Cover Battle: Essence Wins

Every once in awhile, a magazine cover comes along that is so good that we just have to declare it the winner of our weekly Cover Battle. Essence’s February issue definitely qualifies.

For the first time in Essence’s 45 year history, there is no image on the cover. Instead, “Black Lives Matter,” a phrase that unfortunately needs to exist, is front and center.

Vanessa De Luca, editor-in-chief of Essence, explained the historical cover in her note to readers:

After I spoke with the editorial team — with all our souls aching for answers — we knew immediately what we had to do: Tell the story of this tipping point in our history in America.