There’s a popular meme that gets traction around this time of year. It says, “You need at least three to five years of work experience...

Before you enter my grandmother’s house, you can look down at the pavement and see the names of the younger family members you’re about to...

The well of 2000s nostalgia may be running dry. With every airbrushed crop top, baby pink miniature handbag and mangled movie remake, it becomes increasingly...

At the time of my first abortion, I was told by a beloved elder (who had received an abortion, too) that my pro-Black and pro-abortion...

One October morning, Mia Jaye sits in an olive crew neck that reads “Black Men Deserve To Grow Old.” A diamond-encrusted “Mom-E-O” chain rests on...

After being diagnosed with stage four endometriosis and infertility, and experiencing a failed in vitro fertilization cycle, April Christina has remained hopeful about giving birth. ...

In the first verse of Lil Baby’s song “Woah,” he declares, “Not the big, cheap teeth—that’s embarrassin’.” The rapper is referring to porcelain veneers, the...

Teyana Taylor has done it all. Actually, she’s doing it all. From the early days of appearing on MTV’s My Sweet Sixteen and choreographing Beyonce’s...

As Black parents raising a Black boy, my husband and I made an agreement. In a world saturated with brutality against Black boys and men,...

Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s look at the past, present and future of rhythm and blues. In this piece, writer Imani Mixon takes on...