Shortly after the June 28 publication of the Black Female Anonymous essay, Mr. Dennis stepped away from his daily leadership role at the company. Essence magazine, the pre-eminent lifestyle publication for Black women, celebrated its 50th anniversary with its May issue, which featured the model Naomi Campbell on the cover. “Essence holds a special place in the heart of a lot of Black women,” said Yanick Rice Lamb, a professor of journalism at Howard University, who has been a contributor to the magazine. “Many Black women grew up on Essence, and when it was started, there weren’t that many publications for us.”Many Essence readers were pleased that the company returned to Black ownership when it was bought by Mr. Dennis. He is the Liberian-born founder of Sundial Brands, the parent company of the Black, woman-centric beauty lines SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage.

Source: New York Times September 08, 2020 19:30 UTC