Title: Essence (magazine)
Content:  Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount founded Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) in 1968. It began publishing Essence magazine in May 1970. Lewis and Smith called the publication a "lifestyle magazine directed at upscale African American women". They recognized that Black women were an overlooked demographic and saw Essence as an opportunity to capitalize on a virtually untouched market of Black women readers. Its initial circulation was approximately 50,000 copies per month, subsequently growing to roughly 1.6 million. Gordon Parks served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation. In 2000, Time Inc. purchased 49 percent of Essence Communications Inc. In 2005, Time Inc. made a deal with Essence Communications Inc. to purchase the remaining 51 
Title: Essence Global
Content:  Essence was founded by Matt Isaacs, Andrew Shebbeare and Andy Bonsall who previously worked together at Accucard, a credit-card company backed by LloydsTSB, where they developed an in-house digital marketing arm called Creative Services. In 2005 they created their own digital agency in London, Essence, with their first client being Carphone Warehouse boss, Sir Charles Dunstone. In 2006 Essence was hired by Google for a UK media and creative assignment. Today Essence is the digital media agency of record for Google in EMEA, NA and APAC. Essence has worked for domestic and international brands including L’Oreal, TalkTalk, eBay, Betfair, Expedia, Barclays, YouTube, Method, DoubleDown Interactive, HP, Viber, Visa and Intuit.
Title: Essence (magazine)
Content: Viola Davis ; Loretta Devine ; Angela Bassett ; Jennifer Hudson 
Title: Essence (magazine)
Content: Honorees: Niecy Nash, Melina Matsoukas, Lashana Lynch, and the cast of Pose, along with its executive producer Janet Mock 
Title: Essence Global
Content:  Essence is a global data and measurement-driven full service agency. The agency has 20 offices in 12 countries and a staff of approximately 1,900. Essence manages over $4B in annualized media spend globally, with clients such as Google, The Financial Times, Target, NBCUniversal, BP, FrieslandCampina, L’Oreal and Tesco Mobile. In 2015 Essence became majority owned by WPP, and a part of GroupM, the WPP media investment management operation. Essence specializes in strategy, digital marketing, digital creative, media planning and buying, mobile advertising and analytics. Kyoko Matsushita has taken over from Christian Juhl as CEO from 1 October 2019, Juhl has moved to be CEO of GroupM.
Title: Essence (magazine)
Content:  The 2005 purchase of Essence Communications Inc. marked the first time an African-American magazine would be owned by a white man, sparking controversy because of the company's 34 years under African-American ownership. In 2011, the magazine engaged with controversy when the editor-in-chief, Constance C. R. White, announced that the magazine's new managing editor was a white male by the name of Michael Bullerdick. White assured readers that Bullerdick had no control over the content of the magazine and was only to oversee the day-to-day operations of the magazine. In April 2012, Bullerdick parted ways with the magazine after politically conservative views that ran counter to what Essence has historically stood for were discovered on his private Facebook page. In July 2020, controversy rose again when anonymous magazine staffers alleged mistreatment and abuse under the leadership of Richelieu Dennis. In a post called "Black Female Anonymous" on Medium, it is alleged that senior staffers subjected Black female employees to sexual harassment, pay inequity and bullying. Dennis subsequently stepped down and named Caroline Wanga as interim CEO.
Title: Essence (magazine)
Content:  Essence is a monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women.
Title: Essence (magazine)
Content: Breakthrough Performance Award: Lupita Nyong'o ; Trailblazer Award: Cheryl Boone Isaacs ; Visionary Award: Ava DuVernay 
Title: Gordon Parks
Content:  Parks was a co-founder of Essence magazine and served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation.
Title: Essence (magazine)
Content: Breakthrough Performance Award: Gabourey Sidibe ; Legend Award: Cicely Tyson ; Power Award: Queen Latifah ; Songstress of the Year: Mary J. Blige ; Star to Watch Award: Zoe Saldana 

Question: Who was the director of Essence?
Answer: Kim Manners.