Hollywood icon Cicely Tyson attended the gala. She is pictured with Carmen de Lavallade, one of several who were honored. (Click on the photos to increase their size.)
New York, NY – On June 10, ESSENCE and AT&T kicked-off the countdown to the 25th Anniversary
of the ESSENCE Festival with a celebration that honored the power of human connectivity and chronicling the remarkable achievements within
the Black experience.
The evening featured an awards presentation honoring distinguished individuals as well as a special screening
of the film, “The 25th Anniversary of the ESSENCE Festival” that was executive produced by Tanya Lombard, the head of Multicultural Engagement and Strategic Alliances for AT&T.
The event took place at the New York Historical Society and was highlighted by remarks from Michelle Ebanks; ESSENCE Communications
CEO; Richelieu Dennis, ESSENCE Ventures Chairman; Claudia Jones, SVP Public Affairs & Federal Media Relations, AT&T; Marc Morial, National Urban League President & CEO; Rev. Al Sharpton,
National Action Network Founder & President; Susan L. Taylor, Founder & CEO, National CARES Mentoring Movement; Editor-in-Chief Emerita of ESSENCE Magazine;
and Edward Lewis, Co-founder, ESSENCE Magazine. The event was hosted by four-time
Emmy Award-winning journalist Mara Schiavocampo.
Pictured left to right are: Rev. Al Sharpton MoAna Luu, Richelieu Dennis, Tanya Lombard, Michelle Ebanks and Marc Morial.
Honorees included Carmen de Lavallade, Kennedy
Center Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and actor, Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day,
World-renowned Designer, Linda Spradley-Dunn, CEO & Founder,
Odyssey Media, Fawn Weaver, Author, Historian and Co-founder of The Nearest Green Foundation. Music was provided by DJ D-Nice
and Clark Kent.
Source: Mercury
Photo credit: Tony Powell