Black History Month
Feb 25, 2025
Black Man Sets Scuba Diving World Record
Barrington 'B.J.' Scott, originally from the Bronx, speaks on what it took to make history as the fastest person to scuba dive on all seven continents.
Black History Month
Black Celeb Couples
Feb 25, 2025
20 Of Our Favorite Photos Of Denzel And Pauletta Washington Through The Years
These images capture the enduring love and timeless bond between one of our favorite long-lasting couples in Black history.
Black History Month
Feb 21, 2025
A Taste Of The Past: Chef Shorne Benjamin Is Celebrating Caribbean Flavors He Grew Up On By Modernizing Them
The star chef on the foods that marked his upbringing in St. Lucia, and the twist he puts on them as the force behind Brooklyn's Fat Fowl.
Black History Month
Feb 21, 2025
The Black Wine History You Should Know Before Your Next Glass
While statistics may give the impression that Black people have no significant place in America’s wine history, the truth is that there wouldn’t be a U.S. wine industry without them.
News
Feb 8, 2025
Did You Know That White Supremacists Overthrew A Thriving Black-Led City In North Carolina?
In 1898, white supremacists overthrew the Black-led government in the ‘Wilmington Massacre.’ The number of Black people killed range from the dozens to the hundreds, but the full toll is unknown.
Lifestyle
Feb 3, 2025
After More Than 80 Years Of Quilting Out Of Necessity, The Women Of Gee's Bend Are Getting Their Deserved Shine
With their latest partnership with adidas, we talked with the ladies about their community's journey and taking their cultural tradition worldwide.
Black History Month
Feb 1, 2025
Black Like That: How We Celebrate Black History Month Across The Globe
From Canada and the United Kingdom to Costa Rica and Australia, Black people's impact extends far beyond US borders. Here's how Black Excellence is celebrated in some unexpected places.
Holidays
Feb 24, 2023
Have You Heard Of This Mexican Town Named After A Black Man?
We often center the Black freedom movement in the United States, but Gaspar Yanga governed what's considered the first free Black town in the Americas after revolting against Spanish colonizers in Mexico.
News
Feb 14, 2023
This New Book Shows How Black People Were Left Behind In "Liberal" Boston
Award-winning author Jacqueline Jones pulls the receipts in her latest book, "No Right To An Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era."
50 Anniversary of Civil Rights Movement
ESSENCE celebrates the 50th anniversary of the seminal year, 1963, and its importance in the civil rights era.
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Black History Month
Feb 2, 2022
28 Movies Everyone Should Watch This Black History Month
From documentaries and biopics to fictionalized slices of Black life, these are the films to watch to get in tune with our rich history and culture
Culture
Feb 19, 2018
Historic Preservation: Saving African American Spaces Is The New Black Activism
By saving historic African American places, we not only celebrate the tremendous impact that Black people have made to our nation, but transmit that impact to the present and the future.
Black History Month
Mar 1, 2017
Tiny Tresses: Recreating Michelle Obama's Laid Mane
We’re kicking off Women’s History Month by paying tribute to the flyest FLOTUS of all time.
Black History Month
Aug 28, 2013
5 Questions with the Authors of 'Martin & Mahalia'
Andrea Pinkney and Brian Pinkney open up about their mission to highlight the friendship between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahalia Jackson during the Civil Rights Movement.
Celebrity
Aug 28, 2013
PHOTOS: ESSENCE's #IAmTheDream Campaign
We asked our readers to hear what they’ve achieved thanks to the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement.
Celebrity
Aug 28, 2013
VIDEO: March on Washington 2013
Tens of thousands of people congregated in Washington D.C. to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the historic march.
StoryCorps
Black History Month
Apr 17, 2013
On Becoming the First Black Grad at Louisiana State U.
A.P. Tureaud Jr. tells his friend Steven Walkley about becoming the first African-American undergraduate at Louisiana State University in 1953.
Black History Month
Apr 17, 2013
A Young Boy's Travels to the Segregated South
Jim McFarland remembers traveling from New York City to the south as a boy.
Black History Month
Apr 10, 2013
An Introduction to Black History
“My brother came home wearing an afro,” Judith Wilson recalls of the day her brother changed her life.
More Stories
Black History Month
Feb 24, 2022
Let's Set The History Record Straight. We Can't Excuse Racists Like Thomas Jefferson As Just Being "Men Of Their Time."
Conservatives may want to re-write history during Black History Month. But we have to be real about clichéd excuses for past abuses.
Black History Month
Feb 24, 2022
First And Second Generation Immigrants Share How They Celebrate Black History Month
From Gambia, connected to Haiti and more, we talked to first and second generation women about the way they see and celebrate Black History Month.
Black History Month
Feb 22, 2022
Where Is Our Black Agenda? This New Book Begins To Answer That Call
The Black Agenda, a compilation of essays written by policy experts & edited by Harvard researcher Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman with a foreward by Tressie McMillan Cottom explores solutions for us, by us.
Black History Month
Feb 17, 2022
Trailblazers: Dominique Dawes Made Olympics History. She's Still Changing The Game
Dawes became the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal in an individual gymnastics competition. She is now working to change the culture of the sport.
Lifestyle
Feb 16, 2022
Phase 10 Was Created By A Black Man 40 Years Ago. Here's How He's Honoring The Game's Legacy This Black History Month.
He shares what inspired the creation of his best-selling card game and how he and Mattel are celebrating its 40th anniversary this Black History Month.
Holidays
Feb 16, 2022
Here’s How Some States Across America Are Pushing For Reparations
While the reparations fight looks nonexistent at the federal level and the racial wealth gap widens, advocates in New Jersey, New York, and California are pushing forward at the state level.
Culture
Feb 2, 2022
Meet The Faces Who Ushered In The Black Is Beautiful Movement
It’s been 60 years since the seminal cultural-identity mantra was born. On this significant anniversary, we honor a watershed movement in Black history
Black History Month
Feb 2, 2022
40 Docs And Specials To Learn From This Black History Month
Watch stories of Black activists, artists, and athletes unfold on TV and streaming services throughout February.
Black History Month
Feb 1, 2022
Trailblazers: Meet The Black Man Called The Jackie Robinson Of Hockey
A number of hockey moves known today first originated with Black hockey players. Read more about this untapped history and the first man to integrate the sport, Willie O'Ree.