Each summer, Essence Festival descends upon New Orleans with a promise: to celebrate Black culture, empower Black women, and uplift the African-American experience through music, community, and inspiration. For decades, the Essence Festival—affectionately called “Essence Fest”—has been a sacred gathering. A reunion. A cultural altar. But recently, there’s been a shift. A noticeable one. And it has many of us asking:
Has Essence Festival evolved with the times—or devolved into something unrecognizable?
From African-American Celebration to Global Diaspora Inclusion
The conversation around Essence Fest 2025 isn’t just about music or celebrity headliners. It’s about identity. For years, the festival was rooted in the unique fabric of the African-American experience—descendants of American slavery, Southern traditions, HBCUs, Black churches, and the soul-deep resilience that comes from being Black in America.
Now, there’s an intentional pivot to include the entire Black diaspora: Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinas, Africans from the continent, and more.
The official headliners for Essence Festival of Culture 2025, held July 3–6 in New Orleans, were:
- Boyz II Men
- Davido … ??? Really?
- Master P (closing his music career with this performance)
- Maxwell
- Lauryn Hill
On the surface, this sounds progressive, global, even beautiful. And it can be. But for many African-Americans, it feels like a quiet erasure. A watering-down of a space that was ours, and only recently.
Personally, I stand in agreement with the Black American’s collective POV: This was made, for us, not for everybody “black.”
Caroline A. Wanga is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essence Ventures and Essence Communications, which includes Essence magazine, Afropunk, BeautyCon, and Essence Studios.
She was appointed CEO in early 2021. She joined in 2020 as Chief Growth Officer. She previously spent 15 years at Target Corporation. She rose to Chief Inclusion, Diversity, and Culture Officer. She brings a powerful focus on authenticity, culture, equity, and purpose-driven leadership. Ironic, no?
The current leadership at Essence hails from Target Corporation, the same place that ended their DEI efforts in 2025, and ushered in what felt like a complete slap in the face to their biggest consumer-base: black women.
Does this mean Caroline Wanga is no qualified? Of course not, but what about appointing an African-American HBCU grad to fully represent the true “essence” of the Black American experience?
Just my two cents.
The Question of Cultural Ownership
What happens when the culture you built becomes a platform for others?
That’s the tension.
African-Americans have fought for decades to have our culture recognized, respected, and protected. Essence Fest was one of the few places that felt untouched by outside forces. It wasn’t made to explain our story—it was a place where we didn’t have to. It wasn’t inclusive by design because it didn’t need to be. It was specific. And that specificity was powerful.
But as media, marketing, and global blackness converge, some feel Essence has lost its footing. The programming feels more commercial. The musical guests, more disconnected from the people. The panels, less rooted in real issues Black American communities are facing—like generational wealth gaps, public health crises, or the cultural confusion around identity.
There’s a growing sentiment: The soul is missing.
Essence of What?
A popular TikTok’er Deja Zhane has posed a powerful question:
“What happened to Black American heritage at Essence Fest?”
Ask around, and you’ll hear it:
- “It doesn’t feel the same.”
- “It’s giving influencer conference, not family reunion.”
- “Where are the elders, the aunties, the church hats, the second lines?”
- “Why does it feel like a corporate takeover of our healing space?”
And perhaps the harshest critique: Essence Festival is trying to be everything to everyone—and in doing so, it’s becoming nothing to anyone.
Inclusivity is important. But so is intentionality. Not all spaces need to be global to be impactful. Some need to remain sacred.
Evolve or Devolve? Maybe It’s Both.
Change is inevitable. Culture is fluid. And there is something magical about bringing the entire diaspora together under one umbrella. But we can’t ignore the cost. When every voice is amplified, the most foundational ones—those who built the stage—often get drowned out.
Essence doesn’t need to go backward. But it does need to remember why it started. Who it was for. And who still needs it.
Hold the Line
We’re at a cultural crossroads. As Blackness becomes increasingly global and marketable, we must ask: Who gets to tell the story? Who gets to profit from the story? And more importantly—who still needs a seat at the table that feels like home?
Essence Festival has the power to be both a celebration and a sanctuary. But only if it stops chasing clout and recenter the community that gave it life in the first place.
Because evolution without preservation isn’t progress—it’s erasure.
Written by Giselle
Founder of Giselle Avenue – A space where culture, conversation, and consciousness meet.
Giselle Avenue 
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