The Best Style Moments From The 2026 Essence Black Women In Music Awards

The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Strip Healthcare From Millions—Especially Women and Disabled People

Over 70 million people depend on Medicaid. The Trump administration and members of Congress who constantly turn to the program to make cuts, want you to think that's a problem. It isn't—it's the point .

What to Know About Later Abortions: Myths, Barriers and Patient Stories

Later abortion is one of the most stigmatized and least understood aspects of reproductive health, and yet some of the voices perpetuating that stigma come from inside the reproductive rights movement itself.

The Best Style Moments From The 2026 Essence Black Women In Music Awards

On Sunday, T.I., and his live orchestra, wasn’t the only closing act of Essence Festival 2026. Earlier that day, Essence hosted our first Black Women in Music Awards in eight years, honoring the artists who’ve made historic contributions in the industry.

‘Hands Off Ohio!’: FBI Raid of Voting Rights Group Raises Alarms Over Voter Intimidation

On the morning of June 11, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC), a grassroots pro-democracy organization focused on registration, civic engagement and community organizing for marginalized communities.

The Supreme Court’s disturbing approach to federal spending

Last week, the Supreme Court finished handing down its opinions in argued cases this term. In light of its decisions on birthright citizenship and the administrative state , one decision, from the prior week, may be somewhat easy to overlook. But I think this ruling is of great importance.

Platner faces pressure to drop out of Maine Senate race after sexual assault allegation

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, is facing mounting pressure to drop out of the race following an allegation of sexual assault, which he’s denied. Platner, a military veteran, oyster farmer and first-time candidate, launched his campaign against GOP Sen.

Author Of Never Tell A Black Girl How To Black Girl Author Amena Brown On Her Favorite Books

Amena Brown believes “Black girl” is a verb. This belief is so strong, as is her belief in the joys of being a Black girl, and the expansive ways she’s learned to exist as a Black girl, that she wrote a book about it all.

Is Chief Justice Roberts moderating from the front?

Many commentators have complained that Chief Justice John Roberts has shown himself not to be a true institutionalist but rather a conservative ideologue. Hillary Clinton recently provided an example , suggesting that the chief justice had never been an institutionalist at all.

Indonesia: Surge in Abuse Against LGBT Students

Click to expand Image A young protester raises a poster, “Today still discriminatory?” with the love rainbow sign during the Women’s March rally in March 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia. © 2023 Andreas Harsono/Human Rights Watch (London) – Harassment and attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transg…

Planned Parenthood Decries Block on Indiana Medicaid Funding Despite End of Federal Ban

Indiana’s Planned Parenthood affiliate remains cut off from state Medicaid funding even with the expiration of a federal ban on such payments to abortion providers for any health-care services. The nationwide funding ban that Republicans included in last year’s “big, beautiful” law expired July 4, 2…

The fight over trans girls’ sports participation moves to the November ballot

Legislatures in left-leaning states have consistently rejected bills that would bar transgender student-athletes from participating in sports in line with their gender identity. But this November, the question of whether to exclude them will go straight to voters in two blue states, Colorado and Was…

Gen Z women are the most pessimistic about the American dream

Gen Z women often show up in polling as the most progressive group. They’re also the most pessimistic about the American dream. That’s according to a new analysis of polling data by PRRI . Americans overall have become more pessimistic about the American dream — defined in the poll as “if you work h…

Tunisia: Harsh Sentences for Rights Defenders

Click to expand Image Saadia Mosbah (center), president of the antiracism association Mnemty, attending a march in Tunis, Tunisia, on March 4, 2023. © 2023 Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto via AP Photo (Beirut) – Tunisian courts sentenced eight human rights defenders to prison terms and fines in rec…

Egypt: Refugees, Asylum Seekers Arrested, Deported

Click to expand Image Asylum seekers sit in a UNHCR registration center in Cairo, Egypt on July 25, 2023. © 2023 Jaime Giménez/UNHCR Many refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt, most from Sudan and South Sudan, have faced a months-long campaign of arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, and deportation.

Author Amy DuBois Barnett On Her Favorite Books, Unexpected Reads That Bring Her Joy And Why She Never Uses Bookmarks

Amy DuBois Barnett’s attendance at this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture was a heartwarming homecoming for the top editor turned popular novelist. Barnett worked at ESSENCE early in her career before becoming the first Black woman to be editor-in-chief at a major mainstream magazine, Teen People .

‘I Knew About Hot Flashes And Night Sweats, But Not This’: Women Are ‘Petrified’ After Penélope Cruz And Olivia Wilde Discuss Shocking Perimenopause Symptom

"Not Penélope Cruz being better educated in the menopause than the myriad of male doctors I’ve seen over the past five years."

Eni Popoola Teaches Black Women To Find Their Voice At ESSENCE Festival 2026

Eni Popoola knows how to command the room. The Nigerian-American blogger is from one of the loudest cities in the world, New York. She graduated Harvard University with a government and sociology degree, commanded the classroom as a 7th grade teacher in Harlem, and is now a student at Columbia Law S…

After Repeated Defeats, Republicans Are Trying to Revive the SAVE Act Yet Again

After failing to advance in the Senate four separate times in two years and drawing opposition from members of their own party, Republicans are once again attempting to resurrect the SAVE America Act (an even more extreme version of the original SAVE Act)—legislation that would require Americans to …

Trump supports birthright citizenship — when the recipient is on the U.S. men’s soccer team

Apparently, President Donald Trump will support a recipient of birthright citizenship when it’s a member of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team. Trump stated in a press conference Monday that he asked FIFA to review U.S.

Egypt Prosecutes a Doctor for Alleging Obstetric Violence

Click to expand Image A doctor examines a pregnant woman at a hospital in the province of Fayoum, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, February 19, 2019. © 2019 Hayam Adel/Reuters An Egyptian court sentenced doctor and filmmaker Omnia Suwydan on July 4 to a six-months suspended prison sentence and a fine…

Burkina Faso Puts Study Abroad Under Junta Control

Click to expand Image Burkina Faso soldiers patrol aboard a pickup truck on the road from Dori to the Goudebo refugee camp, on February 3, 2020. © 2020 OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT/AFP via Getty Images Burkina Faso’s military junta has approved a law requiring every Burkinabè student wishing to pursue higher…

I Did ESSENCE Festival Solo Again, And It Gave Me Everything

For the third year in a row, I packed a bag and headed to New Orleans for the ESSENCE Festival of Culture. Going solo has become my tradition, and this year gave me every reason to keep it. I walked into the Convention Center on Friday and felt it right away. Longer lines. More people.

Amid Mounting War Casualties, Pete Hegseth “Defunded and Impeded” Efforts to Protect Civilians, Lawmakers Say

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gives a statement ahead of a NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels in June. Omar Havana/Getty Images ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

Inside ESSENCE Black Women In Music: See The Best Moments From The Brunch

Black women have always been the soundtrack to our lives. Their voices, creativity, and innovation have shaped generations, pushed music forward, and influenced culture in ways that reach far beyond the stage.

The Black woman on the train did not look away. How much longer will we?

This column first appeared in The Amendment, a newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to her analysi s. It is an arresting image: On the Fourth of July, a lone, young Black woman sits on a train filled with White nationalists headed to commemorate…

The justices remained busy last summer. This year, will they actually get a break?

One year ago, the Supreme Court had just wrapped up the 2024-25 term with a series of high-profile rulings, including decisions limiting the availability of universal injunctions and upholding a state ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors .

States May Exclude Trans Kids from Sports: Supreme Court

Each week, Rewire News Group editors scour headlines nationwide—from lawsuits over abortion access to LGBTQ+ rights—to bring you the most urgent news in reproductive justice. Here’s the past week’s latest news.

Is the Roberts court hyperopic or willfully blind?

Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff. Speaking at a Federalist Society event the day the Supreme Court wrapped up its latest term, attorney Kannon Shanmugam described an “emerging …

State Ultrasound Requirements in Abortion Procedure

Looking back and looking ahead

Chief Justice John Marshall died on this day in 1835, at age 79. He served on the court for more than 34 years and remains the longest-serving chief justice. It’s no wonder, then, that we needed two Closer Looks to tell Marshall’s life story.

New immigration rules require evidence many abuse survivors can’t access

In March, Michigan attorney Ruby Robinson received a denial notice for legal status for his client — an immigrant woman suffering physical abuse from her husband. Her husband had choked her, Robinson said. Shoved her. Forced unwanted touch. Controlled the finances.

DOJ, HHS, FTC, FDA: The alphabet soup of efforts to restrict gender-affirming care

The United States is using the full power of the federal government to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The American Psychological Association has accused the Trump administration of ignoring science and undermining mental health through its anti-trans policies.

Walking Through the Door Dobbs Left Open: A Groundbreaking Idaho Case Tests Whether the Constitution Protects a Pregnant Woman’s Right to Self-Preservation

When most people think about post- Dobbs abortion litigation, they assume every lawsuit is trying to overturn the Supreme Court's decision. But a groundbreaking case in Idaho charts a different course. Brought by maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr.

‘The Memories Are Unforgettable’: Women On Their ESSENCE Festival Girls’ Trips

For thousands of Black women, ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans is not just a weekend on the calendar. It is a reunion, a celebration, and for many, an annual rite of summer that only gets sweeter with each return trip.

Kandi Burruss Gives A Masterclass On Pivoting At ESSENCE Festival 2026

What’s next when you’re already a Grammy-Award winning songwriter, Broadway producer, and one of the most famous personalities in reality TV? For ESSENCE Black Women in Music honoree Kandi Burruss, it’s pivoting to the beauty business.

Ryan Destiny Just Confirmed The Sweat-Proof Staple Every Summer Closet Needs

If you’re staring at your closet wondering what to wear when the temperature climbs past 90 degrees, allow Ryan Destiny to solve the problem for you. During ESSENCE Festival of Culture 2026, the multi-hyphenate stepped out looking effortlessly chic without breaking a sweat in one of summer’s most un…

A Rape-Survivor-Turned-Prosecutor Is Teaching Women How to Heal

One of us is a doctor, the other a lawyer. We’re also members of a club that no woman ever asks to join, but too many are forced into, often by men they loved and trusted. JoDee Neil, a Texas attorney and former prosecutor, has spent her career seeking justice for survivors of sexual violence.

Rebundle’s Ciara Imani May Goes ‘Beyond The Braid’ At Essence Film Festival

What if the beauty rituals trusted by millions carried hidden costs no one warned us about? This simple truth is the foundation of Rebundle founder Ciara Imani May’s film, Reclaimed: Beyond The Braid , about the normalized harm Black women face with braiding hair.

‘This Is Home. This Is Us’: HBCU Students And Alum Descend On ESSENCE Festival 2026

This year at ESSENCE Festival of Culture , HBCU pride is present in full force. Walk through the Convention Center or catch the energy outside the Superdome, and it is impossible to miss the sheer number of Black college students and alumni who treat this weekend less like a festival and more like a…

ESSENCE Festival Headliner Cardi B On How She Grew Grow-Good Beauty

Back in April, Cardi B officially entered the beauty business with the launch of her first-ever haircare line, Grow-Good Beauty . But, going from Grammy Award-winning rapper to brand owner didn’t just work overnight (even though her hair masks do!) “I was tired of having chopped up hair,” she told T…