00:00 - Hi everyone, hi.
00:01 My name is Ehiz, I'm from London
00:03 and I've just moved to the States.
00:04 But I've actually heard of Essence a few years ago
00:07 from the film "Girls Trip"
00:09 because Essence is not big in the UK at all.
00:12 And me and my older sister, we're big fans of Essence
00:16 because it's quite a small niche.
00:17 You don't really hear anything about Essence in the UK.
00:19 And just seeing the first snippet is quite liberating
00:22 knowing that I'm a black man myself
00:23 and I'm respectful of women
00:25 and I have a lot of sisters who are women as well.
00:27 Sisters who are women, women who are cisgendered women.
00:30 Yeah, yeah.
00:32 And yeah, even me being a male,
00:34 I sometimes feel a bit envious sometimes
00:36 just knowing how there's so much talent that women have
00:40 and it's not really showcased that much.
00:42 And seeing a documentary like this is quite liberating
00:46 and it makes me proud being a black person
00:47 seeing how women have really pushed
00:50 and strived so many years
00:51 to get to where they are right now.
00:53 And I just wanted to know,
00:54 do you guys ever see yourself going international
00:57 and branching out to other areas other than just the US?
01:00 Despite the fact that the population in the US is massive,
01:03 do you guys see yourself going out to the masses
01:06 and reaching out to other audiences
01:08 who are black globally?
01:10 So I'm gonna direct that question to Goddess Rivera.
01:12 Will you stand, Goddess?
01:13 Somebody get her a mic.
01:14 So Goddess Rivera.
01:15 Goddess Rivera is the current chief content officer,
01:20 which is now the type of title
01:22 that an editor-in-chief would have.
01:23 So if you're wondering who our current editor-in-chief is,
01:25 it's this woman, Goddess Rivera.
01:27 I'm gonna let her answer that question.
01:28 (audience applauding)
01:31 You know, I have been very fortunate
01:33 to work across the entire world,
01:38 across the diaspora,
01:39 and I think about the connectivity of blackness.
01:43 And so when I think about the sky being the limit,
01:47 it was really hard for me not to get emotional.
01:49 Then get emotional.
01:50 Watching this.
01:51 Get emotional, girl!
01:53 You know, my family is from Macon, Georgia.
01:56 In Clinton, South Carolina.
01:59 A place, two places where people
02:02 are often very counted out.
02:04 And I've really seen in my work throughout my career
02:07 that I've been blessed to do
02:09 is that there's so many similarities
02:11 to so many other black experiences around the world.
02:15 So when I think about the amazing opportunity
02:17 that I have to step into this role,
02:19 and my heart is beating so fast
02:21 being in the room with Mickey Taylor.
02:23 With these amazing legends.
02:25 Audrey, I mean, I'm so excited to be in this role.
02:29 I think about how we can now,
02:32 through connectivity, through technology,
02:34 through what we have that we didn't have in 1970,
02:37 be able to expand this beautiful brand,
02:42 this beautiful legacy of blackness around the entire world.
02:46 And so I am very honored,
02:48 and I will absolutely make that my mission.
02:51 And I love what we have through Essence Ventures,
02:55 which is Essence and amazing brands
02:58 that we can make sure that we touch folks around the world.
03:01 So I am very excited to say that I accept a challenge,
03:05 and I have thought of it.
03:06 And I would love to continue to see this brand
03:09 and be the steward that helps us
03:12 be that bridge internationally.
03:14 So I will take you up on that.
03:15 - So I'm gonna ask Mickey Taylor
03:17 to respond to this question as well,
03:19 if you'll give her the mic.
03:20 Here's why.
03:21 You didn't see it in this episode.
03:22 I've watched every episode five times.
03:24 I have it memorized.
03:26 I could play parts if we had needed to understudy.
03:29 But I want Mickey Taylor to speak on this,
03:31 because while, goddess, what you said is accurate,
03:33 and your question is right,
03:35 you'll see in one of the episodes,
03:36 Mickey talk about how the brand has been global.
03:39 So Mickey, will you just talk about,
03:41 in the time that you were there and what you know,
03:43 what was the global presence of this magazine?
03:45 'Cause it ain't new.
03:47 - No, no, not at all.
03:48 - And stand so they can see your gorgeous self.
03:50 I know they looked at you the whole time,
03:52 but Mickey Taylor, ladies and gentlemen.
03:55 (audience cheering)
03:57 - So no, so Essence has been global for quite some time,
04:01 because there's been a hunger across the world.
04:04 Essence held up the mirror on black women.
04:08 Essence was the magazine that taught black women
04:10 not to ask for permission because she had authority.
04:13 And so women understood that in the US,
04:16 and women hungered for it in the UK,
04:18 in France, in Africa, in Brazil.
04:21 You could go across the world.
04:22 So when we started traveling,
04:25 certainly myself and Essence fashion director,
04:27 who is present tonight, Pamela Macklin,
04:29 we would visit stores,
04:33 we would see Essence in airports throughout the world,
04:37 WH Booksmith on the Rivoli in Paris,
04:41 and in London and what have you.
04:42 So there was a demand for it.
04:44 There was a hunger for it.
04:46 And because Essence had the role of affirming, inspiring,
04:50 and just empowering black women,
04:53 and there was no woman of African descent
04:56 that didn't need that.
04:57 This was a place where you beheld yourself.
04:59 So we had been global,
05:00 despite all odds against us to hold our truths back.
05:05 So yeah, you don't have to search far.
05:08 We're there.
05:09 We're everywhere you are.
05:10 (audience cheering)
05:11 - The incomparable Mickey Taylor, ladies and gentlemen.
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