Essence Founder Ed Lewis (right) with Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons
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On November 8, 1968, I was part of a group of businesspeople who met on Wall Street to discuss how we could bring more Blacks into the economic mainstream. Through the presence of several creative minds that day, the idea of Essence magazine was born. One of the men who later became my business partners suggested a magazine for “Negro women.” The brilliance of this idea hit me immediately, for it was the women in my life—my grandmother, my mother and my aunts—who had so profoundly shaped me. I knew that they and others just like them needed a place where their voices could be heard and their hopes and dreams could be validated and encouraged. I was the banker who figured out how to make this idea a reality. Essence has become this nation’s largest and most powerful community of African-American women, 7 million strong. It is a sisterhood of support, a source of spiritual guidance and replenishment, an encouraging mentor, a leader in activism, a role model for achievement, mirroring beauty in all shapes, sizes and skin tones. We have evolved from a magazine into a multimedia, multibrand company, with new magazines like Suede and a thriving Web site. Essence is a catalyst for social and economic change, preaching the necessity of diversity to corporate America and bringing revenues of nearly a billion dollars to the city of New Orleans via The Essence Music Festival. Not surprisingly, as we became more successful, we were approached by both Black and mainstream media companies who wanted our exclusive access to the African-American woman. Though I am a businessman, I am ever mindful of my heritage. So while I did evaluate those advances, I always sought what was best for Essence over the long term. For the past four years, Essence Communications Partners has been a majority partner with Time Warner. Our recent decision to sell our majority stake offers us enormous opportunities for growth while protecting our mission to empower Black women. Having Time Warner’s full financial support adds even greater strength to our existing resources. It also gives Essence additional credibility on Madison Avenue as a blue-chip property in the largest and one of the most respected magazine groups in the world. We’ve had a rare advantage in these four years that many small private companies never get: We could “date” and get to know our partner before deciding to tie the knot. Dick Parsons, CEO of Time Warner, is both a friend and a trusted business associate. I know from our two companies’ four-year “courtship” that Essence will be in excellent hands and will be given its due respect in the Time Warner magazine portfolio. In making this decision one thing was of the utmost importance to us, as we know it is to you, our readers: I can promise you that Time Warner has absolutely no interest in meddling with our success. It knows firsthand that our megabrand is rock-solid: Our magazine is celebrated by the Magazine Publishers of America and made it to Ad Age’s prestigious top ten magazines list in 2003. Rest assured that Time Warner will continue to champion what we have done so magnificently for more than three decades. There are greater lessons to be learned by all of us as we take this exciting step forward. The struggles of our grandparents and parents are what gave us the courage and tenacity to be where we are today. While we embrace our heritage, we must live in the present—and plan for our future. If the success of Essence and the recognition of that success have taught me anything, it is that everyone, regardless of color or creed, economic status or political conviction, deserves a voice and an equal opportunity to enjoy what makes this country unique in the world. It is time to stop using race as a reason to stay separate and be held back; rather, we must all go after what is rightly ours. At Essence’s groundbreaking conference Women Who Are Shaping the World, held at The Pierre Hotel in New York last year, one of the speakers marveled at seeing 600 Black women professionals and entrepreneurs in a hotel where their grandmothers would only have had entrée working as maids. This observation highlights the amazing brainpower and personal achievement of Black women today. The sale of Essence to our esteemed partner signals a new chapter in our history. We have taken our rightful place as part of the mainstream-media establishment with our identity intact and our continued success ensured. I also have a deeply personal reason for making this decision. Essence has been my life’s focus and work. It is my heart, my soul and my calling. Like a proud parent, I have taken great joy in watching Essence grow and flourish with the help of my beloved Essence-family staff and the sisterhood of Essence readers. As chairman I will continue to be actively involved for the foreseeable future. I have promoted group publisher Michelle Ebanks to president of the company; editorial director Susan L. Taylor and editor-in-chief Diane Weathers will remain in their leadership positions. I take the responsibility for Essence’s prosperity and legacy seriously and personally. I am delighted that Essence’s mission to support and inspire African-American women is protected and will be nurtured for generations to come. Thank you all for making Essence a part of your lives, and may God continue to bless our work and our community. |
