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“ESSENCE Taught Us How to Be Black” Giving Black Women Their Flowers at Black Women in Business 2025
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00:00:14Let's get started.
00:01:30Welcome.
00:01:31I hope everybody got the tour in and everybody got to experience Ms. Madam C.J. Walker's mansion.
00:01:40First off, I want to say good afternoon to everybody and welcome.
00:01:43Welcome to Madam C.J. Walker's mansion.
00:01:46I just want to take a moment so that we can appreciate that we're standing in the home of America's
00:01:53first self-made female millionaire.
00:01:57And Lord knows what that means because inflation is crazy.
00:02:01So probably billionaire at this point.
00:02:03A black woman.
00:02:05The energy is here.
00:02:07Don't you guys feel it?
00:02:09How many of you guys feel it?
00:02:10I want to feel you guys feel it.
00:02:13So today we gather in celebration of today's theme, undeniable, the rise of resilience.
00:02:20The extraordinary black women in business that embody resilience, leadership, and innovation in everything they do.
00:02:28And we are so honored to have them with us here today.
00:02:33So with that, like everything we do here at Essence this afternoon is unapologetically intentional.
00:02:40We're not here to ask for permission.
00:02:43Can I get an okay?
00:02:44Amen.
00:02:46And amen.
00:02:47Okay, now I feel the energy.
00:02:49We're not here to ask for permission or a seat at the table.
00:02:52We are the table.
00:02:53We're here to affirm what we already know.
00:02:57What all of us in this room know.
00:02:58That black women are simply participants.
00:03:01And not just participants in business, but instead we are the architects.
00:03:06We are the innovators.
00:03:08And frankly, the ones holding it all together.
00:03:11I know what word you guys submitted from that.
00:03:14So let's celebrate brilliance.
00:03:17Let's celebrate resilience.
00:03:18And let's celebrate the undeniable force that is black women in business.
00:03:24And in the same spirit, I would like everybody to please give a warm, warm welcome to the stage.
00:03:33Raquel Purcell, Chief Transformation Officer of the L'Oreal Group North America.
00:03:43I feel the energy.
00:03:45That was amazing.
00:03:47You all look stunning.
00:03:49Thank you for being here.
00:03:51I want to first start with a re-emphasis that we are here in the home of Villa Lawaro.
00:03:59The legacy of the first beauty entrepreneur and engineer.
00:04:03You said it, the first self-made woman millionaire of America.
00:04:08And I think it's really powerful that she is a black woman.
00:04:12So to be in this space surrounded by beauty, strength, and leadership of black women is deeply meaningful for me.
00:04:23It is an honor to stand with all of you and such inspiring honorees and leaders.
00:04:30But we find ourselves in a very interesting moment.
00:04:34We come together to celebrate at a time of great challenge and questions.
00:04:41But over the last several months, hundreds of thousands of black women have lost their jobs in the U.S.,
00:04:49a reality that weighs heavily on all of us.
00:04:52I want to reinforce the conviction of L'Oreal that we stand with black women.
00:05:00We honor your, our, my resilience, your, our, my creativity, your essential role in business, in culture, and society.
00:05:15L'Oreal's commitments as the number one beauty company in the world.
00:05:18Our mission is to create the beauty that moves the world by serving, reflecting, and uplifting consumers from every walk
00:05:27of life.
00:05:28I put an exclamation point on every walk of life.
00:05:32I'm proud of our commitment to representation, the workforce diversity, to hiring, to supporting black women leaders.
00:05:40Our cultural fluency and relevance remains critical to our mission.
00:05:44And so with these partnerships, like the very important partnership with Essence, we are so incredibly excited with this call
00:05:54to action.
00:05:55So today we stand on the shoulders of giants like Madam C.J. Walker, who showed us what's possible when
00:06:03black women lead and innovate in beauty and business.
00:06:07I want you to know that we see you, we honor you, and we stand with you.
00:06:14Together we are creating spaces where black women thrive and shape the future beyond beauty.
00:06:20So I thank you, I thank you Essence.
00:06:23It is our honor to be here.
00:06:25Congratulations to the honorees and to the people who I will personally get to honor later today.
00:06:32I'm very excited about that.
00:06:34But all of the honorees, again, we're happy to be with you.
00:06:38Thank you for your leadership, your courage, and your vision.
00:06:46It's a big step.
00:06:47Oh, thank you so much.
00:06:49I am Kurt McDonald.
00:06:51I'm the CEO of the Sundial Media Group.
00:06:54It is my honor and privilege to be here with you.
00:06:58Raquel, thank you so very, very much.
00:07:01Before we go into the actual awards presentations, I want to take a moment to, again, recognize and thank some
00:07:10very important people in this room.
00:07:12First, again, thank you to our presenting sponsor, L'Oreal Group.
00:07:17Thank you for your unwavering commitment to celebrating and empowering women.
00:07:23And today, celebrating and empowering black women in business.
00:07:27Without you, this is not possible, and we are so grateful.
00:07:31Your partnership and belief in our mission makes moments like this, cultural moments like this, happen.
00:07:38Second, to the Essence Ventures Board and all of our sponsors here, you're a part of this.
00:07:44So thank you for your continued investment in uplifting black women leaders.
00:07:49Your support creates the foundation for this work.
00:07:52To the families and teams standing behind our honorees today, we see you.
00:08:00It's not possible without that village of supporters, cheerleaders, because we know the days and nights are dark and lonely
00:08:09for these leaders.
00:08:10We see you and we thank you.
00:08:13You make it possible.
00:08:15Your support has not gone unnoticed.
00:08:18Now, to our honorees, to your families that are here, your teams, we are here because of the incredible work
00:08:26you continue to do.
00:08:28You're not done.
00:08:29You're lifting and you're pulling us along with you.
00:08:34We celebrate with you.
00:08:36Let's give every member here, every honoree here, a warm round of applause as we thank you.
00:08:44Now, I'm going to get out of your way.
00:08:46And coming up as we get started is our Chief Content Officer, Michelle G.
00:08:51Okay, first things first.
00:08:53I don't know who's in menopause, but I asked them to turn the heat down because it's hot in here,
00:08:56okay?
00:08:57That is the first thing.
00:08:59I said, oh my goodness, please turn the heat down.
00:09:02So anybody who knows me knows that, like, I love to speak.
00:09:06I think I'm good at it.
00:09:07God has blessed me.
00:09:08But today is so important.
00:09:09I've wanted to print my little notes on my printer.
00:09:11So I wasted 16 pages of this, but it's only going to take a few minutes.
00:09:16No, no, it's not.
00:09:17That's what I'm saying.
00:09:18Come on, Ursula.
00:09:18We know we got places to be.
00:09:20Okay.
00:09:21It's in big font.
00:09:22It's in big font.
00:09:24Okay.
00:09:25Why they give me a mic?
00:09:26Okay, so listen.
00:09:28I want you guys to look around.
00:09:30Isn't this room magnificent?
00:09:31Now, I really just want to take a moment because we are in a time in our history where they're
00:09:35trying to roll it back.
00:09:36They're trying to remind us that we're not important and invisible.
00:09:40And so I want to just make sure you understand, like, the importance of this moment.
00:09:45And I want to thank our board and Kirk and our owner and the sales team and everybody
00:09:51because when we walk through this house, we're like, it has to be here.
00:09:55It must be in this house at this time in this moment.
00:09:59So y'all, listen, y'all special.
00:10:03So I just want to just welcome you here.
00:10:07They said my title is chief content officer.
00:10:10I probably have a whole bunch of titles.
00:10:11But what I want to let you know is that the reason why this is so important to me is
00:10:15because
00:10:16I know what it feels like to be invisible.
00:10:18I know what it feels like to be underpaid, undervalued, not invited, ideas stolen.
00:10:24But guess what?
00:10:25We still standing.
00:10:27And we're going to claim our victory.
00:10:30So I'm going to say I'm amongst peers.
00:10:32Maybe not, but probably.
00:10:35But understand, we're amongst trailblazers.
00:10:38We're amongst legends, although you still look like you're 48, Miss Patti LaBelle.
00:10:42We're among women, and we stand on their shoulders today in this room, right, because we know
00:10:47that we cannot do it alone.
00:10:48See, that was one page, Ursula.
00:10:50That was just going fast.
00:10:52It's going fast.
00:10:53And what we also know is that black women in business are oftentimes invisible,
00:10:57and we do not get celebrated enough.
00:10:59So on this beautiful Thursday, because it rained yesterday, right?
00:11:04Didn't it rain yesterday?
00:11:05So it rained yesterday.
00:11:06So on this beautiful and blessed Thursday afternoon, we're going to change that,
00:11:10and we're going to honor the women that deserve to be honored alongside L'Oreal.
00:11:14And I've got to say this because things like this don't happen without sponsors.
00:11:17We know P&G is in the room.
00:11:18L'Oreal is our presenting sponsor.
00:11:20So thank you for seeing us.
00:11:22Thank you for showing us.
00:11:23Thank you for coming with your posse.
00:11:24We see you.
00:11:25So we're honoring women who built empires.
00:11:27We know that Ursula Burns is here.
00:11:29She broke barriers.
00:11:30She was the first black SEAL.
00:11:32How is that possible?
00:11:34And that wasn't that long ago.
00:11:37And there's still only one today, right?
00:11:41Our friend Tashunda.
00:11:42And so this is not just for ourselves, but for everybody coming behind us,
00:11:46because we know it's possible for everybody.
00:11:48So finally, this room is intentional.
00:11:51So we had to make a decision, right?
00:11:52We're like, oh, my gosh.
00:11:53You know, Richard Lou Dennis is a visionary.
00:11:55He's like, 40 people?
00:11:57We can't fit 140?
00:11:58But I want you to know that it wasn't about not allowing people in.
00:12:04It was about making sure that we created a room that there was impact,
00:12:07that you guys could connect.
00:12:09We wanted to make sure that it wasn't crowded, but that it was,
00:12:12listen, it says circle, but it's a rectangle, so that you guys could talk.
00:12:17Where that every voice matters and every voice is heard,
00:12:20because what we know is when there's a lot of noise, transformation can't happen.
00:12:24So we wanted to keep the room really, really small.
00:12:27It was intentional.
00:12:28So this afternoon, we're going to breathe.
00:12:31We're going to connect.
00:12:32We're going to celebrate all of you.
00:12:33So guess who's up first?
00:12:35It's my honor.
00:12:37And I get a little teary, because Monica, we go way, way, way, way, way back.
00:12:42I don't want to say, because I'm only 29.
00:12:45But I've been working 30 years in the business house at negative one and menopause.
00:12:52But it's so important to honor women like Monica,
00:12:54because nobody would know who she is if we didn't honor her today.
00:12:57Unless you, like, read the reports and the financial reports,
00:13:00because she's hidden in such a big corporation.
00:13:01But I can tell you personally, she saw me in my career
00:13:05and made sure that I had a seat at the table.
00:13:08So today, we honor you, Monica Turner.
00:13:11So our first award goes to you,
00:13:14and it is called the Leadership Award in Corporate America,
00:13:16which honors a woman whose ability to inspire, guide, celebrate, elevate others.
00:13:24You have set the standard in business excellence.
00:13:27And you're here with your husband.
00:13:28I called him Christopher.
00:13:29His name is Christian.
00:13:30I got it now.
00:13:31I learned fast.
00:13:33Come on.
00:13:34So, Monica, you're president at Procter & Gamble,
00:13:37which is not an easy title to acquire.
00:13:39And you spent four decades.
00:13:42Girl, you look good, because corporate America ain't easy to manage.
00:13:47But I want you guys to know this.
00:13:49$43 billion was under her domain.
00:13:53She drove $13 billion.
00:13:56I love to say numbers, because numbers are important.
00:13:58$13 billion in five years.
00:14:01If I had that much money, I wouldn't be here today.
00:14:06Monica, your leadership hasn't just been about the results, because you have way over-delivered.
00:14:12But it's really been about you opening doors and lifting up others.
00:14:15And I want to see you today.
00:14:17I want to celebrate you today.
00:14:18So I want you to join me on this stage, because you are worthy to receive the Corporate Leadership Award.
00:14:31I appreciate it.
00:14:32Hello, everybody.
00:14:33Hello, Marla.
00:14:34Oh, you guys look good out there.
00:14:36Let me tell you.
00:14:38Thank you so much.
00:14:39I first have to say thank you, Michelle, for this honor and, you know, the Essence team.
00:14:45It's an incredible honor to be amongst the honorees here today, but I have to thank Essence for 55 years
00:14:55of unapologetically celebrating the brilliance of black women.
00:15:01So many times unseen, unrecognized, but not by Essence.
00:15:08So I thank you.
00:15:09I honor you.
00:15:11We've had a longstanding commitment with Essence at Procter & Gamble.
00:15:15We wanted to make sure we were really telling the stories through our advertising in partnership with them.
00:15:21But nothing goes without saying how proud I am to work with this incredible Essence team.
00:15:27Each time I get to actually meet with you, Rich gives me long lunches, invites all his friends, and then
00:15:36the balance of the Essence team brings it all together and says, Monica, here's what we need.
00:15:42But, you know, what I could always appreciate is it takes people to care to ensure that our culture, our
00:15:50relevance, the authentic connections we need to make to continue to make this world a better place.
00:15:57And without people like the Essence team and without you and your family, Rich, I think our community wouldn't be
00:16:06as strong as it is.
00:16:07So I thank you.
00:16:08I honor you.
00:16:09And it just means so much to be here today.
00:16:13You know, you said it right.
00:16:14You know, sometimes people ask me.
00:16:16I just had Ursula.
00:16:17I was talking to her.
00:16:17She said, where have you been?
00:16:18I said, I'm getting to work.
00:16:20And I've been making sure that I've done what people did for me to ensure we do widen the path
00:16:27for others.
00:16:28So some of us do a lot out loud.
00:16:31Some of us make sure we're getting it done so that others don't have to take as long as we
00:16:36do.
00:16:37And I feel like when I'm in this house, that must have been what she thought too.
00:16:43You know, you're standing here and I'm standing with you in the house that Madam C.J. Walker built.
00:16:49And I look at it and it's incredible.
00:16:52But she was more incredible.
00:16:54I'm reminded by her words, don't sit down and wait for opportunities to come.
00:17:00Get up and make them.
00:17:01And at Procter and Gamble, that's what it's about.
00:17:05And that's where I've been.
00:17:06She didn't just build a business.
00:17:08She built belief in what's possible for generations of leaders.
00:17:12You know, I was telling Ursula and I said, you didn't know this, Ursula, but I was going to talk
00:17:17about you, even though at the time she's like, I'm not sure I know who you are.
00:17:21Where you been?
00:17:22But I tell you, Ursula, and this is truly from the heart, seeing you honored here tonight is deeply personal
00:17:29for me.
00:17:30As a business leader in corporate America, where there's not a lot of visibility for people like you, so that
00:17:36I can actually see what it could be.
00:17:39You were the first black woman that inspired me to see that it could be done at a Fortune 500
00:17:46company.
00:17:47You showed me and so many others leadership at the highest level is possible.
00:17:53And so I say to Madam C.J. Walker and to you, because you were, I am.
00:17:59As I reflect on my journey, I know for sure visibility creates possibility.
00:18:04From intern to president of a Fortune 50 company, I've been fortunate to lead with purpose and impact, knowing every
00:18:13step forward widens the path for someone else.
00:18:17I accept this honor with deep gratitude, but a deeper purpose to make a difference.
00:18:23But I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my husband, Chris.
00:18:26I would also like to recognize him.
00:18:29Chris has been my foundation and my rock for 38 years.
00:18:32So this goes way back, Michelle.
00:18:35You know, so Chris, thank you.
00:18:37I love you, I love you, and I appreciate you.
00:18:40And as I end, I just want to say thank you also to L'Oreal.
00:18:44We may compete, but thank you, my sisters, for continuing to lead the way.
00:18:51In this house, there is no competition.
00:18:54They're just full of love and support.
00:18:57So thank you and congratulations to my fellow honorees.
00:19:01I feel truly blessed to be here with all of you.
00:19:13I'm almost 60, but y'all see I didn't need help getting on this podium.
00:19:16Okay.
00:19:16Monica, thank you for that.
00:19:18And thank you to understand that there's competition, but there's not,
00:19:22there shouldn't be competition in this room, because we have to elevate everyone.
00:19:24And not in this house.
00:19:25I love that.
00:19:26So she teed it up.
00:19:28Miss Ursula Burns, you are next.
00:19:30I love this.
00:19:31Come on, you guys.
00:19:33The Lifetime of Achievement Award goes to the
00:19:37one, the only, Ursula Burns.
00:19:40So we already said it, but what is crazy is that the only Fortune 500 CEO for Xerox in
00:19:502009, it wasn't that long ago, 2009, which tells you everything about why we wanted to honor.
00:19:58And we, I said, Rich said, I can find Ursula.
00:20:00I said, yo, yeah, we love, yeah, yes, we want Miss Ursula Burns.
00:20:03So your journey at Xerox began in 1980 as a summer intern.
00:20:07And I want to go through this because it's really important.
00:20:09It doesn't matter where you start.
00:20:10It matters where you end.
00:20:12So over three decades, she rose through every level of the company until you became CEO.
00:20:17And under your leadership, you orchestrated $6.4 billion acquisition that ultimately transformed
00:20:25Xerox into an independent public company.
00:20:28Oh, we're going to give you your flowers today.
00:20:30We're going to give you your flowers today.
00:20:33President Obama appointed you to lead the White House's National STEM Program.
00:20:38Come on, y'all.
00:20:39I want to clap after every line to chair the president's, did I say this right?
00:20:45To chair the president's expert council.
00:20:48You've held many board positions, Exxon, American Express, Nestle.
00:20:54Today you serve on the board of Uber and-
00:20:56Don't call me with any problems.
00:21:00When your Uber don't show up, don't call Ursula.
00:21:04Unless your name is Rich.
00:21:06Exactly.
00:21:08But not only that, you're also the founder.
00:21:10You're the founding part of a private equity firm.
00:21:13Sis, you're still doing it.
00:21:15So we want to just tell you that we appreciate you because you didn't wait for permission.
00:21:20You did not wait for permission.
00:21:22You are undeniable.
00:21:23You are amazing.
00:21:24You are what we aspire to be.
00:21:27And so we are so excited to be here to honor you today.
00:21:31So let me move off the stage so I can let you come up here and get your flowers.
00:21:38So obviously she's running for something.
00:21:42Or if she thinks I'm running for something, I can appoint her to something.
00:21:46None of those are true.
00:21:48You know, I'm going to sway a little bit.
00:21:50But I am 67 years old.
00:21:55The other day, so September 20th, I turned 67 years old.
00:21:59And I was sitting in my living room thinking, I'm 67 years old.
00:22:05How the heck does that happen?
00:22:08And how do I look so goddamn good?
00:22:10And the reason why, I'm going to say this a little bit later.
00:22:12I remember when I was growing up, my mother was the person who taught me how to kind of be
00:22:17a normal human and have good manners and everything.
00:22:22But I learned how to be black by reading Essence magazine.
00:22:26Remember that?
00:22:27We would see things like creams that you put on your face and, you know, how you had to do
00:22:34your hair a certain way.
00:22:35We didn't do any of that stuff, but we at least saw it, right?
00:22:38And they taught us how to do that.
00:22:39So, Rich, I'm going to talk about you a little bit later again, but thank you so much for keeping
00:22:44this whole thing alive.
00:22:46We need it.
00:22:47We need a voice that teaches our young men and women who will need it more than ever how to
00:22:54be black.
00:22:55Because we actually know how to be bad white people.
00:22:59That's what we're learning a lot.
00:23:00But we have to learn how to be good people and particularly good black people.
00:23:06Thank you to all of you in the room.
00:23:08I agree.
00:23:08Small is really good and it's beautiful and tight.
00:23:11Whoever said that earlier is important.
00:23:14And congratulations to all of the other awardees.
00:23:17When I read the list, I was like, oh, my goodness.
00:23:20And Patti LaBelle is going to be here.
00:23:22I mean, I was going to wear something different, but that would make me not Ursula.
00:23:27This is me.
00:23:29But I love you, sister.
00:23:30You are amazing.
00:23:32I love all of you who are winning.
00:23:35Who's my violin player?
00:23:37Where is she?
00:23:39I mean, what the heck is that about?
00:23:41I mean, it's just amazing.
00:23:43I'm honored.
00:23:45Madam Walker made me possible.
00:23:50Everybody looks at me and says, oh, my God, you're just amazing thing.
00:23:53A little bit of luck, hard work, really good support, but an infrastructure that we don't
00:24:00pay a lot of attention to anymore as black people and particularly as white Americans.
00:24:06They're trying to actually have us forget just how powerful, how resilient, how grit filled
00:24:14we are.
00:24:15Think about what we had to go through to just get here.
00:24:18And I spent a lot of time with Bryan Stevenson, if you ever get to go to.
00:24:24You go and you say, how the heck do we do this?
00:24:26How are we still here?
00:24:28The best efforts to destroy a culture and a people have failed.
00:24:33We cannot be the reason that we fail going forward.
00:24:37We cannot.
00:24:38We can't give up.
00:24:40You know, it's.
00:24:41Anyway, I grew up with Essence.
00:24:43I love it.
00:24:44I had a great mother, a wonderful, wonderful husband, very much like your husband, who kind
00:24:50of just, you know, grit his teeth and just kind of kept going along and saying, you know,
00:24:56I'll just do anything you want.
00:24:57You know, just stop talking, Ursula, stop talking.
00:25:01We have a fight right now that we are engaged in that we cannot underestimate the efforts
00:25:09and the organized approach to trying to destroy a group of people.
00:25:15I know I shouldn't be political, but this is not a light effort.
00:25:19This was planned.
00:25:21But we've lived through hundreds of years of trying to destroy a people and a culture,
00:25:26and we've survived.
00:25:28And, by the way, women at the foundation of that, but we've got to watch our brothers,
00:25:32because I tell you, if we don't watch them, we have nothing.
00:25:37We have nothing.
00:25:38They have to come with us, lead us in a whole bunch of efforts.
00:25:41I'm happy to be here, and everybody in this room should be happy, but we have a whole bunch
00:25:46of people who are not participating to the levels that they should be.
00:25:50It's our responsibility to take them along.
00:25:52It's our responsibility, right?
00:25:54We have to give them money if they need it.
00:25:56Give them an education if they need it.
00:25:58We have to take care of these guys, because I was saying to Monica earlier that if you think
00:26:04about how many black women there are in the United States, there's not that many.
00:26:08And if you think about it, look at all the successful black women in this room.
00:26:12We outpunch our weight by a lot.
00:26:15We need more, but we should be like one, two percent of the population here.
00:26:19We definitely participate at a higher rate, but not at a high enough rate.
00:26:23And whoever brought this up, we still get paid 83 cents on the dollar for every friggin'
00:26:29white guy that goes to work.
00:26:30We do the same exact jobs.
00:26:33You know, we clean the hallways and run companies.
00:26:36Everything in that scale, just like the white guys do, and we still get paid 83 cents on
00:26:42the dollar.
00:26:42It's ridiculous, right?
00:26:44We know how to do this better than we're doing it.
00:26:46We may have to step from behind the curtain a little bit and risk a little bit more than
00:26:51we have been risking.
00:26:52It's going to be tough out there.
00:26:54By the way, they know who we are.
00:26:55I'm on the board of the Ford Foundation.
00:26:56We get the letter from J.D. Vance that said, I want to make sure that you know that we're
00:27:00looking at the Ford Foundation because we are a virulent, this is what it said, virulent,
00:27:06anti-American institution.
00:27:08What?
00:27:09I'm like, I read this note and said, they must have gotten the wrong name because they
00:27:14couldn't be talking about the Ford Foundation.
00:27:16This is like the guys who do Head Start, right?
00:27:18But it's amazing how the message is now, that's what anti-American looks like, right?
00:27:25He's right.
00:27:26His vision of America, we don't fit.
00:27:29But he's one guy, and actually not the smartest guy.
00:27:34We are millions of people, and we have some friends that we have to bring along with us,
00:27:40and we'll be better.
00:27:41So, Rich and I are not long friends.
00:27:45I met you maybe five, six years ago, and I don't have a lot of friends.
00:27:51People who know me know this.
00:27:52I have like probably 10 people that I can call good friends, and probably 20 that I can call
00:27:57if I'm really stuck, like in jail, and they can come help me.
00:28:00But so let's say 10 people who are really good friends, and a lot of, you know, the picture
00:28:05of a friend is that you hang out with them, and you talk with them, and you get to know
00:28:09them really well.
00:28:10Rich is a good friend.
00:28:11So when he called me, it didn't take more than 30 seconds except for the, to say absolutely,
00:28:18because we, we can war together, right?
00:28:22You're strong enough to war together with, and thank you for that.
00:28:26You know, this building is one of the examples.
00:28:29You know, Group Black is another, all these ideas that we're going to try them, works great.
00:28:34If it doesn't work, we, at least we tried it.
00:28:37And so keep it up, brother.
00:28:39I mean, we really, really, really need you.
00:28:41I love you.
00:28:42And I feel, even though five years, like I've been friends for 20 years.
00:28:47And last words, we have to keep up the fight.
00:28:50We cannot get frightened into a corner.
00:28:53We are here because Madam CJ Walker literally, imagine this woman in this country who was
00:29:00still hanging people, right?
00:29:02Literally buys this place, starts a business.
00:29:07Imagine all of these people who came over, not at their own free will, but who fought for
00:29:12us, who died for us.
00:29:14If we don't put our best efforts into assuring that we don't move backwards, then shame on
00:29:20us, right?
00:29:21So we, we really have to move forward.
00:29:23We can do it in this room.
00:29:25A lot of women in this room.
00:29:26Sorry, men for excluding you for a minute, but we do it.
00:29:30We actually not only take care of families, we take care of the world.
00:29:33We take care of our husbands.
00:29:35We take care of even the white guys that don't like us, right?
00:29:39We raise their kids too.
00:29:40So anyway, by the way, we should continue doing that because maybe we can teach them to be
00:29:45better people.
00:29:46Maybe, because their parents aren't doing it.
00:29:50Love you guys.
00:29:51I am so honored.
00:29:52So honored.
00:30:03Can you give me titsies?
00:30:04No.
00:30:05Good girl.
00:30:07That's that L'Oreal stuff.
00:30:13That's how she became CEO.
00:30:15She came to BC.
00:30:17All right.
00:30:17We're going to keep this going.
00:30:18We want to end on time today.
00:30:22So y'all don't know this, but let me tell you a fun fact.
00:30:25I got a great crossover and a three point jump shot.
00:30:29Okay.
00:30:30And people always look at my husband and think he was an athlete, but my son got his athleticism
00:30:34from Michelle G.
00:30:35Yeah.
00:30:36And speaking of athleticism and women in sports.
00:30:40Hey, girl.
00:30:42Kia Clark.
00:30:43Kia Clark is in the house.
00:30:45Now, I don't know if you know, but so my good friend Tashunda Duckett took me to a Liberty
00:30:51game and we sat on the court and I was with her and the owner and we cheered on and
00:30:58y'all
00:30:58want to come on.
00:30:59Y'all want a championship in 55 years under Kia Clark's leadership.
00:31:06Y'all got to give it up.
00:31:07You're going to feel so uncomfortable right now because I'm going to brag on you a little
00:31:11bit.
00:31:11And Shireen, where is she?
00:31:12Don't cry.
00:31:13Where is Shireen?
00:31:14Don't cry in the back.
00:31:17And Miss Linda, her mom is here, who we had, we raised the glass.
00:31:21I had to.
00:31:23That's it though.
00:31:23I stopped.
00:31:25But I want to, I really want to, I want to just talk about this for just one minute.
00:31:30So you broke attendance and viewership records under your leadership.
00:31:34See, people aren't going to talk about that, right?
00:31:36They're going to talk about the WNBA, this and that, and this and that.
00:31:39But this is about business.
00:31:40And man, are you a master at this?
00:31:43You know how hard it is to get a ticket to the game because I tried to get it.
00:31:48Girl, I got tickets, right?
00:31:51So you boosted revenue.
00:31:53You boosted fan engagement.
00:31:55You're shaking your head to sold out arenas when the arenas were empty.
00:32:00They were empty.
00:32:01You are the CEO of the year.
00:32:03And we, listen, like when I tell you our chairman is very particular.
00:32:10And when we say Kia Clark CEO of the Year, it was a unanimous yes to the committee.
00:32:16Because we know that you are a visionary leader.
00:32:19And you're transforming something really important and that is black women in sports.
00:32:23I didn't say women in sports.
00:32:24Black women in sports.
00:32:26With boldness.
00:32:27With innovation.
00:32:28And a refusal to accept mediocre.
00:32:31Because we know mediocre for us gets us nowhere.
00:32:35So as the CEO of the New York Liberty, the 2024 champions, come on up here.
00:32:42Miss Kia Clark, you are proof that when vision meets resilience, unstoppable growth happens.
00:32:49See, you just don't see opportunities.
00:32:51You create them.
00:32:53Go, girl.
00:32:53Go on and cry.
00:32:54And you do it with such a strategic mindset.
00:32:57Because I literally did all kind of research to understand you are fearless.
00:33:02You are beautiful.
00:33:03You are amazing.
00:33:04And you are worthy.
00:33:06So I'm going to move off this mic because I'm about to get teary-eyed.
00:33:09And I'm going to let you take this side because you are worthy.
00:33:16Thank you so much, Michelle.
00:33:20I have to say, like I tell the black women that are on my team who I hired, we walk
00:33:26into
00:33:26each other's offices.
00:33:27Sometimes we say, I'm just so full right now.
00:33:31And this room knows what that means.
00:33:33And everybody doesn't know what that means.
00:33:35But this is truly, truly an honor for me to be recognized here today, especially alongside
00:33:42such inspiring honorees.
00:33:44I feel like a baby in here.
00:33:45Not by age, just by what you've accomplished and the impact that you've had.
00:33:51As a little girl, I would always try to get a look at my auntie Jay's copy of Essence before
00:33:57she could.
00:33:58And when she sees this recording, she'll reminisce on that time.
00:34:01Don't lick my pages.
00:34:02Don't read it before I read it.
00:34:05But I did it anyways because it was one of the first places where I saw women who looked
00:34:10like me.
00:34:11And they were celebrated for power.
00:34:13And they were celebrated for their drive.
00:34:15And I wanted that.
00:34:17So to stand here today as CEO of the Year, which feels crazy, CEO of a WNBA basketball
00:34:23team, it's truly surreal.
00:34:25So for over 15 years, which is also nuts, with the Liberty, I spent five at the WNBA,
00:34:32so almost 20 years in this league.
00:34:34My work has always been about creating space where there was none.
00:34:39They weren't really checking for us.
00:34:41As you said, arenas were empty.
00:34:44And really, this was the league that was dominated by black women.
00:34:48And today, it's only possible that we've seen the success we've had, that I've had the
00:34:53success I've seen because of a strong village.
00:34:55So I have to take a minute to thank the people that I've been blessed to be in my village.
00:35:00First of all, we already shouted out my mother, Linda, who's here, who taught me a lot of
00:35:04things, but taught me the power of prayer and to embrace leadership, even if it felt daunting.
00:35:11To our team owners, Joe and Clara Wu Sai, they believed early.
00:35:15They invested relentlessly.
00:35:18But most importantly, they trusted me with this team to shepherd it to where we are today.
00:35:22To the committed Liberty staff, they are the absolute best in the business.
00:35:27I couldn't do any of this without them.
00:35:30And to the extraordinary women who play this game, it is truly the honor of my life
00:35:35to amplify a team and a league made up of women of color, black women.
00:35:40That's what this league has been.
00:35:42That's what it will always be.
00:35:44And he's not here, but he will see it and my family will see this.
00:35:47My husband, Brian, and our children, Avery and Gavin, they see the not so cool parts of me.
00:35:53They see the non-sports moments.
00:35:56The confetti doesn't always fall.
00:35:57The rings aren't always put in our hands, but they hold me up every single day.
00:36:01At the Liberty, we are building more than a basketball team.
00:36:05This is a movement.
00:36:06A lot of shout outs today just in the rooms talking about the Liberty and talking about Ellie and talking
00:36:11about the championship.
00:36:12I appreciate your support.
00:36:14I thank and love all of you.
00:36:16And let's run it back.
00:36:192026, 30 years.
00:36:20Thank you so much.
00:36:38All right, so is everyone having a good time?
00:36:42Yeah.
00:36:42He came down?
00:36:44A little bit?
00:36:45Okay.
00:36:46Bevy, I see you.
00:36:47Listen, I went to one of Bevy's dinner.
00:36:48I finally got invited once I got to Essence.
00:36:51And I kind of bit off of this.
00:36:53Because you do something special.
00:36:55Ursula, you are always invited.
00:36:56Hey, yo.
00:36:57Listen.
00:36:58No, Ursula, no, you're not.
00:36:59Listen, Bevy, you can take it.
00:37:00It's like a five year wait list.
00:37:02No.
00:37:03But, man, you came to the Essence one that I did.
00:37:06It was with Jill Scott.
00:37:07Ms. Patty.
00:37:09Ms. Patty.
00:37:10Ms. Patty.
00:37:11We gonna talk.
00:37:12I don't believe.
00:37:13Yo, she's funny.
00:37:15Okay.
00:37:17So, where's my girl, V?
00:37:19You would have to be in this inner circle to understand Valisha Butterfield.
00:37:25You are an amazing individual.
00:37:28You are an amazing blessing from God.
00:37:31Like, your story.
00:37:34I'm going off a script because I know you and I know what you've been through, sis.
00:37:38And God's not done with you.
00:37:40And we are honored to be in your presence today.
00:37:44So, you are a change agent for real.
00:37:48Not because you're trying to get, you know, an award.
00:37:51Not because you're trying to be in the shop.
00:37:52Because you see a need and you feel it.
00:37:55And you come from a little flow.
00:37:57Look, your family got it going on.
00:37:58So, you don't really have to.
00:38:00But you do.
00:38:01Yo.
00:38:02Michelle, stay on script.
00:38:03Okay?
00:38:03You're just doing too much.
00:38:06I learned from the best.
00:38:07Okay?
00:38:08Because let me tell you, this room looked way different until Richie Lou Dennis walked in.
00:38:11But it looked good.
00:38:12The ending was amazing.
00:38:13Okay.
00:38:14So, this award goes to someone who just doesn't talk the talk, but you walk the walk.
00:38:20I have personally seen you.
00:38:22And I got this script last night at midnight and I was up until two o'clock changing this
00:38:25because I wanted to say, I have personally seen you handle challenges and triumphs with
00:38:32grace, with beauty, with dignity, with empathy, with efficacy, and a heart for others.
00:38:39So, let me just say, I'm going to just say this real quick.
00:38:42Now, we know 318,000, 13, whatever, it's a lot of black women have lost jobs.
00:38:47Right?
00:38:48Because we're so dispensable.
00:38:50But we do so much.
00:38:51And we saw the statistics.
00:38:53I want to tell you, in 24 hours, I said, how did Valisha set up a whole organization
00:38:58to support these women in 24 hours?
00:39:02I don't even need to read from a paper because who does that?
00:39:05And it wasn't about having an opportunity.
00:39:07It wasn't about making money.
00:39:08It was about seeing a need and fulfilling it.
00:39:10Because she had just launched a company called Seed, which was dope.
00:39:14Right?
00:39:15Valisha, everybody can't do that.
00:39:17And everybody is not blessed to do that.
00:39:20And so, when we sat down at the table and we agreed to honor you, it was hell yeah.
00:39:27I'm going to cuss with you a little bit.
00:39:28Just a little bit.
00:39:28Just a little bit.
00:39:32Valisha, I want you to stand up, sis.
00:39:35Because you have been a tech guru.
00:39:37You have started nonprofits.
00:39:39You have been with the Grammy organizations.
00:39:42Grammy organization.
00:39:44And then you launched your own business.
00:39:46And I want everyone in this room, if Valisha Butterfield needs something,
00:39:50I need you to take the call.
00:39:52Because this is the type of industry people funding that we are supposed to be doing.
00:39:57We talk about it and this and that.
00:40:00But this sister here is trying to get it done for all of us.
00:40:05I love you sis.
00:40:07We appreciate you.
00:40:08You deserve to be on the stage.
00:40:10I'm going to give up this mic and let you stand here.
00:40:11But this is a change agent.
00:40:13And we honor her today.
00:40:23All right, slit.
00:40:26Bevy said I could.
00:40:28Ursula, you're 67.
00:40:30I'm 47.
00:40:30So I pulled out the slit today.
00:40:35So are you.
00:40:36It's so good to be here.
00:40:39Michelle, you know, to be seen when you're experiencing one of your lowest points means more than you know.
00:40:48And when I think about the power of essence convening us in this beautiful room and this beautiful space at
00:40:56this difficult time.
00:40:59I'm just so thankful to you Rich.
00:41:01Truly.
00:41:02You, Martha, Shelley.
00:41:04For your leadership.
00:41:05And for your vision.
00:41:06Because you too didn't have to.
00:41:08But you brought us together.
00:41:10And Rich is like family.
00:41:11Which I should say.
00:41:12I'll talk more about that later.
00:41:13But like I spent time at his home.
00:41:15His family is like my family.
00:41:17I've spent time in Liberia.
00:41:18I've had the ugly cry with Rich many times.
00:41:22And sometimes when you're so close to someone, you don't always see them.
00:41:26But you do.
00:41:28And so just thank you for recognizing the work beyond our friendship.
00:41:31It means more than you know.
00:41:32I really mean that.
00:41:35I'm in awe, to be honest, Miss Patty, to be standing here with you and to be alongside all these
00:41:41beautiful honorees.
00:41:42I don't for a second take this lightly or for granted.
00:41:46And when I think about my life just two months ago.
00:41:50It changed forever.
00:41:53I remember driving in my car.
00:41:55Again, just two months ago.
00:41:57Normal Sunday morning.
00:41:58I'm with my two boys.
00:42:00Shelly knows them.
00:42:01Dylan and DJ.
00:42:02And I'm just, you know, being a basketball mom.
00:42:04In my sweats.
00:42:05No makeup.
00:42:06Driving to the basketball game.
00:42:08Typical Sunday.
00:42:09And my boys were in the backseat asleep.
00:42:11And I was having a moment.
00:42:13You know, I guess it was an ego moment.
00:42:14Like, God, what am I doing wrong?
00:42:17I've done all these great things.
00:42:19I've worked for the White House.
00:42:21I've been the president of the Grammys.
00:42:23Still on their board.
00:42:25I've worked for Google.
00:42:27At the highest level.
00:42:28I've had a seat at almost every table in every industry.
00:42:32But today, in this year, I just feel stuck.
00:42:35I feel like maybe I don't matter anymore.
00:42:38Maybe no one cares anymore.
00:42:41You know, my phone was blowing up last year.
00:42:43I was popping.
00:42:44And it stopped.
00:42:46And it stopped when I decided to become an entrepreneur.
00:42:49And I decided to bet on myself.
00:42:51We glorify entrepreneurship a lot.
00:42:53Right?
00:42:53But when you actually take the leap, even with some capital,
00:42:57you know, things change.
00:42:58And in that moment of pride and ego, I stopped myself and I began to pray.
00:43:07And I said, God, less of me, more of you.
00:43:11Like, reduce me to my simplest form and expand in my life and just tell me what you want me
00:43:17to do.
00:43:17And it was so clear.
00:43:20I hear God.
00:43:21We all hear God differently.
00:43:22I feel God.
00:43:22I don't hear a voice.
00:43:23But in that moment, he said, just launch it.
00:43:25Just launch the fund.
00:43:27And as Michelle said, 318,000 black women have been forced out of the workforce in just three months.
00:43:37And, I mean, women, we know.
00:43:39Many of us are in this room.
00:43:41And God said so clearly to me, just launch the fund.
00:43:45And so I did.
00:43:47I was obedient.
00:43:48And I was like, I don't know what this means, but all right, let's do it.
00:43:51And I did it because I had the tools.
00:43:54I had learned from Google.
00:43:55I had learned from the Grammys.
00:43:56I had learned from the White House what to do when crisis comes.
00:44:02And so I did what I was trained to do.
00:44:04And 40,000 black women applied within 72 hours.
00:44:08Wow.
00:44:08And I'm going to read you one story of the 40,000.
00:44:12And I'll keep names, of course, private.
00:44:15But this is what we're dealing with, y'all.
00:44:18Again, less of me, less of us, more of him.
00:44:22She said, again, 40,000 black women have applied.
00:44:25She said, I'm a mother of three.
00:44:27And last month, I walked into my office at an Ivy League top three university, my normal
00:44:35routine for the last 17 years, where I served as a professor.
00:44:40With no infractions, stellar performance reports, wonderful student reviews, and love all around,
00:44:50I thought I was abruptly told while getting my coffee that my services were no longer needed.
00:44:57I asked whether I could collect my items.
00:44:59I asked for an explanation why, and they were silent.
00:45:02And they said they would be mailed to me, including my doctorate degree that was sitting on the wall.
00:45:09I'm now with my three children moving into my grandmother's home.
00:45:13I've been applying for jobs and jobs and jobs, including being a gig worker, applying to be a cook.
00:45:20And no one, no one will even return my call.
00:45:24And so that's what we're dealing with.
00:45:27And so I just want to say thank you to those of us in this room for seeing each other,
00:45:33for recognizing us, Michelle and Rich and everyone here.
00:45:37And we got work to do.
00:45:39Right?
00:45:40Like when we leave here, just know there are 318,000 women counting on us to be bold,
00:45:47to have courage, and to not back down.
00:45:50And so you have my commitment to honor them, and I thank you for honoring me.
00:45:55Thank you so much.
00:45:56And Bevy, the slit is out, honey.
00:46:09You know, Essence serves black women fully, right?
00:46:12I think Valisha Rich, she don't need to be an entrepreneur.
00:46:15She needs to come and be in our family.
00:46:18Oh, okay, all right.
00:46:19Okay, okay, okay.
00:46:21So Valisha, I want to just, I want to tell you this.
00:46:24So a really quick story, and then we're going to wrap up because we're going to end on time,
00:46:27and we have two more amazing honorees.
00:46:30My son tells me, I need to update my scripture.
00:46:32He goes, Mommy, I want my scripture to be John 13 and 7.
00:46:35That's on my chalkboard.
00:46:36It says, you do not realize now what I'm doing, but later you will understand.
00:46:39I said, you better talk that talk and know that God has plans for all of us.
00:46:43Okay, so I cannot sing, but maybe I could take some lessons from the vocal coach.
00:46:53So I want to tell you this really quickly.
00:46:55So, you know, Rich said, there's so many influencers out there, and they don't get recognized.
00:47:01They get recognized because they have followers, they have subscribers, they're getting paid,
00:47:04but they're not recognized in an open forum.
00:47:07So I just Googled, or ChadGBT.
00:47:09I said, who's the biggest black YouTuber?
00:47:14Sis.
00:47:15Come on, Cheryl Porter.
00:47:17You didn't even know, did you?
00:47:18I didn't until it popped up.
00:47:20So there wasn't even nobody underneath.
00:47:22It says Cheryl Porter, the vocal coach.
00:47:26So then I said, I'm a DMer.
00:47:28Like, I'm relentless.
00:47:29Then I said, okay.
00:47:30I called Rekia, who's not here, but she's part of our PR team, right?
00:47:34And she says, oh, we got a contact.
00:47:36I said, oh, connect me.
00:47:37So then I was so happy, like a little kid, I said, Rich, we found her.
00:47:40We found Cheryl Porter.
00:47:42I did, right?
00:47:42I text you.
00:47:43He's like, and this is Rich's term when it's good.
00:47:45He won't respond if it's some bullshit.
00:47:46But he was like, fantastic.
00:47:49So let me tell you why you are more than an influencer, sis.
00:47:54You are more than an influencer.
00:47:5613 million subscribers on YouTube.
00:47:5913 million.
00:48:01Listen, we try to be like you, and we like the biggest black female.
00:48:05Okay.
00:48:065 billion views.
00:48:08I round it up, because I always round up.
00:48:10All my friends will tell you, I'll just round up.
00:48:12You have 45 million followers.
00:48:1445 million followers.
00:48:16And so when I called Cheryl, I'm going to just bring you up to the stage.
00:48:19But I'm going to tell you this.
00:48:20So I called her, and I said, hey, Cheryl, we want to honor you.
00:48:23And she was so gracious.
00:48:25She's like, I would be honored to be honored by Essence.
00:48:27I know your brand.
00:48:29I know your love for black women.
00:48:30I know what you do.
00:48:31And she says, and my prayer was, Michelle, when I launched this business
00:48:35and this online, you know, vocal coaching.
00:48:37And then I went to look.
00:48:38I was all kind of people trying to sing.
00:48:40Girl, they still need to take the lessons.
00:48:43Anyway, you said, my prayer to God was like, let me just make a million dollars.
00:48:47And you told me I made a million dollars in one month.
00:48:51I want to tell you, like, our prayers are so small when God has something so much bigger
00:48:57for us.
00:48:58And then you said, I have built an eight-figure business on the gift that God gave me.
00:49:06And then the blessing is you've been able to hire 30 people who probably look like you.
00:49:11I'm coming to your house in Italy.
00:49:12I don't need to go to Chicago.
00:49:14Because she did her own makeup.
00:49:16She did her sister's makeup.
00:49:17She can cook.
00:49:18She can sing.
00:49:19I said, damn, what can't she do?
00:49:21Cheryl Porter, we see you today, sis.
00:49:24We're more than a follower on YouTube.
00:49:26We are honoring you.
00:49:27We love you.
00:49:28We, we, yo, girl, come on up here.
00:49:33We honor you today.
00:49:36Come on, come on, girl.
00:49:37Thank you, sis.
00:49:38Oh, let me give you a hug.
00:49:38Thank you, my darling.
00:49:40Oh, yes.
00:49:40Okay, so I'm waiting.
00:49:41Okay, wonderful.
00:49:42I have this teleprompter giving glory to God who is ahead of my life.
00:49:47And I'm so honored to be in this room with extraordinary people.
00:49:50Can I have another applause for everybody in here?
00:49:53Madam, Mama, Patty, every honoree, every person here.
00:49:56I'm beyond honored to be in the same room with such legends and such power and such strength.
00:50:05I grew up on the south side of Chicago where kids who have a song are often silenced before they
00:50:14ever get a chance to sing it.
00:50:16I was one of those kids, the daughter of a janitress, my mother, Christine, a single mother who was the
00:50:24very definition of elegance and essence.
00:50:29Every morning before going to clean the toilets and the projects of Cabrini Green in the roughest part of Chicago,
00:50:37she would style her hair just so, put on her lipstick, and spray on a little Chanel No. 5.
00:50:42Like she was walking into a corner office on Michigan Avenue.
00:50:47She used to tell me and my sister Angie, get an education, stay in school, or you wind up cleaning
00:50:54toilets like me.
00:50:55But what my mother didn't know was that through her pride and unshakable dignity, she was already teaching us what
00:51:04real strength and a real black woman looks like.
00:51:07In 2020, me, little old Cheryl Porter, the daughter of a janitress, went on social media.
00:51:14And I told at the time, maybe 3 million followers, today they're 45 million, but 3 million followers that I
00:51:21was launching my very first online singing course.
00:51:24No marketing, no funnels, no opt-ins, no fancy strategy.
00:51:32In that moment, I realized that this was bigger than myself.
00:51:37And it was bigger than I could have ever imagined.
00:51:40And it wasn't about singing.
00:51:42It was about freedom, about voice, about hope.
00:51:47So tonight, I dedicate this award to my incredible mother, Christine, and everyone who's ever felt small, unseen, or told
00:51:58that their voice did not matter.
00:51:59Because it does matter.
00:52:02You do have a song, and the world needs to hear it.
00:52:06And as a multilingual black woman who has traveled to over 50 countries, and lived in Italy for over 30
00:52:13years,
00:52:14I want every black woman who knows that the world is yours.
00:52:18Don't pretend that all the streets are closed.
00:52:23And don't let anyone say that the streets are blocked.
00:52:27Because you can open the streets.
00:52:29And you are the key.
00:52:30In English, it means the world is yours.
00:52:34Don't let anyone tell you that the roads are blocked.
00:52:38And don't let anyone tell you that the doors are closed.
00:52:41Because my little sister, you are the key.
00:52:44Thank you, Essence, for celebrating every soul who dares to sing, even when no one's listening.
00:52:51I'm so honored.
00:52:52Thank you so much.
00:52:55Thank you to all the Matches.
00:53:01Okay, we gotta do it.
00:53:04He-e-e-e-ee-e.
00:53:06He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e.
00:53:07Noom, noom, noom, noom, noom.
00:53:09Noom, noom, noom, noom.
00:53:10Now we're gonna do it faster.
00:53:12He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e.
00:53:14Noom, noom, noom, noom, noom.
00:53:15Noom, noom, noom, noom, noom.
00:53:16Tell me baby, have a good night.
00:53:18Ya'll sound good.
00:53:23Yeah, you got to get Patty some love on that.
00:53:26Oh, my God, this is so good.
00:53:27Oh, my.
00:53:28Is everyone just loving this?
00:53:29Okay, we are almost done.
00:53:31You got your food.
00:53:33The food's not going to add any calories, okay?
00:53:37So I don't want to say this, but you all know we had to save Miss Patty for last, right?
00:53:42We had to save Miss Patty for last, and it's such an honor to have you in this room tonight.
00:53:49And L'Oreal is going to present this award to you, and we're going to bring Raquel up
00:53:56because this is such a worthy moment in this room today.
00:54:02We love you, Miss Patty.
00:54:03Raquel, please.
00:54:06This is my homegirl.
00:54:08We go way back.
00:54:08Way back.
00:54:09I am so moved.
00:54:12To God be the glory.
00:54:14God is so good.
00:54:15I am so moved.
00:54:16Patty, if I may go off script for just a moment.
00:54:20The connections, the love, the impact in this room, I hope each of us takes it to heart
00:54:27and is compelled for action.
00:54:30And I want to make it personal.
00:54:32So Monica Turner talked about L'Oreal.
00:54:36So I have been at L'Oreal for 10 years, but I spent 23 years at Procter & Gamble.
00:54:41And I watched Monica Turner very quietly, methodically, strategically, and because you are, I am.
00:54:54And my husband worked for Ursula Burns.
00:54:59He would come home and tell me about the stories of seeing her leadership in action.
00:55:06So I want to acknowledge the power of our interdependence and connectedness
00:55:13and really appreciate how we are impacting not only those that we know, but those that we don't know.
00:55:21Everyone is watching.
00:55:22I watched your video and the compulsion that said, I'm going to do this.
00:55:29I don't have all the answers, but we're going to do this.
00:55:31I watched it that very day.
00:55:33I did not know you.
00:55:34We instantly became Facebook friends.
00:55:36I am incredibly moved and honored to present this final award of the Legend Award.
00:55:49That's right, Legend.
00:55:51The Legend Award is reserved for someone whose career transcends industries,
00:55:59whose influence spans generations,
00:56:03whose excellence is simply undeniable.
00:56:08Seven decades of impact.
00:56:11I want to let it resonate in the room.
00:56:13Seven decades of impact.
00:56:15On behalf of L'Oreal, we are thrilled and honored to present this award
00:56:20to a woman who embodies everything that we celebrate tonight.
00:56:27Patti LaBelle is not just a music icon,
00:56:30although your voice could carry this award all by itself.
00:56:35She is a businesswoman.
00:56:37She is an entrepreneur,
00:56:39a cultural force,
00:56:41and a living testament to black excellence.
00:56:44From sold-out concert halls
00:56:46to Grammy Awards,
00:56:50and I have to say it,
00:56:51those sweet potato pies
00:56:53that broke the internet,
00:56:56that Patti has built a legacy
00:56:59that goes far beyond just entertainment.
00:57:07Since I was in high school,
00:57:10if I was ever asked for a theme song,
00:57:14for those of you that were in a L'Oreal senior meeting last week,
00:57:20everyone has to pick a walk-up song.
00:57:23My walk-up song,
00:57:25I am 55 years old.
00:57:28My walk-up song for the last 30 years
00:57:32has been Lady Marmalade.
00:57:34It makes you strut.
00:57:35It makes you happy.
00:57:37It exudes power and confidence.
00:57:40So Patti, you are a legend,
00:57:42not just because of what you have achieved,
00:57:45but because of who you are
00:57:47in all of the black women
00:57:50and people
00:57:51that you have inspired
00:57:53to believe in their own greatness
00:57:56because of the impact
00:57:58that you have made on so many.
00:58:01So, it is my honor
00:58:03to represent the L'Oreal group
00:58:05in presenting you
00:58:06with the Icon Award.
00:58:09Please welcome Patti to the stage.
00:58:19I love all of you.
00:58:21I have learned so much
00:58:23from the ladies
00:58:24who came up
00:58:25to get their honors.
00:58:29I'm 81 years young
00:58:30and I'm still learning.
00:58:33Just seeing all the accomplishments
00:58:35that you ladies have made
00:58:37on your own,
00:58:39girl, you're going to make me
00:58:40just feel like I'm 10
00:58:42because I'm going to continue
00:58:44to strive.
00:58:46God, I just want to thank Rich.
00:58:49In essence, Rich has been
00:58:50a buddy for a long time
00:58:54and for you to have called Zori
00:58:56to say,
00:58:57would your mother come
00:58:59and get this reward?
00:59:01I know it's an award,
00:59:02but when Zori said
00:59:04that you called,
00:59:04I said, Rich called?
00:59:06I said, okay,
00:59:07let me figure out
00:59:08something to wear.
00:59:10So I had this drag,
00:59:12you know,
00:59:12but I just want to say
00:59:13that I am lucky
00:59:15to be standing.
00:59:18I lost all my sisters
00:59:19before they turned 40
00:59:21of different types of cancer.
00:59:23So I always thought
00:59:25that I would leave early
00:59:26and God is on my side
00:59:29and I'm still standing.
00:59:30And I just,
00:59:32I am just honored
00:59:33to be here.
00:59:35And as we had said earlier
00:59:38that we're in a bad place.
00:59:40We're being pushed down.
00:59:43We're being,
00:59:43we're being everything
00:59:45that's not good.
00:59:47And I always say
00:59:48when I wake up every morning,
00:59:50I could do better.
00:59:51I could do my best
00:59:53to try and get us all together
00:59:54and make it an easier world
00:59:57for black women
00:59:58and men.
00:59:59And for our life
01:00:02the way it's going to be
01:00:03for the next,
01:00:03I don't know how many,
01:00:05three years with boyfriend,
01:00:07we have to like
01:00:08get together and fight
01:00:11because nobody can bring
01:00:12a black woman
01:00:13or black man down
01:00:15unless we let them.
01:00:17So I'm going to just say
01:00:19I have to get back to Philly
01:00:21before the Eagles traffic happens.
01:00:23So I just love this whole room.
01:00:27And what's your name, Boo Boo?
01:00:28Raquel.
01:00:29I know.
01:00:30But I forgot it.
01:00:33Thank you for what you say
01:00:36and what you do.
01:00:37And this is like
01:00:38a prestigious room.
01:00:39My God.
01:00:41It's all these fabulous people.
01:00:44Women, we're doing it
01:00:45for ourselves.
01:00:47God bless you all.
01:00:49And thank you
01:00:50for everything.
01:00:52Everything.
01:00:54What else, Patty?
01:00:55Did you want to say something
01:00:56about Phantom C.J. Walker?
01:00:57Oh, them, yes.
01:00:59That's what I'm...
01:01:01Who said that?
01:01:02Bevy.
01:01:03Bevy, that's my dog.
01:01:04Madam C.J. Walker.
01:01:05That's right.
01:01:06I was going to say that first, Bevy.
01:01:08Being in her surroundings,
01:01:10her place,
01:01:12and I've watched so many things
01:01:13about this woman
01:01:14and to see her do what she did
01:01:16and scared a lot of white folks
01:01:18because she was so powerful,
01:01:21all of us women in this room
01:01:22are on her shoulders.
01:01:24And I thank you, darling,
01:01:26wherever you are.
01:01:27And I know you can hear us all
01:01:29celebrate you.
01:01:31Thank you, Bevy.
01:01:32Thank you all.
01:01:33Bye-bye.
01:01:37Hello, everybody.
01:01:38My name's A'Lelia Bundles.
01:01:43And I'm Madam C.J. Walker's
01:01:45great-great-granddaughter
01:01:46and biographer.
01:01:47And Miss Patty,
01:01:48Miss Patty has been on the stage
01:01:50of the Madam Walker Legacy Center.
01:01:52I have been on the stage with her
01:01:53and in the green room.
01:01:55And Miss Ursula Burns,
01:01:56I have seen your good work
01:01:58with history makers
01:01:59at the Ford Foundation.
01:02:02And Rich, thank you so much
01:02:05for having the vision.
01:02:07So I will just say something
01:02:08very quickly.
01:02:09Madam C.J. Walker built this house
01:02:11in 1918 because she wanted it
01:02:15to be a monument
01:02:16to black women's efforts.
01:02:19This house was built by black women
01:02:22whose work and whose sales
01:02:25for the Madam C.J. Walker
01:02:26Manufacturing Company
01:02:27made it possible
01:02:28for Madam Walker
01:02:30to have that wealth.
01:02:32But she wanted to share it.
01:02:33She wanted it.
01:02:34She told her sales agents
01:02:36in 1917
01:02:37at her national convention,
01:02:39one of the first
01:02:40national conventions
01:02:42of women entrepreneurs,
01:02:43I want you to understand
01:02:44that your first duty
01:02:46is to humanity.
01:02:48I want others to look at us
01:02:49and realize that we care
01:02:51not just about others,
01:02:52not just about ourselves,
01:02:54but about others.
01:02:56She gave prizes
01:02:57not just to the women
01:02:58who sold the most products,
01:03:00but to the women
01:03:01who gave the most to charity.
01:03:02And in this moment,
01:03:04when we are facing
01:03:05so much adversity,
01:03:06I will remind you
01:03:08that at the end
01:03:09of the convention,
01:03:09the women sent a telegram
01:03:11to President Woodrow Wilson
01:03:13urging him
01:03:13to support legislation
01:03:15to make lynching
01:03:16a federal crime.
01:03:18So on this day,
01:03:19as we're in this room,
01:03:21it reminds me
01:03:22of August 1918
01:03:23when Madam Walker hosted
01:03:25her opening party
01:03:27for Villa Lawaro.
01:03:29And at that party,
01:03:31Frederick Douglass' grandson,
01:03:34the first black violinist
01:03:36to play in Europe,
01:03:37was playing.
01:03:38And so when I heard
01:03:39the violinist when I walked in,
01:03:41I knew that Madam Walker's
01:03:42spirit was here.
01:03:43So, yes, full circle.
01:03:45So she would be so proud
01:03:47to be in this room
01:03:49because she dreamed of this
01:03:51whether she knew it or not.
01:03:53And thank you very much, Rich.
01:03:55Thank you to all of you
01:03:56and congratulations.
01:04:03So I had zero plans
01:04:06to say anything.
01:04:07Last year was the first
01:04:10black women in business luncheon.
01:04:12And we did it at festival.
01:04:14And it was in the
01:04:16Four Seasons ballroom.
01:04:18It didn't feel intimate.
01:04:19It didn't feel personal.
01:04:22And it didn't feel like
01:04:23why we followed Madam Walker
01:04:26into this place that we're in.
01:04:30We've been working
01:04:31on this place now,
01:04:33Villa Lawaro,
01:04:34for probably 10 years.
01:04:36When you think about
01:04:37how long it took us
01:04:38to negotiate,
01:04:40it's probably longer.
01:04:41There's a real back story.
01:04:43And everything I could
01:04:44have done wrong,
01:04:44I did wrong.
01:04:45I shared with a few people here.
01:04:49The gentleman and his wife
01:04:51that owned it,
01:04:52what was his name again?
01:04:55Ambassador Doley,
01:04:56was the most honoree guy
01:04:58I've ever met,
01:04:59or is,
01:05:01but was also the kindest guy
01:05:04because of what he and his wife
01:05:06put into preserving this
01:05:07house at a time
01:05:09when there was nobody else
01:05:10interested in our legacy
01:05:11and in our history.
01:05:13He and his wife preserved it.
01:05:16That's probably the only thing
01:05:18Doley and I ever agreed on.
01:05:19And we spent five years
01:05:21negotiating for the place.
01:05:22I was aligned with making it
01:05:24a historical site
01:05:26before we renovated,
01:05:29which then means
01:05:30it cost five times as much
01:05:31to renovate.
01:05:32So it hasn't been
01:05:33the most brilliant
01:05:35of business moves,
01:05:37but it has been
01:05:38the most brilliant
01:05:39of business moves.
01:05:41Because the room
01:05:42that you're sitting in now
01:05:44is a room where
01:05:47when black dignitaries
01:05:49would come from Africa,
01:05:51this is where they would come.
01:05:53The rooms here
01:05:54is where they would sleep
01:05:55because they weren't allowed
01:05:56to sleep in the hotels
01:05:57and then nearby.
01:06:00When Madam Walker's
01:06:01business partners,
01:06:02those women,
01:06:03they would come from all over,
01:06:05they couldn't sleep
01:06:05in the hotels here.
01:06:07They could sleep here.
01:06:09Right?
01:06:11The decisions that were made
01:06:13in this house,
01:06:15I don't know how many
01:06:16of you know this,
01:06:17but Madam Walker was
01:06:18one of the very first
01:06:20contributors financially
01:06:21and probably at some point
01:06:23the largest contributor
01:06:24to the NAACP.
01:06:25And she was a woman.
01:06:29That's what
01:06:29this house represents.
01:06:31That's why we're here.
01:06:33That's why we're going
01:06:33through what we're going through
01:06:34to bring it back
01:06:35to its full glory.
01:06:37And this is the spirit
01:06:39that she had here
01:06:41and this is the spirit
01:06:42that we intended.
01:06:44Now,
01:06:46the relationships
01:06:47that I have
01:06:48with the people
01:06:51that put up with me,
01:06:52I appreciate
01:06:53you guys all making it
01:06:55here today
01:06:56because this is the kickoff
01:06:59of what the next layers
01:07:01of legacy looks like.
01:07:03And if you notice,
01:07:06this is multi-generational.
01:07:08That's what Essence represents.
01:07:10That's what we're building.
01:07:11We're making sure
01:07:12that the woman
01:07:13that's born today
01:07:15is just as seen, heard,
01:07:17and represented
01:07:17as the woman
01:07:19who read Essence
01:07:2155 years ago
01:07:22when it came out
01:07:23and everybody in between.
01:07:25And so we thank you guys
01:07:27for supporting us.
01:07:28But more than anything,
01:07:31the things that you guys
01:07:32have done as honorees
01:07:34is absolutely mind-boggling.
01:07:36The inspiration,
01:07:38the motivation,
01:07:39all the cute stuff
01:07:40that we talk about,
01:07:42that's...
01:07:43But the fucking business
01:07:45that you guys have built.
01:07:47I mean, real businesses
01:07:50moving billions of dollars,
01:07:54dominating store shelves.
01:07:56You know, I remember
01:07:58when you guys
01:07:59were starting this,
01:08:00Ms. Patty.
01:08:01I remember, Zuri,
01:08:02when you guys were first
01:08:03going into Walmart
01:08:04with the pies.
01:08:05I remember that far back.
01:08:07And look at what you've built.
01:08:09Right?
01:08:10And what you've shown
01:08:11is that you don't just
01:08:13have to be one-dimensional.
01:08:16And we can do it
01:08:17on our terms
01:08:18with our brains
01:08:19and with our efforts
01:08:21and with our own money.
01:08:22And that we don't need
01:08:23to rely on anybody else
01:08:25to come save us.
01:08:26We can save ourselves.
01:08:28We can fight
01:08:29for our own opportunities
01:08:30and we can battle
01:08:32with the best of them.
01:08:33That's what this room represents.
01:08:35That's what this house
01:08:37represents.
01:08:38A woman who built
01:08:39her business
01:08:41writing letters
01:08:42to her manager
01:08:43to manage the business
01:08:45while she was out
01:08:46on trains
01:08:47that she couldn't sit
01:08:48with all the money she had,
01:08:50couldn't sit in
01:08:50the first-class cabin,
01:08:52buses she couldn't get on,
01:08:54hotels she couldn't stay in.
01:08:56Right?
01:08:56Risking her life
01:08:57going through all these towns
01:08:59and all these cities
01:09:00and all these states.
01:09:01And she built this.
01:09:03So what do you
01:09:04have to complain about?
01:09:05You know,
01:09:06what do we have
01:09:06to complain about?
01:09:08The only thing
01:09:09we have to do
01:09:09is to do it
01:09:10and you guys
01:09:11are the inspiration
01:09:11for that
01:09:12and you guys
01:09:13inspire me
01:09:14every day
01:09:15and when you all,
01:09:16I don't think
01:09:17there's anybody here
01:09:18who hasn't pulled me
01:09:19aside and said,
01:09:20yo, dude,
01:09:21you can do better.
01:09:23And I appreciate that.
01:09:25Just please do that
01:09:26for everybody else.
01:09:32All right,
01:09:32so Rich made it a trend
01:09:34so I'm not going to
01:09:34get back up on stage.
01:09:35So I have the
01:09:37unenviable position
01:09:38of closing out
01:09:39after this
01:09:41because when you're
01:09:42in moments like this,
01:09:45you get moved
01:09:46beyond the capability
01:09:47of words.
01:09:48I want to thank
01:09:49our sponsor,
01:09:51L'Oreal Group.
01:09:51The word doesn't capture
01:09:53what you've done today
01:09:54because when you say
01:09:56sponsor,
01:09:56yeah,
01:09:57we put some money
01:09:57against something
01:09:58to underwrite
01:10:01a cultural moment,
01:10:03to underwrite
01:10:05the emotions felt,
01:10:08to underwrite
01:10:09our ability
01:10:10to actually
01:10:11prepare ourselves
01:10:12for the battle ahead
01:10:14is so much more
01:10:15than to be captured
01:10:17in the word sponsor.
01:10:19Procter & Gamble,
01:10:20thank you.
01:10:21Every other partner
01:10:23that we have,
01:10:24thank you.
01:10:24It matters to Essence.
01:10:27More importantly,
01:10:28it matters to the communities
01:10:29that live off
01:10:31of these glimpses.
01:10:32To our honorees,
01:10:34you gave us a chance today
01:10:35to glimpse into your courage,
01:10:37glimpse into your brilliance,
01:10:39glimpse into the vision
01:10:40you all had
01:10:41to see what couldn't be seen,
01:10:43and it inspires all of us.
01:10:46You don't know
01:10:48what you have done
01:10:49for the people in this room.
01:10:51More importantly,
01:10:51you don't know
01:10:52the impact you've had
01:10:53to the millions
01:10:54who you don't know.
01:10:55We live through you,
01:10:56you inspire us,
01:10:57and we are now responsible
01:10:59to be better
01:11:00than we are on our own.
01:11:03This is the village.
01:11:05Thank you,
01:11:06thank you,
01:11:07thank you.
01:11:08Thank you for giving
01:11:09some of your time
01:11:10to us today,
01:11:11for tolerating
01:11:12this crazy host
01:11:13that we have,
01:11:14Michelle G.
01:11:16And...
01:11:16Okay, no, okay,
01:11:17so listen, listen.
01:11:18This is my boss, okay?
01:11:20So listen, okay,
01:11:21no, give me the mic.
01:11:22So I do want to say this.
01:11:25So we're asking...
01:11:26Where is HR?
01:11:26I love working for a blank.
01:11:27Y'all don't understand.
01:11:29Okay, so everybody
01:11:30who took a video today,
01:11:31this is what we're asking,
01:11:33to not post for 24 hours.
01:11:35Okay.
01:11:36Because what we want to do
01:11:37is we want to get...
01:11:38We want to be able
01:11:39to press this out
01:11:40as far as we can,
01:11:40and we know
01:11:41if we press it out
01:11:42on our channels,
01:11:42we're going to get
01:11:43the biggest bang,
01:11:44and we want everyone
01:11:45to see this.
01:11:46So in 24 hours,
01:11:47feel free.
01:11:48Tag us, post us,
01:11:50do everything.
01:11:50So if you guys
01:11:51would do me that favor,
01:11:52please do that.
01:11:53Okay?
01:11:54Because I know
01:11:55y'all influence you,
01:11:56especially you.
01:11:58Okay?
01:11:58But listen,
01:12:00but tomorrow,
01:12:0145 million.
01:12:02We need you to do that.
01:12:06Can y'all imagine
01:12:07what it's like
01:12:07to report to this guy
01:12:09and try to pretend
01:12:10that I'm managing this one?
01:12:11Thank you for your time.
01:12:13Thank you for your investments.
01:12:15Please,
01:12:16for those of you traveling,
01:12:18Ms. Patty and others
01:12:19that came a distance
01:12:20to be here,
01:12:21get home safely.
01:12:24And it feels like church,
01:12:25so God bless all of you.
01:12:28And finally,
01:12:29I just want to thank...
01:12:30No, I thought I was
01:12:30going to get a lot.
01:12:31No, no, no,
01:12:32but if you work for Essence,
01:12:34raise your hand.
01:12:35Because can I tell you
01:12:36you did a hell of a job today?
01:12:37Can I tell you
01:12:38that you were here early?
01:12:40No, come in.
01:12:41Come in this room.
01:12:42I want everybody to be seen.
01:12:44Everybody to be seen.
01:12:45Everybody to be seen.
01:12:48Because this is what
01:12:49black excellence looks like.
01:12:51Everybody come in.
01:12:52Everybody come in.
01:12:53Come in.
01:12:54Come in, come in, come in,
01:12:55come in, come in, come in.
01:12:56We don't just talk about it.
01:12:58Come in.
01:12:59Exactly.
01:13:00Come in, come in.
01:13:01Okay.
01:13:02Yeah.
01:13:03Have you worked for Essence?
01:13:05Everybody's talking about it,
01:13:06but we're always about it.
01:13:07Look at this amazing
01:13:09black talent that we hire,
01:13:10that we're cultivating,
01:13:12that will stand on this stage one day.
01:13:15Thank every single one of you
01:13:18for being here.
01:13:19Where y'all ain't,
01:13:20okay, they're all over the place.
01:13:21They ain't gonna raise their hands.
01:13:23There might be more employees
01:13:24than people here,
01:13:24but guess what?
01:13:26We're amazing.
01:13:27All right.
01:13:27Enjoy the rest of your evening.
01:13:28We love you guys.
01:13:30Thank you very much.
01:13:30Thank you very much.
01:13:31Thank you very much.
01:13:31Thank you very much.
01:13:31Thank you very much.
01:13:32Thank you very much.
01:13:32Thank you very much.
01:13:32Thank you very much.