, however, that the election went beyond his candidacy.

Black women are the and of America. For years we have fed, nursed, prayed, sung, organized,

built…. I think of us as quilters. —ACTIVIST LATOSHA BROWN

firm Think Rubix, which crafted the Woke Vote electoral “What’s at stake is our very survival.” strategy. “We’re creating something that will live beyond.... So what’s next? An open letter focusing on When you invest in Black women and people of color strategi- accountabilitywentoutto Jonesandco- cally and intentionally, anything is possible.” Waikinya Clanton, signeessuchasactivistLetetiaDanielsJackson, director of African-American and Women’s Outreach for the urging the new senator to hire Black aides and DNC,notes,“Withoutadoubt,Blackwomenstandfirmlyatthe address issues like mass incarceration and coreofourDemocraticParty.Afterlastyear’selections,thefact health care; he’s reportedly set up meetings in that we are a force to be reckoned with at the ballot box shouldn’t be response. Meanwhile, three Black women–led a secret to anyone.” Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, networks (the Southern Rural Black Women’s a national super PAC, is a testament to this. The New York City resident helped Initiative,BlackWomen’sRoundtableandBlack mobilize voting victories in both Virginia and Alabama: “We had six oices across Voters Matter Fund Capacity Institute) have Alabama. We had 1,300 canvassers [and did] mailings and phone calls. We knocked united to continue the fight. “The real story on 500,000 doors.” Other national Black-led groups, among them Color of Change behindtheAlabamawinisthatBlackwomenin and The Collective Pac, raised funds and promoted turnout for the election via the rural South have never stopped organizing radio spots and digital campaigns directed at Black voters. and working in the region in spite of challenging For Jazlyn Fuller, a native Californian who earned a Tuskegee degree, a new circumstances,” says LaTosha Brown. day may be rising in Alabama politics. “I believe my generation has the power, “Black women are the conscience and soul tools and resources we need,” says Fuller, 26, who had a hand in rallying voters. of America,” Brown continues. “For years we “Patriarchyhasbeeninpowerforcenturies.Blackwomenpossessthenurturing, have fed, nursed, prayed, sung, organized, steadfastness and fierceness to lead.” built.… I think of us as quilters. We take the frag- Ebony Washington, 39, another Tuskegee graduate, served as co-coordinator ments of beautiful pieces of what is in a society of the Alabama chapter for the Women’s March. She also founded Indivisible and stitch it all together with whatever thread Alabama, which uses grassroots activism and direct action to facilitate change. we have. It’s organizing. We are organizers.” º “It’s easy to use Alabama as the country’s whipping child, but the same prob- lems we must solve here to have a more perfect union exist everywhere,” she Donna M. Owens is a Baltimore multiplatform

FROM TOP: COURTESY OF LETETIA DANIELS JACKSON; JIM JACKSON; LETETIA DANIELS OF COURTESY TOP: FROM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES. says. “Alabama is America.” The state’s African-American elected oicials were journalist specializing in politics and health.

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 113 ADVERTISEMENT Wherever you go,

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iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Kindle and Kindle Fire are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its a liates. NOOK is a registered trademark of barnesandnoble.com llc or its a liates. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc. Windows 8 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. ESSENCE is a trademark of ESSENCE Communications Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. UNLEASH YOU R GREATNESS THIS MAY BE THE BEST TIME IN HISTORY TO BE A BLACK WOMAN. IN CELEBRATION OF OUR ANNIVERSARY MONTH, WE’VE SINGLED OUT 48 ACTIONS THAT CAN LEAD US TO HEALTH AND HAPPINESS BY CHARREAH K. JACKSON AND TRACY E. HOPKINS

1 4 SAY CHEESE. LOL. - A nice smile makes a great first impression and an even better selfie. It also 5 A good giggle can help helps keep you alive. Taking care of your teeth and gums is vital to health. Research improve your immune shows that heart disease, clogged arteries and stroke can be linked to the inflamma- system, relieve pain, alleviate stress tion and infections that oral bacteria can cause. To improve your oral health, and boost your mood. So laugh brush your teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, floss daily, out loud while watching Girls Trip replace your toothbrush every three to four months or sooner if bristles are on DVD for the umpteenth time or frayed (add a quarterly reminder on your calendar) and schedule dental a comedy show starring a Black

PLUME CREATIVE/GETTY IMAGES CREATIVE/GETTY PLUME checkups and cleanings twice a year. woman (hey, Amanda Seales).

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 115 LOVE & LIFE : SELF-CARE PLEDGE

SET IT DOWN. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. The Good Book says to “write the Staying happy means staying healthy. Heart disease vision and make it plain.” To wake up remains the number one killer of women in the U.S. to a life that brings you joy is to get To lessen your risk, the American Heart Association clear on what you desire and where recommends you monitor these ﬁve key areas: you are headed. Commit to writing 7 6100 goals—big and small—that you want to achieve, Total cholesterol and develop your life plan, starting with your vision HDL (the good cholesterol) for the next year and the decade to come. Be sure Blood pressure to keep track in a planner or journal. We are Blood sugar crushing on Karlyn Percil’s Success Planner. Body mass index (BMI)

PRESERVE YOUR HISTORY. 8 LEARN THE SIGNS. 9 Your life story is being written every day. Schedule Heart attack symptoms in women can present diferently time to recap your journey with photos, video and journal- than in men. While chest pain and discomfort are the most ing, and end each month with a report card of highs, lows common warnings for both sexes, women are more likely and lessons learned. 10. Then look to your relatives this than men to experience shortness of breath, nausea, summer to capture your lineage and record an oral vomiting and back or jaw pain. If you have any of these history for generations to come. Knowing your family’s signs, call 9-1-1 and get to the nearest hospital right away. health past can also preserve your future.

Walrond’s joy shines TURN YOUR PAIN INTO PURPOSE. through in her Sometimes it’s the stories we hold closest that have the most power. The series of Reverend Dr. LaKeesha Walrond ﬂipped her experience of childhood sexual children’s books. abuse into a children’s book series, Let’s Talk About It. The ﬁrst book, My Body Is Special, helps parents and children discuss safety and boundaries. “When you share your story, the strength and courage that it took for you to survive and thrive becomes a possibility for others,” says Walrond, executive pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church in New York City, where she serves alongside her husband, Michael. To empower sexual abuse survivors, she ofers several steps: STEVECOLEIMAGES/G REYNOLDS; JAMES PROJECT; NOUN THE TOP: FROM 12. Recognize and remind yourself that it was not your fault. 13. Release your shame. 14. Don’t be afraid to tell your story and connect with a community and 11 other survivors. We are not alone in this ight. Together we are stronger than our deepest hurt and our broadest pain. —LAKEESHA WALROND

SEE YOUR BODY AS A TEMPLE. “There’s no greater relationship than the one you can have with 15 your body,” shares certiﬁed personal trainer Nicole Hill Orisich, 46. “Be kind to it and give your body a chance to show you just how powerful it is.” After transforming hers, the former life coach is committed to helping women of a certain age reach their ﬁtness goals. “I didn’t start going to the gym consis- tently until I was in my late thirties. And when I did, the cardio machines were the only equipment I used.” One day Orisich was watching TV and saw 16 a woman her age who had reshaped her body radically through weight training. ETTY IMAGES. ETTY “I soon learned how vital weight training was for increasing bone density, and PULL YOURSELF UP. how much a woman could strengthen her physique if she knew how.” She is Can’t make it to the gym on the regular? excited to open Pretty Hard Body, a boutique weight-training studio in Harlem, Consider getting a pull-up bar for your this summer and dispel the myth that pumping iron is just for men. home and adding it your routine.

116 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 LEVERAGE THE LEGACY OF YOUR LOVED ONES. 17 For a daughter, nothing quite compares to a father’s love. And when Kimberly Wilson lost her dad, 74, to bladder cancer, it was life-changing. “Not being able to talk, joke, hug or seek advice from him was devastating. Being a woman without her father felt foreign to me,” says Wilson. The loss prompted Wilson, a vice-president at Disney and ESPN Media Networks, to work with her mother and sister to create the Chicago-based Dream a Dream (D.A.D.) Foundation. The organization serves youth 7 to 18 years old in the areas of sports, music and entrepreneurship. “We were raised to give back, so this foundation is a continuation and ampliﬁcation of [my dad and] that lesson,” says Wilson. Channeling grief to help others ensures those we love live on.

18. ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. By Valorie Burton It was a few days before my birthday when I prayed out loud just in case God had not heard my request the 220 other times or had forgotten just how old I was: I’m going to be 40. I’d like to be happily married, but in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t even have a good prospect. And I’m still hoping to be a mom, but the doctor basically told me that though I look young, my eggs are getting old, so if you could fix this situation soon, I’d be so happy. Almost as soon as the last sentence was uttered, I sensed a response: Valorie, there’s nothing to fix. I stood dumbfounded. Although my life was good, I’d convinced myself I could not truly be happy until every last dream was fulfilled, including my vision of a happy marriage and motherhood. It was a vision I could not Valorie Burton with her husband, Jef, and their shake. But a profound shift happened that morning. The message was this: son, Alexander 19 Stop waiting to be happy until you get what you want. Be happy while you are waiting for what you want.

Suddenly, I felt compelled to ﬁnd my happy. As a life coach, I know the power of asking the right questions. Below are a few of the ones that helped me and can help you claim more of your own joy.

20. AM I WILLING TO RISK and picture yourself making it 23. WHICH BOUNDARY IS DISAPPOINTMENT? through. It is a powerful mental IT TIME TO SET? Happiness is not the absence of exercise to choose who you will be in When a behavior or situation is negative emotion. To pursue the things the face of your fears. not okay with you, you have a that bring joy—love, purpose, forgive- decision to make: Request a change ness—you must often deal with fear, 22. WHAT CAN I DO TO BE A or make a change. Both take clarity disappointment or insecurity. An LITTLE BIT BRAVER TODAY? and courage. authentic life is found on the other side The most successful women are not of your discomfort. Get comfortable fearless. They are courageous. And 24. LOOKING BACK TEN with being uncomfortable. Set a goal it’s not just the big, bold moves. It’s YEARS FROM NOW, WHAT that excites you, even if it scares you. the little ones—like speaking up in a WILL I WISH I HAD DONE? meeting or saying no to a request Regret drains your happiness. 21. WHO COULD I BECOME because you are already oversched- Whether a relationship or career IF FEAR DIDN’T STOP ME? uled. Each day, do something that decision, a health or ﬁnancial choice, Sometimes the best question to requires you to be a little bit braver, what would your future self wish you answer is the one that causes you the and with each act, you’ll ﬁnd yourself had done in this season of your life? most fear. Imagine your worst fear just a little bit happier. Whatever your answer, do that.

LET THE VISION UNFOLD. I stopped holding my happiness hostage to my circumstances and decided to be happy right then. It was freeing. 25 And amazingly, the vision I’d hoped for, the one that included a happy marriage and motherhood, began to unfold not as the source of my happiness but as a by-product of it. I reconnected with a high school classmate who saw one of my book posters in the Atlanta airport. He was a divorced dad with two daughters who had the names I had hoped to call my kids. Today we’re married and have adopted a son, Alexander, together to round out our family.

Valorie Burton is the best-selling author of a dozen books, including Brave Enough to Succeed and Happy Women Live Better. Access her free happiness meditations at valorieburton.com. » EVERYTHING LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHY LOVELY EVERYTHING

MAY 2018 ESSENCE.COM 117 LOVE & LIFE : SELF-CARE PLEDGE

GET YOUR REST. STAY VIGILANT ABOUT YOUR HEALTH. 26 We know you’re a badass. But African-Americans have the highest colorectal (colon) taking time to relax and recharge your cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in batteries is necessary. Respite can 30 the United States. Anthea Noel, R.N., popularly known as come in the form of 27. turning of your Nurse Noel, discovered she had colorectal cancer when she was 25. “Hemor- phone and tuning out social media, rhoids were the catalyst that urged me to seek help. The pathology report 28. soaking in a hot bath with salt and revealed a carcinoma, and I was devastated,” she says. Fortunately, in Noel’s lavender oil or taking a power nap. case the cancer was detected early, with zero chance of returning. In addition to Meditation is also efective. Research family history, modiﬁable lifestyle factors like smoking, heavy drinking and a diet has shown that 29. setting time aside high in red and processed meats also increase your risk. Now 43, Nurse Noel is a to disengage, sit in silence and take a vegetarian and committed to helping others extend their lives. She advises mental break improves the “folding” of sisters to heed the symptoms of the illness she beat: persistent abdominal pain, the cortex and boosts our ability to rectal bleeding, a change in bowel habits or bloating. “Early detection saves process information. lives and turns tragedy into triumph,” she says.

HONOR CHERISH 31 YOUR YONI. HER. Dr. Every Woman will see you now. Vaginal abnor- Wendy Goodall McDonald, M.D., is 34 malities and committed to every Black woman reproductive cancers can be owning the power of your sexuality. detected with regular checkups. So Here are the top habits ofered by this see your gynecologist at least once ob-gyn at Women’s Health Consulting a year for an annual exam, which in Chicago and author of It Smells includes a periodic Pap test to Just Like Popcorn: The Modern detect cervical cancer, a pelvic exam Woman’s A to V Guide to Her Vagina to look for ﬁbroids or masses on the and Beyond. ovaries and screening for STDs. 33 KEEP HER EXPLORE YOUR CLEAN. 35 BEAUTIFUL BODY. It’s okay to #NoGloveNoLove Don’t be ashamed to pleasure yourself 32 cleanse and wash TO AVOID SEXUALLY and ﬁnd your own G-spot. Just the outside skin daily, however, TRANSMITTED DISEASES AND remember to keep your hands and your sex toys clean. I once had a douching or internally cleansing can UNPLANNED PREGNANCY, throw of the natural pH balance. patient who did not discover her MAKE SURE YOUR PARTNER Disrupting that balance can increase clitoris until she was in her mid-forties.

the vagina’s susceptibility—rather USES A CONDOM EVERY TIME It’s never too late to learn something ANTONELLO. MEDIA/PHILIPPE BRAVO ROGERS; CHRIS TOP: FROM than resistance—to infections. YOU HAVE SEX. new about you.

here are men around the world who ind you incredibly aractive and want to be in your presence. —DIANN VALENTINE

EXPAND YOUR POSSIBILITIES. To become diferent, sometimes you will have to do things diferently. Earlier this year Diann Valentine guided five Black women through the Italian dating scene for the Bravo show To Rome for Love. “I’m not saying Black women can’t find love in the U.S.—they can, and I did. There are plenty of Black women who are finding love,” the celebrated wedding designer says. “But for those who Valentine (center right) aren’t, I wanted to empower them to know there are men around the world who with the ladies of Bravo’s find you incredibly attractive and want to be in your presence.” To Rome for Love 36

118 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 RECLAIM YOUR CONFIDENCE. In 2010 Donna Washington was told her headaches were being caused by a benign Before brain tumor. During surgery to remove the mass, the doctor realized the growth was malignant and cancerous cells had entered the brain. After aggressive radiation, Washington was grateful to be in remission. Unfortunately, her hair follicles had not survived. “You look in the mirror and think, Who is this person?” she says. She tried an expensive hair treatment that didn’t work and settled for wigs that were diicult to clip. The pain was compounded by her young son asking, “When are you not going to be sick, and when is your hair growing back?” Then her New Jersey stylist told her about Bologna, Italy–based Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories, which provides custom hair replacement systems using 3D printing. A mold of her scalp was created, and a few months later she had a system that she could swim and sweat in, and keep on for After beating months at a time. “Get dressed—I’m taking you to dinner,” is what her husband of 25 cancer, years, Andre, said when she got home that night in 2016 with her new hair in place. “I Washington felt like myself again,” she says. “I kept trying until I found what worked for me.” rediscovered 37 her beauty.

GET YOUR LIFE. 38 While you can’t control risk DROP SOME BALLS. Taking of our capes is essential for the vitality of Black women factors for heart disease like age, race and 42 after generations of being the backbone of this country and family history, the American Heart conditioned to sacrificing for others. Leadership expert Tifany Dufu, author Association reports even modest changes of Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less, realized she wasn’t to your diet and lifestyle can improve your superwoman when she found herself crying in the bathroom with breast milk heart health and lower your risk by as much on her shirt after having her first child and returning to her high-powered job. as 80 percent. To lessen your risk, In the years since, she’s learned to embrace life’s mess and shares her 39. drink alcohol in moderation; strategy in her book. In the Dufu household—along with her husband, Kojo, 40. minimize your sodium intake and and kids, Kofi and Ekua—lives Mel, their management Excel list. It includes a make healthier food choices; and column for each family member and all household needs, “everything from 41. for five days a week, get at least 30 haircuts and laundry to changing oil in the car and watering the plants,” she minutes a day of moderate physical adds. “You realize there’s too much to be done for all of you to accomplish. activity such as brisk walking and Therefore, we are clear on what won’t be getting done.” stretching exercises.

NURTURE 46 COUNT 43YOUR YOUR WINS. CIRCLE. Last summer Dufu and her husband The best thing you can do celebrated their 20th anniversary with for yourself is to keep good a party of their friends and family who people close. “We surround supported them on the journey. “I ourselves with people who started of doing the vast majority of want us to be our best household labor and caregiving in our selves,” Dufu says. 44. Send relationship and it wasn’t working,” she

a thank-you note to ten Dufu and her says. “I had to renegotiate the terms of people who make your family in their our relationship in a big way and had a world better, and 45. share New York husband who was willing to do that City home this article with a friend. work.” Savor your progress!

CHOOSE YOUR NOS. FOCUS ON WHAT 47 It was great for Dufu to learn that her daughter, Ekua, 8, MATTERS. was excelling in piano last year. The excitement halted when the 48 “At the end of each of our lives, for teacher said that the youngster could go further if Dufu attended our eulogy you aren’t looking for classes. “I kindly explained to him that during the lesson, I’m people to say, ‘Well, she got a lot of things checked of working to earn the money for her lesson,” she says. “Knowing the her checklist every day,’ ” Dufu states. “You want

FROM TOP: CESARE RAGAZZI (2); DANIELLE GUENTHER. DANIELLE (2); RAGAZZI CESARE TOP: FROM value and time I give to my daughter helped me not feel guilty.” people to say that you made the world a better place.”

Follow ESSENCE Senior Editor, Lifestyle & Relationships Charreah K. Jackson on Instagram @CHARREAH,and look for more stories in our Self-Care series to come. LOVE & LIFE : FOOD

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA There’s more to Low Country cuisine than authentic shrimp and grits. Try a bowl of she-crab soup, considered by some to be the city’s quintessential dish. Usually made with sherry, the creamy concoction is named for the female crab eggs that provide its unique taste. Hush pup- pies, Hoppin’ John (a rice and black-eyed pea or ﬁeld pea combo) and low-country boil (a colorful medley of spices, seafood, corn on the cob, potatoes and sausage) are The also must-eats. Get a taste of low-country boil is a the area’s Gullah culture with Charleston perlo. This one-pot meal is classic. composed of rice and meat or seafood. (Vegetables are often added.) For more on the Black IMAGES; ERIC ISSAC/GETTY IMAGES; TOBY ADAMSON/GETTY IMAGES; BUPPHA IMAGES; ADAMSON/GETTY TOBY IMAGES; ISSAC/GETTY ERIC IMAGES; HAVE APPETITE, Charleston culinary scene, visit BANKS/GE JORDAN IMAGES; BHOFACK2/GETTY LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE sitesandinsightstours.com.

WILL TRAVEL BOLOGNA, ITALY Fresh pasta is a given YOUR TASTE BUDS CAN BE AN EXCELLENT in Italy, and Peterson raves about how this historic GUIDE TO NEW LOCALES. LET YOUR FORK city surpassed her expectations: “My boyfriend TAKE YOU TO EXCITING PLACES NEAR and I went to Trattoria Anna Maria specifically to AND FAR, INCLUDING THE CARIBBEAN, EUROPE try [the restaurant’s] tortellini en brodo. The classic Italian soup had clear AND AFRICA BY BRIDGETTE BARTLETT ROYALL savory broth with soft pillows of tortellini stufed with mortadella. Every ne of the easiest—and most satisfying—ways bite and slurp was heaven.” The to explore a destination is to dine like duo also took a cooking class at the 0 a local. “Ask locals where they eat, and home of Carmelita Caruana, founder expand your palate by trying new foods and of Cook Italy. “First we shopped local spirits,” says ESSENCE executive assistant and markets,” says Peterson. “We stopped resident foodie Lynda Peterson, who has pass- in to sample cheeses and pastry bites and port stamps from Barbuda, Morocco and Spain. even had a fresh olive oil tasting. Back Get ready to add these four spots known for their at Carmelita’s, we made pasta, cooked culinary flair to your travel bucket list. my first guinea hen and constructed a poached dessert. The meal was fantastic, WUTTIFERY/EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES; SEAN PAVONE/GETTY IMAGES. PAVONE/GETTY SEAN IMAGES; WUTTIFERY/EYEEM/GETTY NEVIS, WEST INDIES Often referred to as and we brought the lessons home.” ZOOM/GETTY ZOOM IMAGES; MYSAK/GETTY NATALIIA IMAGES; TTY the Caribbean’s best-kept secret, Nevis has only around 12,000 residents, yet tasty delights abound. The sister island to St. Kitts ETHIOPIA Virtually all popular foods in this East African is home to six diferent locally produced hot pepper sauces, country are eaten sans utensils. This is great, as the fare is not and you can tour the kitchens that make them by appointment. meant to be consumed alone. Most meals are served on a com- Forty-four varieties of mango are grown in this unspoiled region, munal platter known as a gebeta. Injera, a large, circular and soft and the juicy fruit is widely added to dishes. There’s even a Nevis flat bread, and berbere, a seasoning made of red chili peppers, Mango & Food Festival (July 5–8), which attracts international onion, garlic and other spices, are the foundation of many reci- food connoisseurs. Nevisian chefs are pros at farm- and sea-to- pes. Vegetarians will delight in dishes like shiro wat (a chickpea- table dining. They often incorporate fresh mahi-mahi, grouper, based dip), misir wat (a lentil stew) and salata (a tomato-based lobster and snapper into flavorful creations. Hermitage Plantation salad). Meat eaters will enjoy key wat (a beef stew) Inn features a weekly West Indian and doro wat (a chicken stew), often served bufet, complete with roasted pig, in its with a hard-boiled egg. It’s been debated Great House, the oldest wooden struc- whether cofee originated ture in the Caribbean. Also consider here, so taking a sip is a goat water, which is a spicy stew must. Buna, the traditional made with goat meat, bread- blend, is readily avail- fruit, tomato, onion, herbs, able and usually served in pawpaw, spices and flour. espresso cups. Enjoy!

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MAY 2018 TO ADVERTISE CONTACT 1.800.938.4660 MAY 2018 MAY SHOWCASE GOOD CREDIT. HOROSCOPE GOOD JOBS. OVERVIEW GOOD Let me create the scene: Tuesday, REFERENCES. May 15, you awaken with a burst of energy, ready and willing to do things diferently. The new moon rises in Taurus, ofering opportunities to manifest change, particularly a shift in the quality of life. Simultaneously, Uranus exits the aggressive sign of Aries and enters the steady march of Taurus too. The two celestial bodies join like Wonder Twins to alter our perception of humanity: If we want better, we must do better. Confron- tation can be quashed by patiently building a harmonious community. We are becoming more aware of what matters most.

not careful. Although you’re sincere TAURUS about being helpful, your vibe is quite April 20 to May 20 serious. You’ve had to balance your BUT THE LANDLORD Happy solar return, diva. We love your mate’s needs with those of your pals, DENIED THEM THE penchant for tasty treats and your which has left you screaming internally, habit of pursuing quality over quantity. Does anyone think about my day? APARTMENT BECAUSE So keep on expecting nothing but the Practice self-care and ration how much OF THEIR RACE. best. You’re out to prove that money is you give to others. not the root of all evil. You want to AND THIS HAPPENS make it, spend it and invest it to ensure LEO EVERY DAY. a better life. Travel, go back to school July 23 to August 22 or immerse yourself in another culture. You’ve been successful at juggling It’s against the law for landlords Marvel at your glorious options and every aspect of your life without falling to deny your application, give live out loud. apart. Congratulations. Your sanity may you the run around, charge you be saved in two ways: being methodi- more rent, or steer you away cal about executing plans and enjoying from a rental complex or neigh- GEMINI the comforts of home by curling up in borhood because of your race. May 21 to June 20 your favorite chair to rejuvenate. Take a If you suspect housing discrimi- You have been thinking about how to moment to process each step so that nation, file a complaint with resurrect your dreams and aspira- you might appreciate the accolades HUDoryourlocalfairhousing tions. Even though you yearn for coming your way. Be kind to yourself; center, so we can investigate it. individual success, you’re being you have a lot going on. taught to include the expertise of a VIRGO To ﬁle a complaint, go to partner who has the required know-how. Work together and share August 23 to September 22 hud.gov/fairhousing valuable information that could This month is all about adventure. catapult your career to new heights. Treat yourself to a well-deserved or call 1-800-669-9777 Meditate, emerge with a master plan, excursion. Be spontaneous, remember then watch the competition squirm. a few childhood delights and/or lose yourself in the exhilaration of having

CANCER fun. Remind others that the magic in PHILECE ROBERTS June 21 to July 22 receiving love is giving it. Instead of Warning: Snacking on decadent foods taking care of everyone, give smiles, during girls’ night out while listening to advice and tender hugs. But know that FAIR HOUSING your friends’ woes could add ﬁve it’s your duty to keep some of that IS YOUR RIGHT. unwanted pounds to your hips if you’re happy for yourself. USE IT. 126 ESSENCE.COM MAY 2018 ADVERTISEMENT

Redecorate, buy more flowers, LIBRA fix that annoying leak—do anything September 23 to October 22 that allows you to walk through May finds you poppin’ your collar and your door full of pride. When the accepting a newfound surge of world beats you up, make sure you self-respect. You’ve been confronting come home to love, inspiration deep-seated issues that have stunted and solace. your growth in the past, and now you’re ready to tackle new challenges. AQUA R I US Ask for assistance from your partner— January 20 to February 18 business or personal—in reaching your Others may try to muzzle you this goals. Use your charm to find support month in an attempt to silence the and ditch the sarcasm. It has a way of rebel in you even as you seek the truth. putting too much salt in a dish. Are they questioning your belief systems? Perhaps your need to SCORPIO broaden spiritual pursuits has you JOIN October 23 to November 21 searching for the integrity within There’s a subtle diference between others. Use your intuition to decipher the passion and devotion. Passion’s flame what’s real. The information may be burns toward a goal, whereas devotion right in front of you. Be careful not to gets what it wants with a steady yet overthink the process. feel-good cool aim. Your need to control a project takes a back seat to being a PISCES quiet presence. You may have to talk a February 19 to March 20 MOVEMENT! colleague of the ledge instead of There’s a celebration looming on the taking the fall yourself. Consider the horizon. Exercising discipline in your Share your habits and less dramatic way to ride or die. career has recently led to a boost in thoughts on events, confidence, which could quickly turn SAGITTARIUS into cold cash. It’s easier for a Pisces culture, style and new November 22 to December 21 woman to revel in a daydream than products. Become an You have lots of energy and are settle into the harsh reality of everyday Insider at quick to move on to the next thing. living. Achieving a balance between Now’s the time to be productive. the two will soon generate the ESSENCEINSIDERS.COM But rather than just staying busy, rewards you deserve. You finally feel surrender to a strategy so you can as if you belong on this planet. witness the progress in climbing your mountain. You may even ARIES be surprised at your earning March 21 to April 19 potential when you take things Being impulsive is your usual style, one step at a time. but May’s energy has you speaking your desires into existence instead CAPRICORN of running into a wall. Make sure December 22 to January 19 your activities are worthy of your If you’re not comfortable in your time by approaching your next private space, then you’ll feel lost project eagerly and gathering and vulnerable. You’re sensitive, details to be better prepared. Get so concentrate on your personal ready for action by sharpening your foundation to feel secure. mind and your focus. º

Horoscope by astrological intuit Sonja Marie (wordlifeastrology.com).

Copyright © 2018 by Essence Communications, Inc. (ISSN-0014-0880) (GST 126301159) Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40110178. ESSENCE is published monthly, except January and August, by Essence Communications Inc., 225 Liberty St., New York NY 10281. Return undeliverable Canada address to Postal Stn A, P.O. Box 4015, Toronto ONT M5W 2T2. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Cover and contents may not be reproduced in part or in whole without prior written permission. Magazine available on microﬁlm and CD-ROM from ProQuest Information and Learning, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor MI 48106. ESSENCE® is the registered trademark of Essence Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at New York NY and additional mailing oces. U.S. subscriptions: $22 for one year. Allow six weeks for change of address. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Articles in ESSENCE are in Index to Periodical Articles by and About Blacks (G.K. Hall & Co.). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ESSENCE, P.O. Box 62120, Tampa FL 33662-2120. Along with new address, please send old address as printed on last label. SUBSCRIBERS: Occasionallyweprovideourcustomerlisttocompanieswhoseproductsmightinterestyou.Ifyoudonotwishtoreceivethesemailings, send your request and a copy of your mailing label to us at ESSENCE *Mailing Preferences,* P.O. Box 62120, Tampa FL 33662-2120. If the Post Oce alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within two years. Your bank may provide updates to the card information we have on ﬁle. You may opt out of this service at any time. Customer service and subscriptions: For 24/7 assistance, please visit our Web site: ESSENCE.com/customerservice. You can also phone 800-274-9398 or write to ESSENCE, P.O. Box 62120, Tampa FL 33662-2120. For international licensing and syndication requests,pleasevisittimeinc.com/syndicationorcall212-522-5868.Itwilltakecustomersto ourautomatedsyndicationform. CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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1. Veteran journalist and former 19. Either, neither or both: 1. Those who use any opportu- 12. Power to them: Popular Today show news anchor who says Though many get them twisted, nity to abuse the snooze button chant for those who are on the Anita Baker inspired her classy cut “Muslim” (which refers to a seldom arrive on it front lines in the fight for equal 4. When it comes to movies, it’s religion) and “_____” (which 2. A chocolate lover’s dream: rights and justice: “The people the funny stuf refers to a nationality) are not Sanaa’s main man in The united can never be _____” 8. Ever-present fashion consultant interchangeable terms Perfect Guy with the 13. From Ava to Zendaya: (even when you’re home alone) 20. Wonderful wool: Himalayan- captivating chestnut eyes Bringing 24 Across to its doll 9. Commerce department bureau: inspired and handwoven, the was also one of our favorite dynasty, this toymaker, with _____ Business Development Pashmina _____ is a status symbol Boyz n the Hood headquarters in El Segundo, Agency (MBDA for short) that’s been imitated for the masses 3. Did you know? Leftover California, birthed two Black 12. Compact format previously 22. Director Amma Asante’s 2013 cofee grounds, placed in a Barbies who proudly rock locs popular in music circles movie about a slave girl who went container with holes in its top, 16. Floor show: It followed the 13. Copeland, with the perfect to be raised by her White dad’s will eliminate _____ from your Cupid Shue, baby pirouette, who graced ESSENCE’s aristocratic family (or a beautiful refrigerator or car 17. Trump-ette sounds: After September 2015 cover and charming guest at the ball) 5. Straight outta Detroit: being fired three times in her quest 14. After Halle’s home state 23. Fresh of the Vine: Canadian- With a name that’s as sweet for an apprenticeship, she served a crowned her Miss _____ in 1986, born singer Ruth B’s 2016 hit, as a song, she’s a Black brief stint in the White House as she was first runner-up to Miss USA based on Peter Pan: “_____ Boy” American Girl assistant to the President and 15. Most Steve Harvey fans tune 24. Initiative that makes a 6. Focker father-in-law: Robert, director of communications for the in to this band to hear his deliberate diference in the who famously had an on-again, Oice of Public Liaison before IMAGES LAVERIS/GETTY JASON drive-time show (abbr.) workplace of-again relationship with returning to her reality TV roots 16. A net win: Goal-oriented 27. An outing, an outing supermodel Naomi Campbell 21. Incomparable R&B vocalist Ashleigh Johnson helped to put companion or an indication of in the 1990’s who will “Always and Forever” our _____ team on the top expiration on a product label 7. An impatient gardener might be loved by his fans medal stand in Rio (2 wds) 28. Daughter of the King: Cole, do it to a green tomato 25. Tat’s nickname (or what was 18. Hollywood’s industry term for whose unforgettable perfor- 10. Music without voices in a quill’s well) the female of the moment who mance with her famous dad in 11. Necessary garment: 26. The main thing you need to possesses an undefinable star 1991 after his passing originated Nobody leaves it behind on a do while a portrait artist does quality: __ girl the virtual duet cold winter night the real work

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