Essence Denies Toxic Workplace Allegations After Anonymous Call for Resignations

As it marks its 50th anniversary this month amid a multi-weekend, virtual edition of its annual music and culture festival, Essence finds itself on the defensive, refuting allegations of a toxic work environment rife with corporate bullying, intimidation and pay inequity made in an anonymous letter released Sunday, which called for the resignations of several of the magazine's executives. Purportedly written by current and/or former staffers who said they withheld their identities for fear of retaliation, the letter, titled "The Truth About Essence," accused CEO and owner Richelieu Dennis and other senior executives of fostering an "extremely unhealthy work culture" at the publication, which they said upheld a "longstanding pattern of gross mistreatment and abuse of its Black female employees," which make up over 80% of Essence's workforce. "The testimonies on Twitter and Instagram by a mighty chorus of brave Black women uncovered the racial bias and discrimination in America’s white-owned mass media organizations. This led to resignations followed by recent corporate promises to do better," the letter stated. "But Black women at Essence have been forced to remain silent. We fear cannibalizing the public narrative for Black Lives Matter and civil rights 2.0. We also fear losing our jobs or being banished from Black cultural spaces." The letter detailed a litany of alleged transgressions by management, including "tactical bullying" and "malignant and histrionic... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-30 17:51:48 UTC ]
News tagged with: #cancel culture #sexual misconduct

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American colonists called him a tyrant. But was King George III really so bad?

The monarch had plenty of shortcomings, but he wasn’t a brute, writes Andrew Roberts. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-17 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Festival for Working Class Writers calls for book club titles

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-08 23:43:53 UTC ]
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A Jeffrey Epstein accuser shares scathing allegations in a new memoir: ‘My book is my day in court’

‘Silenced No More’ is unsparing in its accusations against Epstein and, especially, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is on trial on charges of sex trafficking. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-07 18:00:00 UTC ]
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Amanda Gorman’s ‘Call Us What We Carry’ is as powerful as ‘The Hill We Climb’

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[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-07 14:00:00 UTC ]
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A documentary about Anthony Broadwater’s exoneration, called Unlucky, is in the works.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-03 17:48:54 UTC ]
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Anonymous Orchid Outlaw memoir goes to John Murray in 24-hour pre-empt

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-30 09:54:47 UTC ]
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Matt Haig's A Boy Called Christmas reaches screens

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[ BBC News | 2021-11-27 00:15:59 UTC ]
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[ Book Riot | 2021-11-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Cool, elected school district officials are calling for literal book burning now.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-11 17:33:10 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-01 11:05:00 UTC ]
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YouTube admits deleting Novara Media the ‘wrong call’

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[ Media Week | 2021-10-26 15:58:53 UTC ]
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When the U.S. needed secret help in Iraq, who did it call? Poland, of course.

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[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Huffington Post | 2021-10-19 08:03:21 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2021-10-18 18:15:07 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 06:26:35 UTC ]
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Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong

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[ The New York Times | 2021-09-27 02:20:46 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-26 08:40:19 UTC ]
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[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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