BLACK WOMEN WERE SEEN

For five decades, we've challenged brands to see us intentionally, speak to us authentically and invest in us meaningfully. It wasn’t always easy

- By Marquita K. Harris

It was the height of the Black Power Movement and the Vietnam War. This was an era when some of the most electrifying Black women musicians in history were locked in: Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Tina Turner dominated radio stations and our collective consciousness. What better time to launch a magazine?

In May 1970, ESSENCE magazine was launched into the American publishing stratosphere. But despite the vibrant presence of Black women in popular media and entertainment, and the powerful images of Black women dominating the culture, we were still largely invisible to advertisers—a major problem for a fledgling outlet.

Founded by Jonathan Blount, Cecil Hollingsworth, Edward Lewis and Clarence O. Smith, ESSENCE was among the first major periodicals dedicated to celebrating the interior lives, aspirations and complexities of modern Black women. Under the guidance of our first Editor-in-Chief, Ida E. Lewis, we arrived on newsstands as a bold, proud and painstakingly curated publication for unapologetically Black women.

ESSENCE became a part of an enduring legacy of Black media that has informed and entertained since the 1800s. In the 20th century, publisher John H. Johnson’s Ebony, Jet and Negro Digest made it clear to advertisers that Black people were a consumer base worth investing in—yet it would be decades before Black women would be recognized as a distinct demographic worth selling to.

“You know, there were less than 15 pages of advertising in the first edition,” said cofounder Jonathan Blount in the 2023 docuseries Time of Essence. “Quite frankly, at that time, we had to find the very few advertisers that actually had Black ads.”