Essence

Finest Brothers on the Planet?— You voted and ESSENCE agreed! The Gospel star Boris Kodjoe leads Our Top 10 Sexiest Men list. Inside ESSENCE: We have the sexiest Black men on the planet you selected for this special Mens Issue. Our Hot List, includes Terrence Howard, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Blair Underwood and Larenz Tate. Hip–hopper turned actors, L.L. Cool J and Mos Def as well as newcomers Idris Elba and Michael Ealy. And check out the rest of the best list online to see if your choice made it.

What Men Think — Black men open up about manhood.

Help Him Live Longer — ESSENCE discovered that too many black men are dying of a variety of illnesses that can be prevented or managed with the proper diet, regular exercise and access to medical care. Here are five women who put forth the effort to saving our men.

Special Report: Voices From The Gulf — Emotional stories of despair and, finally, recovery, are shared by survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Beauty — Sexy, former Destiny Child member, Kelly Rowland rocks the season’s sultriest hair cuts. ESSENCE editors come clean with shampoos for practically every hair-care need!

Fashion — Embellishments like dazzling sequins and glitzy embroidery are making everything from wool tweeds to delicate lace luxuriously glamorous! Colorful jewels are must-have accessories for the season! Plus, sexy metallic dresses that he will adore!

Make Your Passion Pay — Meet five courageous women who gave up their day jobs to turn activities they loved into their own successful business ventures. Do you think you have what it takes to start your own business? ESSENCE offers a few pop quiz questions to see if you’re up to the challenge.

Born too Soon — More African-American mothers are having pre-term babies. ESSENCE does the research and finds ways to reduce the risks.

Stop Faking it and Find True Love — Here’s how to stay true to yourself in every relationship. When we don’t reveal our true selves in rela-tionships, we miss out on the chance for an authentic, whole experience

November Bestsellers — Terri McMillan’s Interruption of Everything tops the list of bestsellers this month. ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Angela Burt-Murray joins her friends Denene Millner and Mitzi Miller to write a story they wanted to dive into but couldn’t find on bookstore shelves.

Take Our Dating Survey
We all know there is a fine art to dating. How are your dating skills? Click here to tell us about your dating experiences and we will let you know what’s the latest in dating trends.

How Do You Feel About Shopping?
With our beautiful bodies and cute curves, sisters sometimes have to be creative when shopping for fashions. Click here to take our survey and tell us your shopping challenges.

I must say that my personal number one sexiest man out of the ten is Mr. Idris Elba. Can you all please dedicate an entire issue to this man????

-Cornelia Hicks

Is there any information as to where the Essence Festival will be next year?

-Tina R

Sexual Purity Symbols

How do Black teenagers feel about purity and keeping their virginity until marriage? In this nihilistic society that we live in, the message of sexual purity would help to improve many of the social ills that we have in our race? If Essence knows of any teenage celebrity or author that has interest in speaking about abstinence, I certainly would enjoy reading a consistent series about the subject in their magazine.

-Tamara Suell-Vancouver, WA

I am writing to you as a Hurricane Katrina survivor. I was deeply saddened at the destruction my city of New Orleans has suffered and at the attitude most people have towards the blacks from New Orleans. Yes, there are many blacks there who lived underthe poverty level but there were those like myself who rose above the system to attain a better life for our families. I am a single black mother of four who has an associate's degree in business administration, a bachelor's degree in accounting and a certificate of cosmeto

-Terrell Profit tee2072@yahoo,com

I had to post this! My family and I are evacuees from Lake Charles. I uprooted my family from Austin Texas to move to Lake Charles in order to care for my ill mother and my terminally ill grandmother (she passed one week before Katrina). My family and I were struggling (trying to rebuild in a new place)and caring for my relatives when Katrina hit SE LA and Mississippi. We saw the devastation of Katrina and even though we felt we were not doing very well, we were certainly counting our blessings! Then Rita came through and to

-anonymous