Calls For The Black American Community To Boycott The Essence Fest Because It Has Changed Its Focus From A Black American Women's Cultural Festival To A Nigerian Centered "Global" Cultural Festival

TabithaSpeaksPolitics, July 8, 2025
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnDtoL9CEKU "One Last Thing And Then It’s Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming!!" posted by TabithaSpeaksPolitics, Jul 10, 2025 

Among other points, In that video Tabitha provides information about The Solomon Group, an almost totally White American organization that has produced, managed, and promoted the Essence Festival.  

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update- July 11, 2025

This pancocojams post showcases the July 8, 2025 video from TabithaSpeaksPolitics' vlog in which Tabitha presents the results of her online research as to why a number of Black Americans consider the Essence Fest 2025 that was held from July 4-6to have been a flop.

Information about Essence Magazine and information about the Essence Fest are included in this post along with selected comments from this video's discussion thread. Most of these commenters are Black Americans. However, there are also commenters from Africa or from the Black African Diaspora.

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to TabithaSpeaksPolitics for focusing on this subject and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

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INFORMATION ABOUT ESSENCE MAGAZINE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essence_(magazine)
"Essence (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women.[2][3]

History

Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount founded Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) in 1968. It began publishing Essence magazine in May 1970.[4][5] Lewis and Smith called the publication a "lifestyle magazine directed at upscale African American women". They recognized that black women were an overlooked demographic and saw Essence as an opportunity to capitalize on a virtually untouched market of black women readers.[2] Its initial circulation was approximately 50,000 copies per month, subsequently growing to roughly 1.6 million.[6] Gordon Parks served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation.

In 2000, Time Inc. purchased 49 percent of Essence Communications Inc.[7]

In 2005, Time Inc. made a deal with Essence Communications Inc. to purchase the remaining 51 percent. The deal placed the ownership of the 34-year-old Essence magazine, one of the United States' leading magazines for women of color, under widespread ownership, rather than black ownership.[8] In January 2018, the magazine returned to a fully black-owned publication after its acquisition by Richelieu Dennis, the founder of Sundial Brands.[9]"...
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Here's an excerpt that provides some background information about Richelieu Dennis
From https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/richelieu-dennis-1969/
"A successful entrepreneur, Richelieu Dennis, was born February 25, 1969 in Liberia the son of Mary Dennis. Dennis grew up in Liberia during the civil wars, a time of violence and disruption. However, he was able to attend elementary and high school in Liberia and Sierra Leone where his family occasional fled for safety from the violence of Liberia. In the 1980s he attended Babson College in Babson Park, Massachusetts, a small college noted for mentoring entrepreneurs. In 1991 he graduated from Babson with a degree in Finance, Investment, and Entrepreneurial Studies.

Due to the Liberian civil war Dennis was not able to return to Liberia after graduation. He partnered with his friend, Nyema Tubman, and mother to create natural bath and hair care products for Black women. Many of the products they created were based on recipes used by his grandmother in Liberia. His grandmother, Sofi Tucker, was widowed at age 19. To support her family, she began making homemade beauty products and selling them in the local market. These recipes became the basis of Sundial Brands created by Richelieu, Nyema and Mrs. Dennis. Initially their products were sold on the streets of Harlem."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ESSENCE FEST (Also known as "Essence Music Festival")

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essence_Music_Festival
"The ESSENCE Festival of Culture is the largest African-American culture and music event in the US.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The annual music festival started in 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine. The festival features artists simultaneously performing on a main stage as well as four standing-room only stages"...
-snip-
Most of this Wikipedia page features annual lists of concert line-ups. Here's the concert line up that is given on that page for 2025:

"Boyz II Men

Davido

Maxwell

Master P.

Buju Banton

Donell Jones

GloRilla

The Isley Brothers

Muni Long

Nas

Summer Walker

“Essence Flowers” - Jermaine Dupri Honors Quincy Jones"
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Only three of these performers-GlorRilla, Muni Long, and Summer Walker are female. Each of these women are Black Americans.

With regard to the men on that last, Davido is a Nigerian-American singer who lives in Nigeria and Buju Banton is a Jamaican singer. All of the other men are Black Americans.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VLOG'S DISCUSSION THREAD
All of these comments are from July 8, 2025. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKOmKs1izCE

1. @carolbryan7494
"Tabitha, thank you for sharing this information on the Essence Festival.🥰"

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2. @shay-shay8012
"Bye bye Essence fest!  It was wonderful while it lasted! 

Thanks Tabitha for your thorough research!  Love our Black American people!💪🏾"

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3. @moniquemitchell6894
"So they chose to take over a renowned event that was established by us and represented our culture; to then minimize our involvement, influence, and representation. Wow! They could have done the right thing and embraced what we cultivated as they should have and then included elements of our African ancestry to bring us together. A this vs. that approach was misguided and divisive. Well now we know. Thank you for the deep dive into this Tabitha."

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4. @Ms.Peach77
"I am heartbroken.  Essence magazine was created by Black Americans for, and to celebrate Black American women.  The Essence Festival was created by Susan Taylor (a Black American woman) who was editor in chief.  For many years, I’ve enjoyed going to Essence Fest, our Black American culture, our food, our music and our people were all celebrated.  I don’t mind inviting our African brothers and sisters to enjoy our culture, but not take over what we built.  Wow, what a shame."

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5. @Commonsense-v4z
"They sold it to a company owned by wyt investors. Here in lies the problem."

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6. @Nifemum
"O wow. How did that take over even happen 🤔A Nigerian and a Kenyan taking over an original Black American Festival. That's crazy.

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7. @lexingtonwalker1174
"Tabitha, I am not Black American, but you are on point. We non-Black Americans need to appreciate and respect Black American culture and not seek to erase it in any way, shape or or form. The key word is "RESPECT"."

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8. @Kewlchick366
"THIS THIS Is So Disgusting and Disrespectful. A Liberian Man, and a Kenyan Woman Running a Black AMERICAN Festival 😐😞🙄It Sounds like a Extremely Bad Joke BUT Unfortunately Its Real. We Need to RECLAIM OUR BLACK AMERICAN Festival Without the ESSENCE NAME."

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9.@derekm4819
"Since the Essence Festival has been compromised/co-opted, we need to completely detach from it, and create another version of our own, highlighting Black American culture, achievements and business promotions. Creation is one of the things we do best."

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10. @Melbee500
"I AGREE 🎯💯"

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11.@avisrobinson452
"So, Essence Ventures will not be about the American Black culture. It's going to be about what THEY think American Black culture is without finding out what the American Black culture is. smh 🤔

Black America will no longer be the focal point. Horrible"

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12. @radmommact3683
"ALL SKIN FOLK AIN'T KIN FOLK"....

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13.  @TheTrevis_
"Aren’t these the same people that were warned not to engage with Black Americans? Who allowed this mess to happen? I am not happy because I was planning to go to The Essence Festival next year. Essence magazine was created for upscale AFRICAN AMERICAN women. No offense to our African brothers and sisters, but, WE…..BLACK AMERICANS, created this ecosystem for us because of the lack of Black AMERICAN representation in somewhat mainstream media. I’m so disappointed in this and I will not be supporting and this is EFFED UP. Come at me because I’m ready for it. I’m not the one!"

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14.@dorothymccaskill7221
"Tabitha also Essence excepted money ($300K) from target! This also could be a reason Black folks didn’t show up to Essence fest this year. "

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15. @momi1610
"So, that can be later sold off too? Other folks aren't the issue -- it's us. When many of us get to a certain level, we don't hold onto "our culture" or "our things." Black Americans, as a collective, have been trained to be staunch capitalists. We've also been trained to not see as much value in us as other people do. The Essence brand is just an example of many other areas where this has already been done."

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16. @christinerichardson1756
" @momi1610  This is true. Like BET! THROW MILLIONS AT US AND WE FOLD."

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18. @MichelleLove-uo7de
"@momi1610 this is it right here!!!  That’s what happened to BET. We can’t just sell our stuff off to people who don’t make our culture a priority. In fact, why even sell it off, pass it down to continue legacy and preserve culture!  As soon as our stuff gets sold off it gets watered down, diluted, and misvalued. Let’s stop this practice, immediately!"

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19. @Chiquita-lq8go
"I agree and it needs NOT to be sold to anyone if they are NOT Black American FULLY"

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20. @tondelayoperkins4895
"He better ask Target, we will quickly boycott"

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21.@nnolaa
"Not them colonizing Essence and undermining the Target boycott. That's so disrespectful."

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23. @neptunepisces
"92%er here and New Orleans Louisiana resident essence was absolute garbage even the locals said it was garbage it was in the off vibe it was absolute garbage it wasn't by us it wasn't for us"
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"92%" refers to the percentage of Black women who voted for Kamala Harris for President of the United States in the November 5, 2024 national election (according to exit voting interviews throughout the nation). 

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24. @Historia-10k
"That is really disappointing. I am Jamaican and admire the culture and tenacity of the Black American community. Essence focus should have been on centering the BA culture in the festival and bring the diaspora together. That's a mistake they'll regret and I would be offended too. That's like saying let's remove jerk chicken and other known Jamaican dishes from our celebration and replace it with Mcdonalds happy meal."

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25. @sabrinawilson5244
"Make them respect OUR CULTURE through the absence of OUR DOLLARS. Any disrespect will be dealt with accordingly no matter who you are."

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26. deborahgiles3649
"Essence Fest is a part of Black American life and history. Mr. Dennis, if you want to experience the full impact of Black American dollars on an international level, it would be prudent for African (Nigerian) people to not step on us as a people. We have paid our dues time and time again. You have shown us disrespect in our own country. An apology would be nice and inclusion in your plans to showcase black excellence internationally. Respect us and we will respect you. You had attendees this time, because expectations were high based on past experiences. We are protective of our unique heritage and culture. Please be mindful of that. You have every right to run your organization as you see fit; however, we will spend our dollars where we deem to be fit. Include us."

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27. @keishaj.2001
"Because he's made Essence Festival an African affair versus African-American two different cultures"

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28. @MzSparkle01
"We need to pull OUT‼️ Let them have that‼️ And, we CREATE A NEW SPACE‼️"

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29. @MrsBlack8998
"Wow! We must boycott!"

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30. @stargazer2.3
"And spread the word quickly."

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31.@renahgade1750
"“jollof vs jambalaya” speaks volumes"
-snip-
In Tabitha's comments about the Essence Fest 2025, she shared that there were no New Orleans food vendors, but one of the features of that festival was a jollof vs jambalaya cook off.  Jambalaya is a New Orleans, Louisiana specialty. Jollof is a rice dish that is popular in Nigeria, Ghana, and other West African nations. (There’s a friendly and not so friendly competition between these nations as to which nation’s jollof taste the best).

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32. @chickychic4644
"Where is the macaroni and cheese? The collard greens?"

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33. @jojoone1099
"Who goes to New Orleans to eat Jollof rice? Cultural festivals should reflect the local culture."

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34. @the2924lp
"OLD INFORMATION New Orleans vendors were  not invited last year so moving forward we should do the same as we did Target. STOP  GOING, STOP buying the magazine."

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35. @JocelynCamilleTV
"Whenever we stop inviting just any one to cookout, and start gate-keeping more this stuff will stop happening."

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36. @Aprioritynotanoption
"I’ve been saying this for a while.  Black Americans need to stop being so forgiving and inclusive and start gatekeeping more.  This is why you have all these other groups and communities running around claiming they created everything Black Americans actually  created and popularized."

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37. @nikkinanette8807
"I’m not African American, but this just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s not about excluding other Black people from joining—it’s about preserving the integrity and original mission of what was built. Some traditions should be honored, not hastily changed.

I truly wonder if the previous owners considered how quickly things might shift once it was sold to individuals outside the African American community. Unfortunately, one of the fastest ways to dismantle something meaningful is to alter its core purpose from the outset.

Inclusivity goes both ways—and what I’m seeing now doesn’t reflect that. This has been a long-standing issue with our motherland brothers and sisters, I truly hope the new leadership takes time to reflect and recalibrate."

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38. @stargazer2.3
"Its too late. The boycott is in full affect."

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39. @Sunkissed_Michelle
"I’m from the diaspora. Jamaica to be exact and I fully support you because I would not want anyone to come into Jamaica and change any of our celebrations we got going on. I’ve been to Essence Fest and I specifically went to enjoy the culture, music and food, so I can’t be mad about what you’re saying."

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40. @girlygirllocssoul
"Yeah… 6 months ago, I subscribed to Essence Magazine.  As a Black American, this will be a one and done type of subscription for me. Even the magazine’s vibe is off.  I miss Susan Taylor’s vibe for the magazine.  Such a shame."

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41. @apembertonfowler
"Our culture was built on our blood, tears, death,exploitation, and oppression. Like Langston Hughes said, “Everybody wants to sing my blues but nobody wants to live my blues.”  The world takes from us and we’re so generous that we say, come on in, we’ll share with you. Then we get shanked. Idk what to do about this, but I know I have to do something. I’m sick of being exploited and I don’t care from whom. Thanks Tabitha for educating me today. ❤️

✌🏽🙏🏽"

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42. @cihi5385
"Being going since 1998. Spent 25 years of my wedding anniversaries there July 5th. Haven't been in a few years since their are no old school artists that I love to see.

Essence is owned by Africans I think."

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43. @i-am-root
"Yes, that is exactly what Tabitha documents, you don't need to "Think it* now you can "know it" 😮"

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44. @marysabally563
"As an African woman i have great respect for black people all around the world especially black American, i just don't know why it so hard for us to believe that our culture are all the same let love each other please black people.

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45. @basbleupeaunoire
"@marysabally563  I love everyone, and I respect our cultural roots. But our culture is not the same.

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46. @betsy5889
"Yes Richelieu Dennis is African. Liberian ❤"
-snip-
This comment was written in response to Tabitha's statement that Richelieu Dennis is African and possibly Nigerian.

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47. @Sunrise6410
"Thank you, Tabitha! Essence was a BLACK AMERICAN MAGAZINE for BLACK AMERICAN WOMEN created by FOUR BLACK AMERICAN MEN. The Essence festival use to cater to BLACK AMERICANS! I'm over it."

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48. @EvanescenceEverythingOh
"NO WE HAVE YOUR MAGAZINES IN FRANCE IT WAS FOR EVERYONE WHO CAN BUY

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49. @jamessneed8789
"Boycott Essence Ventures until they get it right."

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50. @karenl7786
"I love my African continental, Caribbean and African Diaspora brothers and sisters. But we all have our unique characteristics and branches of culture. Why wouldn't you put African- Americans in charge of an African- American festival if you're going after African-American customers and "buying power"? Appreciation and respect must go both ways, or you WON'T get ours."

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51. @ZebraLens
"👆🏾😌This comment right here!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥"

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52. @MWilliams-iy5gf
"Standing on business Tabitha. Thank you always for presenting the FACTS with receipts. The truth will always prevail."

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53. @toddfrench600
"COOOOKKKK MRS. TABITHA! COOOOKKKK MADAM! COOOOKKKK!"

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54. @kellyknight1773
"Caribbean diaspora member here, and I don't feel no way about this because EVERYTHING you said is true. A lot of us are too damn disrespectful and try to take over Black Anerican stuff. That's why y'all have to GATEKEEEEEEEP! GATEKEEEEEEP!  GATEKEEEEEEP!

And what pisses me off is there is never an attempt to take over white people's sh-t*, which, if we're going to take that route, is what we should be doing."
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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55. @LeslieWilliams-z7x
"Just boycott it period 😢

What are they doing for us besides taking our money 💵 😢

Just saying and we know they don’t like us like that 😂

Yeah just saying 🤭🫡🌞"

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56. @butterflymcqueen1860
"At a Puerto Rican Day Parade - I deeply doubt there would be a cookoff between Gallo Pinto

(popular Nicaraguan rice dish) & Puerto Rico's Arroz Con Gandules.

Nicaraguans wouldn't THINK to do it - and Puerto Ricans wouldn't allow it.

Black Americans are a bottomlessly gracious & welcoming people, but therein lies the root of the matter: we hand out our highly valued support, and even Cookout invites like promoters used to hand out Club Flyers in the 90s.

"Givers need to set limits because takers rarely do." "

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57. @charletholley6536
"This made my stomach hurt. 

The festival will no doubt turn into a Nigerian festival moving forward.  Nigerians have historically “snubbed” (to put it nicely) American Africans.  They know damn well what our history is here, so Mr Denni$ is collaborating with other Nigerian$ to exploit/redesign the culture.  That is blatant disrespect. 

Given the current political climate Mr Dennis would have to mostly depend on our dollars. Will Nigerians even be allowed to enter the country.  Yes, there are many Nigerians in the US however, so is ICE.  I submit he hasn’t factored in how the melanin people of THIS land will shut it down.

Thank you, Tabitha for letting us know that moving forward Nigerian Essence Festival will be formally known as the Essence Festival."

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58. @Nopeimp
"I agree...We have our own Black culture which should be addressed in so many ways, food,art,history, health,businesses and to Love ourselves"

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59. @wildswan662
"I live in New Orleans and I can tell you for sure this year there were a LOT less people in town for Essence"

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60. @NaturallyAprilH
"It’s just not the same… Haven’t been since 2019. Noticed several vendors and entertainers cancelled their appearances"

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61. @kofoblue3172
"Y'all know what to do now that we know what's going on. I don't even need to spell it out."

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62. @sharonjasper5792
"YAASSSSS!!!! We Know The Assignment. We Got This."

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63. @chickychic4644
"Target was a sponsor. That’s a hell no!"

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64. @janetgmedia
"That part ☝"

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65. @liddie75
"They have been a sponsor for years.."

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66. @chickychic4644
"@liddie75 It’s time to say goodbye to Target! Bye!"

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67. @NaturallyMsTasha
"That was CRAZY after the political climate but now makes sense why they were booked."

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68. @KJWright1979
"Essence lost its essence in 2005 when Edward Lewis, co-founder, sold all his shares to Time (Magazine) Inc. We have to stop selling our culture to the highest bidder."

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69. @stephaniemartin9253
"Dare I say, are they the new colonizers? This is truly wild. I know so many people who opted out at the last minute. Now I know why…"

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70. @Starr601
"I agree 100%"

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71. @mercedes7566
"If he wanted our money, he would have a Black American CEO, and he would have created branches for Nigeria and Kenya. There’s no need to colonize what we built. I was planning to go next year, but after what I heard this year, I’ll save my money and do something else. I’ve already stopped supporting She’s Moisture and I’ve stopped supporting Essence Magazine because it just hasn’t been the same.
-snip-
"She's Moisture" = "Shea Moisture"-a product that is made and sold by Richelieu Dennis' company.

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72. @gretaberry4983
"Now you know what we’ve too do?  what is that! BOYCOTT."

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73. @heatherclark3632
"I haven’t been to Essence Fest in years but what I will say is if they change the “essence” of the festival our people will not support, it will go under. Full stop"

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74. @ZebraLens
"🙋🏾‍♂️🙋🏾‍♀️I am one of those people that missed it also! There was too much going on in social media, and not as much advertising from Essence this year, compared to previous years."

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75. @renahgade1750
"not that I was planning to go the festival but you’re right, usually you’d see information/promo of the festival flooding social media, how odd"

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76. @ronbrown2678
"Thank you Tabitha for shedding light on that because I was a maze of the response that I was hearing to it as well that it just was not the same..."

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77. @LFG-g2w
"Thanks for the info, Tabitha and now we know why the vibe was off at the
Essence Festival!!👈🤨"

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78. @palaviye
"I'm part of the diaspora and all I'm going to say is that this is not the way to go.

This is highly disappointing in the disrespect being shown. There are better ways to build bridges and unite the diaspora. Coopting a black American event is doing unnecessary harm to black Americans and to our relationships across the diaspora. Smh."

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79.inaluedke9779
"I stopped messing with essence a long time ago. I really stopped when I wasn't seeing any Black Americans at the top."

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80. @61msbell
"Well it's up to us as Black Americans to get our own fest started and not let them take our money for them."

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81. @dorothymccaskill7221
"Tabitha also Essence excepted money ($300K) from target! This also could be a reason Black folks didn’t show up to Essence fest this year."

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82. @NolaFlower
"Thank you for this.  As a native New Orleanean, we have been talking about the shift all weekend.  I welcome a Nigerian festival, but don't take our event and hijack it.  This is disrespectful"

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83. @Opune623
"I am a Nigerian and I totally agree with you. They should have incorporated African American history while highlighting Nigerian culture as well."

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84. @reneestevens7337
"They should have incorporated Black American history while highlighting Nigerian culture??? That makes absolutely no sense. Black American history/culture shouldnt have been incorporated. The festival should have been all about Black American history and culture. Nigerian culture shouldn’t have been included at all. Essence has nothing to do with nigerian culture."

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85. @Opune623
"@reneestevens7337 well that’s is wrong, when you acquire a company, it’s the new company’s discretion to incorporate anything from the old company. Most companies fire all the employees and hire their own employees. A good example is twitter, when it was acquired by the new owner, most of the twitter employees were fired. So I totally disagree with you on that one."

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86. @kevinmoten6566
"It's hard to complain because when essence changed ownership no black businessmen or women stepped up to the plate and bought it and took control. Someone from Africa saw an opportunity and bought it. You can't control what you don't own"

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87. @kimroberts2583
"Stop going and spending your money."

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88.@Gigi_Said_That
"I love you Tabitha❤ That  is an awakening. Black women built Essence Magazine. I was (canceling today)  a subscriber since the age of 12.  The colonization of Black American culture is wrong regardless of the skin color. Keep up the revelatory work."

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89. @tuwannaekpe8993
"Don’t leave out that Target was a sponsor for the first time which for me was a slap in our faces. Very good reporting Tab."

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90. @gkan07
"Thank you Tabitha for getting to the root of what’s happening! Also, I know how to withhold my dollars regardless of who is doing the disrespecting. Disrespect learned from the colonizers receives the same treatment even if dripping with melanin."

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91. @cynthiamanning8737
"Nigeria, you messed up.

 Essence Festival, for decades, was amazing.  Why couldn't you leave 'it' alone?  Why?

 Essence will go the way of Target.  We bust our behinds working nonstop to make things happen, and you want to push us aside and assume the position (like we won't care).🤨

 Well, you won't see any of our 1.8 trillion dollar economy."

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92. @nitaparker2056
"Never been to the Festival,  but in light of this takeover,  Black Americans should stop spending theirr money to support Essence in any capacity."

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93. @santaprice8488
"I reside in New Orleans, the vibe has been off for years, I was watching the reviews on how empty the concerts were every night.  Thank you Tabitha for bringing this to the forefront because we as black Americans need to know the real behind the scenes of why things are not vibing."

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94.@mamatee4489
"Support Black America, agree with your commentary and I am a Black African."

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95 @claudettebirden5267
"Ppl remember BET same thing what's going on with us giving up our ownership to others make it make sence"

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96. @SBanyo
"Oh well time for us black folk to get another festival. The Essence festival will not survive without us."

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97. @dr.g2628
"Just boycott Essence Ventures in 2026.  Nigeria will leave quickly in 2027 (Target is an example of Black American economic power)."

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98. @ipeefreely9865
"I stopped buying Shea Moisture, when he played in Black American women's faces with the disrespectful ad campaigns, before the company started marketing to non Black folks. I haven't been to Essence Fest either. I've heard similar complaints. Everyone said it was much better when Susan Taylor was leadership in Essence. And a lot of Africans are quick to separate themselves from Black Americans culturally and socially. 😒🙄"

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99. @marieh9627
"Same here. Once Shea Moisture let it be known they did not want to be associated with the ethnic hair section, I dropped them.  Everyone sells out—eventually."

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100. @cinnamonswirl99028
"Well Essence will be over if that is where they want to go. They must not know about US."

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101. @Randi-n4s
"Sounds like a FAFO boycott lesson is about to  ensue. 😊😊"

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102. @coursecorrection4105
"We are now speaking with our dollars. No one is owed our money. If we aren’t respected, we won’t be bringing our dollars"

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