A (4:37)
Now, that clip was actually a gentleman by the name of Ryan Wilson. Shout out to Ryan Wilson. He is the CEO and co founder of a space called the Gathering Spot. Now, the gathering spot is, you know, for us, by us. You know, there have been. They've been through their own things. We won't get into that. We can only focus on one conversation at a time. But the gathering spot is. People equate it to that of a Soho house, which is, you know, you pay to be a member of a community. You're able to come eat, drink, fellowship, do events, work, throw events yourself. It's all about community, but it's. It's very focused on black people. People of color, but Black people. Um, so he attended Essence Festival, and, you know, he had also saw some. The fallout following the weekend, and he made those comments. Now, I've been seeing the fallout, and I didn't really know how to feel about it. I normally don't like to talk about things if I didn't experience it or go there myself. But when I saw Ryan's video, I was like, you know what? I do want to talk about it. Because I appreciated the angle that Ryan took on this. I want to give you guys some history. So for anyone who is not familiar with Essence Festival, Essence Festival is an extension of Essence Magazine, Essence Magazine. I'm hoping you guys would know. But if you do not, Essence Magazine is a cultural staple for black narrative, Black conversation, Black women, Black fashion, just Black, Black, Black, Black, all things us. When Essence magazine was created, it was actually created with the vision to solely focus on Black women and our stories, our narratives, again, our fashion, and just give us a place that was ours and an ally in the media space. Because there was not, um. And it was actually, you know, from very. On site, it was deemed, you know, by onlookers to, you know, as something that wouldn't be successful because at the time, Black women were, you know, censored. Like, people love to talk about Black women and what we've accomplished now and, you know, how much of the buyer and consumer market we take up and, you know, how educated we are, and all those things are great. But that has not always been the focus of media and of, you know, these entities in the media. And even now, people will argue that the focus is there for us. But people don't always enjoy what the angle is on the focus. Like, you know, they don't like the fact that you talk about trauma. When you talk about Black women and all these things, it's not always just positive. But Essence Magazine set out very early on to reshape that and to gain control of that, and they did. They've dominated for over 50 years. And in 1996, they decided to create the Essence Festival, which was an in person experience that was an arm of the magazine. So all things Black, very central and focused on black women and what fills our mind, body and spirit. And, you know, black men and everybody else are. They're able to come. But if you've ever gone. I went to Essence Festival some years ago. It feels like a family reunion. Oh, my God. I mean, I've never seen so many black people, not even just women, because it's grown bigger than just black women. Everybody comes to Essence Festival, even though we are the focus. I've never seen so many black people in T shirts and, you know, like, they're at their family reunions and dressed alike and, you know, generations of families there experiencing all of the concerts and, you know, all of the learning and the live conversations and the food and just all the things. It's. It's a very beautiful experience if you've never been. So when I saw all the breakdowns this year online on TikTok and all these places and all the articles written, it kind of broke my heart. But, you know, again, I wanted to be neutral and just kind of see, do people have a point? And what I think right when I'm talking about Essence Festival and the reason I'm talking about the history is that I agree with Ryan wholeheartedly. I feel like we have to really. There's nothing wrong with criticism and critique. I think that we should be able to criticize and critique. I think that brands and businesses alike, whether you're black, white or yellow, should hear that from people that are spending their money, especially during a time where they don't have the money to spend. But I do think that, you know, some of the commentary that I've. I've been seeing has been unfairly placed, unfairly targeted. And it seems very like I'm throwing this away. Like, I'm done with essence. I'm done with Essence Festival. So let's break down, number one, some of the critiques. So, you know, logistics seemed like it was an issue this year at Essence Festival. Fans were pissed off because Lauryn Hill was a part of the live performances along with Lucky Day. Coco Jones, Glorilla Nas, Ari Lennox, Tamar Braxton, the Isley Brothers. There was a Waiting to Exhale tribute because Adam Blackstone and Keith Sweat are celebrating, you know, so many years of the soundtrack. But Lauryn Hill got on stage and, baby, they. It was late, okay? And when I say late, I don't mean her performance was late. Like, it Wasn't a good performance. I mean, the time that she got on stage was late. She did not finish her performance until 3:40am she got on stage after midnight and she performed, you know, a few songs. Once this happened, fans got online and they even in the ESSENCE comments, you know, when ESSENCE posted Lauryn Hill's performance video and some of her photos online, you know, the fans were quick to get in the comments and say, you know, I enjoyed everything up until this point because we waited hours and, you know, it was too late. I left and, you know, things of that nature and the headline that quickly spread because of our reaction, just from misunderstanding, right? It's not our fault if we don't know. But I'm saying this to make a point. So when you Google Essence Festival, the first few headlines you see people.com, lauryn Hill played to a nearly empty Superdome until 3:37am in New Orleans. CNN Lauryn H. Took the Essence Festival stage super late and organizers want you to know it wasn't her fault. That's a very fair headline. Variety. Essence Festival defends Lauryn Hill's delayed 2am performance. Essence Festival actually came out and posted a statement because of all the coverage that picked up because of people's reactions to the time that Lauryn Hill got on stage. And they said in the caption family is. And around here we protect our own, no matter what the people have to say. Let's be clear, we don't play about Ms. Lauryn Hill. Not for clicks, not for headlines. She arrived on schedule, stepped on that stage and delivered the kind of performance only alleging Ken the delay, not hers. And we'll take that. The moment went for the books. The legacy still unmatched. Put some respect on her name, keep the takes, but keep her out of them. They also ended up responding to the notion that no one showed up to Essence Festival this year. They posted a video of what the Superdome when Nas performed. And they said basically, like, now who said what? Excuse us, was the caption that they. That's what the caption gave. I know there were people upset that ESSENCE decided to work with Target because of all the Target rollbacks and, you know, the DEI things that have been a conversation. I saw Tamika Mallory and she talked about her decision to skip Essence Festival. You know, with Tameka Mallory, when we talk about, like having critique and criticism, but making it something that like a brand or a business, like an Essence Magaz, in essence, the company can hear and take from. You know, I think I like the way that she responded. So she talked about, you know, she's been going to Essence festival for over 20 years. She talked about it's more than an event. I told y'. All. It's a spiritual recharge, a celebration of everything that makes being a black woman powerful, complex, and so beautiful. So not being this year is heavy. I miss my friends and that good food. But stepping away from something I love is never easy. But as leaders, we are often called to do what's uncomfortable in service of what is necessary. They joined the boycott against Target, and it wasn't just about boycotting the one corporation. But she said that there had been a rollback of respect for black people, our progress and our black political power and economic power. And she says that, you know, it hasn't gotten enough coverage about, you know, what they're doing and why they're doing it. But she says, you know, go ahead, family. Enjoy Essence Festival. Dance, connect. Celebrate the fullness of black experience. But when you see that red bull's eye, keep walking. Don't take or post any of the swag. Don't let the brand co opt our culture. While betra the fight is bigger than one brand or one booth, it's about standing on business, standing for justice, and standing to the right side of history. We can love Essence and still take the stand. So remember, when you see the red Bullseye walk by with the spirit of our ancestors. All power to the people. So her whole point was, I'm not going to tear Essence down because this is a festival in a conscious, in an institution that I love, but I'm going to tell y' all what y' all should do in spite of that. Right? And whether that actually was successful or not, I thought that it was constructive because she didn't tear us down. Like, one of the things I watched this docu series about Essence magazine and the Essence brand in general and its inception and why it was created and what it stood for, and some of the times that ESSENCE has had to stand next to us and really take a stand. And I think that's why, you know, a lot of people are outraged at the way that people's responses has been to the Essence Festival experience, although, you know, some of them may be warranted. I can't imagine, you know, you're waiting for hours and, you know, all these things and things are not being explained. But I think it's the do we throw away Essence Festival conversation that a lot of people are upset about, because, you know, Essence, at one point in time, was it was what we had and all we had. I learned about when Vanessa Williams, you know, was the first black Miss America. And there were some nude photos of her that made it onto a magazine that she did not approve of. And because of that, she had to resign her title. And Essence was the magazine that she used to help to reclaim her narrative and recharge her brand and her career. And they still beside her, regardless of how other people were viewing her, because of those photos and the fact that she had to step away from Miss America. Being able to have a home in the media like that is so important. And for this media brand to be able to do something like an Essence Festival, where they're employing all of these people, they're bringing together all this money in the sake of black people and black things. We can argue all day long about what you think they could do better and not do better. But I think it's important that when you do argue, you understand that, like, people hear us. And I'm speaking to us because I'm speaking to the black people listening. I know. I. It's a. It's a million of y' all low writers out there. So it may not just be black people, but I'm speaking to us. When I say I've had to learn a lot about when you get on the microphone, when you get on a social media platform, you know, wherever you have a voice, making that something that, like, when you say these things and when you put these things out there, there is a. There's always a responsibility for us. We don't have a choice. There is always a responsibility for us. So making it something that, you know, makes sense. If Essence is in active real time owning up and being accountable for where they messed up and wanting to fix and rectify, I think we begin to have conversations about that. Okay, here's where you could rectify. Here's what I didn't appreciate, and here's what I think you could do better versus just saying this. Why I can't support nothing black. There was a Superdome, not Superdome, but there was a sweet experience that people complained a lot about, too. And I began to see that on TikTok. And Essence addressed it. They use their social media to address it. And they said, look, this experience used to be this way. It is now this other way. Did we get it correct? No, we did not. Are we open to being accountable and changing? Yes, we are. We need more brands like that, because who else y' all know, hearing y' all hearing us and caring about us Enough to want to make sure the catered experience is that which it has always been. Where it feels like a family reunion, it feels like home. The whole point in all of this is to encourage you guys to, you know, if you are one of the people that attended Essence Festival this past week, did not enjoy your experience, and you're online talking about it, I don't think you got to coddle your experience. I think your experience is yours. And I think it's important, if you feel like it's important for the right reasons to get online and express it. But I think we also have to really ask ourselves a question. When you decide to. And this is something I had to learn in this, and I'm still learning. When you decide to get on the mic and you decide to use your voice, is it to help or is it to hurt? And if it is to hurt, why do you want to do that to someone that looks like you, that is building, you know, a company that stands for you? And regardless who the partners are. Right. Like, we don't always have to agree with those things, but it takes money to make money. So if we can cater how the money's been given, who it's from, who we're involved with, what the experience is like, if we can open our mouths to adjust that and polish that, I would take that over us just having nothing. We need Essence Magazine. We need Essence Festival. These are places for us. These are experiences for us. I know I've been going for a minute, y', all, but, I mean, I don't know. I guess this could qualify as in the streets, in the tweets. You for the tweets. We outside. We outside. We outside, outside in the tweets. Every other page are gold. When I say it was so loud over the weekend, I was like, man, they ain't come in Essence. No breaks. I would love to hear from some of you guys, some of the lowriders who may have been at Essence Festival. I did not attend this year. I chose to be with family. Um, but shout out to Essence, though the there, they did reach out for me to attend. And that's not why I did this whole spill. I did it because I truly felt this way. Let me know, how did you guys feel? What did you experience? I know I. I saw Nas perform. I saw so many different people performing, so y' all had to have fun somewhere. Let me know how y' all felt about it. Would love to hear from you guys. This has been the Latest with Lauren LaRosa, a dedicated episode to Essence magazine. Because without them, you wouldn't have me. Hello, riders. I tell y' all at the end of every episode, at the end of the day, there's always a lot to talk about. And y' all could talk about that anywhere with anybody. But y' all are right here with me every single episode. And I appreciate you guys for that. I will see you guys in my next one. This is an iHeart podcast.
