Source: Tommy B / Courtesy of ESSENCE / TikTok
Black Excellence was certainly the entrée du jour served in the vibrant city of New Orleans on July 1, as dozens of notable Black creatives flocked to the picturesque Virgin Hotel in the heart of the crescent city for the inaugural Visionary Voices Dinner. The intimate experience was collaboratively hosted by social media giant TikTok and multiplatform communications company, Essence, in celebration of visionary Black creatives who are making a difference on the contemporary media landscape. Featuring guests of honor that included culture disruptors, tastemakers and thought leaders, the soiree was co-hosted by TikTok’s Kudzi Chikumbu, Director of Creator Community, and Shavone Charles, Head of Diversity & Inclusion Communications at TikTok and highlighted a careful selection of curators who are making an indelible impact and amplifying diverse voices across the global entertainment industry.
Specially-invited attendees spotted at the fabulous gathering included famed GenZ TikToker DeAndre Brown; Haitian fashionista Pierrah Hilaire; Senior Vice President of Creative at Essence Ventures, Corey T. Stokes; Kenyan-born Founder of the award-winning Black Women Photographers, Polly Irungu; Adrienne & Janeeka of Thee Muses and Chief Revenue Officer of Essence Ventures, Pauline Malcolm. In addition to a delectable 3-course dinner, there was also a portrait pop-up where the guests of the evening were captured. Festival-goers also had the opportunity to visit the official pop-up at Virgin Hotel that featured a live DJ, as well as content capture opportunitiesinspired by #beautytok, #wellnesstok and #foodtok and more surprise moments.
Source: Tommy B / Courtesy of ESSENCE / TikTok
Pierrah Hilaire, who describes herself as a “creative renaissance woman,” was thrilled to be a part of the experience.
“I was able to connect with fellow creatives across music, fashion, and mediaand it was truly an honor being in a room full of culture’s movers and shakers,” she expressed.
With over 1 million likes on TikTok for her Black beauty and fashion content, Pierrah also participated in the #BlackOwnedEverything main attraction panel discussion at the EssenceFest Beauty Carnival Stage which she said helped push her and other female creators to the forefront and are getting more visibility in the fashion industry. Alongside fashion designer and published model Nydia Twitty, widely known as SlimReaper, the dialogue corralled a state of the union on being Black in fashion and TikTok’s role in creating more access and representation for Black voices, while acknowledging Black Culture as a propellor for global fashion trends. For Pierrah, it was a first-time experience that left her with several takeaways – including the importance of uplifting Black creativity in all aspects such as holding “copycat creators” accountable when Black content is stolen, and investing in brands and businesses.“
”As a proud Haitian, I hope my contributions inspire the next generation of creators, especially of Caribbean descent to explore their creativity freely. Oftentimes, as immigrants here in the U.S. we don’t always have the resources or opportunities to really express ourselves,” she emphasized. “I hope my platform and content shows that we can be successful as creators, dismantling those limitations that we may carry in order to survive.”
Shavone Charles, Head of Diversity & Inclusion Communications at TikTok, is thankful for the partnership with ESSENCE as both teams worked together to create space for Black Joy during this year’s festival – the first in 2 years since the pandemic which peaked with record-breaking attendance. “It was an honor to team up with ESSENCE and celebrate the collective impact and brilliance of the #BlackTikTok community, right alongside some of our most-inspiring, visionary Black creators,” she emphasized in a statement to MADAMENOIRE. Charles, whose family is originally from the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago,stresses on importance of building community through technology and creating opportunities for growth, adding that, “Year-round, we’re dedicated to supporting the #BlackTikTok community and amplifying the voices of Black creators who continue to inspire and shape the future of entertainment.”
Source: Tommy B / Courtesy of ESSENCE / TikTok
Another guest of honour at the Visionary Voices Dinner was iOne’s very own managing editor of BOSSIP, Dani Canada, who underscores the importance of creating and celebrating community.
“We’re all separated by borders – different states and even countries – so it can be more difficult to feel that sense of community, especially when people want to be more competitive than collaborative. The Visionary Voices experience was a gentle and important reminder that we’re all in this together,” she told MN. “As Black innovators, we’re often left out from different spaces, so to have this opportunity to participate in fellowship is really integral to the growth of Black media.”
Canada hopes that this will signal intentionality not just for Black Creators but for the audiences who are looking for ways to support them.
“Covering something like EssenceFest is so rich for our community, and it stays true to following the full scope of what is happening in the news cycle for Black people around the world, whether it’s well- or little-known. And even in my personal life, I support Black businesses: at the Dinner I wore a beautiful romper from a Black-owned brand called Ace Couture that I found a year ago during Juneteenth,” the media professional shared.
The collaboration between TikTok and Essence brings to the forefront the importance of celebrating the collective impact and brilliance of the #BlackTikTok community, featuring some of the platform’s most-inspiring, trendsetting creators. It’s a trajectory that influencers such as Pierrah hope will continue uniting the Black Diaspora through creativity, wellness and joy year-round.
“TikTok continues to advocate for creators and I wouldn’t be on that EssenceFest stage without their help,” she emphatically stated. “I appreciate the team for cultivating spaces for us to celebrate Blackness and our success as a community. I’m looking forward to the next time we are all together again.”
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About Tenille Clarke:
Tenille Clarke is an avid storyteller, seasoned publicist and cultural enthusiast from Trinidad and Tobago who often pens about her ongoing love affair with travel, entertainment and culture through a Caribbean lens. Follow her digital journey @tenilleclarke1 on Instagram and Twitter.
