Experience of a Lifetime: My First ESSENCE Festival of Culture

Documentary photographer Laylah Amatullah Barrayn attended her first ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans, documenting the event as a space of “radical affirmation” for Black women. Barrayn, who teaches photography students at Rutgers University, utilized the gathering to capture the intersection of community, entrepreneurship, and Black identity during the United States’ 250th anniversary year.

The Symbolic Timing of the 250th Anniversary

Barrayn arrived in New Orleans from New York City on the eve of the festival, noting that the timing of the event coincided with the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. For Barrayn, being surrounded by a concentrated community of Black women during this specific historical milestone was “deeply symbolic.”

The experience served as a deliberate break from her professional trajectory. Barrayn’s recent career milestones include teaching a semester at Rutgers University and organizing an international conference on photography archives in Accra, Ghana. Her previous summers were spent on global assignments, including workshops in Cape Town and Kampala, Uganda, and research for The New York Times regarding the life of Omar Ibn Said in Senegal.

Cultural Anchors at the Convention Center and Superdome

While the Superdome provided the scale for major performances—including a reunion of Brandy and Monica—Barrayn identified the New Orleans Convention Center as the heart of the festival’s community impact. She documented a range of cultural and intellectual exchanges, from the debut novels of Mara Brock Akil and Amy DuBois Barnett to the work of local photographer L. Kasimu Harris, who documents the city’s vanishing bars.

A significant portion of Barrayn’s focus remained on the economic empowerment present at Beautycon. She described the space as one where Black hair and skin are considered first, highlighting the role of Black entrepreneurs in creating products designed specifically for their community.

“This Festival truly is a space of opportunity, possibility, and joy. It serves as a powerful reminder that we are not alone.”

The Global Diaspora in a Localized Space

Barrayn observed that the sisterhood experienced at the festival transcends national borders, noting that attendees arrived from across the U.S. and various parts of the African Diaspora. This gathering functions as a living archive of Black unity and tradition.

The atmosphere began at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, where Barrayn noted the immediate energy of families and couples arriving. She recounted a chance encounter on her flight with Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, which set the tone for a weekend defined by mutual affirmation and safety.

Long-term Impact of the ESSENCE Experience

Barrayn characterized her first experience with the ESSENCE Festival of Culture as “pure joy,” emphasizing the feeling of safety and the ability to engage in deep, ongoing conversations with other Black women. She has stated her intention to return, viewing the festival not as a one-time event, but as a recurring source of energy and communal strength.