Tag: Essence Magazine Cover

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ESSENCE.COM’S DIGITAL COVER FEATURES “SYLVIE’S LOVE” STARS TESSA THOMPSON + NNAMDI ASOMUGHA!

ESSENCE‘s newest digital cover features Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha, the stars of the movie, Sylvie’s Love. The two portray Sylvie and Robert–an aspiring producer and successful saxophonist in the 1960’s whose deep love never seems to be perfectly timed. The beautiful and sensual homage to Hollywood’s golden era by writer-director Eugene Ashe–set against the backdrop of both the civil rights and women’s rights movements–will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 23. In the ESSENCE digital cover story, Falling In (Sylvie’s) Love, Asomugha (who’s married to Kerry Washington) and Thompson talk to writer Joi-Marie McKenzie about:
  • NNAMDI ON SYLVIE AND ROBERT’S LOVE CHALLENGES: “None of it is simple. None of it is one-sided. Love and life are complex, no matter which lens you’re looking at it through…” 
  • TESSA ON WHY THE TIMING OF “SYLVIE’S LOVE” COULDN’T BE SWEETER: “At a time when we’re talking about the value and dignity of Black life…it’s really great to have a [love] story that offers some escapism for audiences, and that feels sweeping and beautiful and hopeful about love. We really need those kinds of narratives…” 
  • NNAMDI ON SHOWCASING BLACK MALE VULNERABILITY: “That was important for us to show, especially during that time when there was a hypermasculinity that said, ‘I’m immovable…'”
  • TESSA ON HOW SHE’S SIMILAR TO SYLVIE: “Certainly women like Sylvie existed during the time, but those stories aren’t told…I’m in a period in my career, personally, where I’m launching my own production company. I’m working as a producer, and I… stand on the shoulders of women like Sylvie who came before me—career women who were [pioneers] in a time when it was hard enough to be that as a woman, never mind as a Black woman…” 
  • WRITER-DIRECTOR EUGENE ASHE ON SYLVIE+ROBERT’S LIFE-CHANGING LOVE: “Even Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. still had a bunch of babies and fell in love…It’s really important to show that we existed in the past [beyond] the ‘struggle culture’—that Black folks were still falling in love. I think not showing that is a way of erasing us…”  
In addition, ESSENCE will kick off its “Behind the Scenes Look on Sylvie’s Love” this Monday, 12/14, on ESSENCE STUDIOS. Join us for a series of conversations with the cast and crew of this incredible film throughout the week. For more on this digital cover story, visit ESSENCE.com. (Cover attached, photo credit, J.D. Barnes.)
Celebrity /

MICHELLE OBAMA GRACES ESSENCE MAGAZINE DECEMBER/JANUARY COVER

Michelle Obama: Having Her Say

When “Forever First Lady” Michelle Obama opened up to ESSENCE for its upcoming December/January cover story…she definitely went there! After keeping a relatively low profile since leaving the White House, the Becoming author is stepping back into the spotlight to share her extraordinary journey. Looking stunning in a natural hairstyle for the first time, she talks to ESSENCE about her days in the White House, how to find your own Barack—and what’s next for her. *Key quotes are below. ESSENCE’s upcoming December/January issue hits newsstands on 11/23. For more on “Having Her Say,” visit ESSENCE.com. (Photo, Miller Mobley)

QUOTES:

  • ON HOW TO FIND YOUR OWN BARACK: “I think a lot of people don’t have a clear idea of what they should look for in a mate—and for a long time, I didn’t either…What drew me to Barack was that when I met him, he was already a fully formed individual. From our very first conversations, he showed me that he wasn’t afraid to express his fears and doubts, or that he might not have all the answers. He could handle someone with her own passions and goals, someone who had ideas of her own. He relished it, in fact. I liked that…”

  • ON HER HAPPIEST DAYS IN THE WHITE HOUSE: “Any day that I got to spend time with children was a good day. Sometimes if I was need of a pick-me-up, my staff would schedule an event with young people to give me a boost. Kids give me energy. They get me out of my own head and remind me about the things that are most important…”

  • HER ADVICE TO WOMEN ON BALANCING IT ALL: “When I was raising young children, I learned to lean on a group of my friends in Chicago, women who, like me, had jobs and partners and children who kept them moving every minute. We’d help one another in very concrete ways, like picking up each other’s kids for dance lessons or a birthday party or anything else that came up…Of course, we leaned on our husbands as well…But for me, there was something special—something vital, even—about sharing this experience with other women who were going through the same kinds of stresses and challenges that I was…”

  • ON WHAT’S NEXT FOR HER: “Since we left the White House, I’ve spent most of my time focusing on finishing this book. The book tour will keep me busy for a while, and then I’ll take some time to evaluate what’s next. I’m in no hurry. What I know is that public service is in my DNA, so I’m planning to find ways to keep being useful…I see myself always staying involved in efforts like that…”