Montgomery, Alabama has long carried the weight of American history. But last weekend, it carried something else entirely: the energy of a city leaning forward. A Fine & Dandy Affair, part of ESSENCE's Road to Festival series, pulled together entrepreneurs, healthcare advocates, community leaders, and residents for a full day built around health, wealth, and…
Three Black beauty founders reflect on what June 19th means to their work, their heritage, and the communities they are building one product at a time.
June 19, 1865 is the date most Americans now know as the anchor of Juneteenth. That afternoon in Galveston, Texas, enslaved people learned what had already been law for…
A rapid sellout puts Cardi B’s hair care debut at the center of a crowded beauty market and sets up a test of staying power
When Cardi B introduced her hair care line GrowGood, the response was swift and decisive. Within 45 minutes, every item in the catalog was gone. It was a…
There is a period at the end of DIARRABLU. And it is not a typo, It is a declaration. When Diarra Bousso named her brand back in 2013, she made a deliberate choice to do something, in her own words, rebellious. She was an artist and a mathematician, and she was done pretending those two…
Black Women like Simone I. Smith, when most people hear the name, they think of her decades-long marriage to hip-hop icon LL Cool J. But Smith, 1 on our list, has spent years building a legacy that is entirely her own.
As the founder of her eponymous jewelry line and a prominent philanthropist, she has…
The Duchess of Sussex and the streaming giant have parted ways on her As Ever lifestyle brand, raising fresh questions about her post-royal reinvention.
Meghan Markle's lifestyle venture is entering a new phase — this time, without Netflix. The streaming giant confirmed it has ended its investment in As Ever, the Duchess of Sussex's consumer brand,…

