Deepak Chopra Will Join The Daytime Lineup Of The 2015 ESSENCE Festival For The First Time Ever!

NEW YORK, March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2015 ESSENCE Festival announces its power-packed daytime lineup for its ESSENCE Empowerment Experience (EEE) and Empower U, taking place Fourth of July Weekend, July 3-5, 2015, in New Orleans, LA.

Celebrated author Deepak Chopra, joining EEE for the first-time, will be among the nationally recognized activists, artists and entertainers gathering for the empowering weekend to share tips for personal success. Other speakers include: Rev. Al Sharpton (who will address #BlackLivesMatter), Sybrina Fulton, Iyanla Vanzant, Grace Gibson & Lynn Whitfield, Cynthia Bailey, Kandi Burruss and Claudia Jordan. Additional speakers to be announced soon.

The ESSENCE Empowerment Experience and Empower U offer curated content from ESSENCE's editorial team, extending conversations that have moved from the page to the screen to the stage.  Topics include: #BlackLivesMatter, Mothers & Daughters: Lessons on Love & Living, Criminal Justice, Domestic Violence, the 50^th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Black Women's Health Agenda and more. During Empower U coaching sessions, ESSENCE editors and experts will cover topics such as: personal finance, careers, healthy living, beauty, style, love and much more. Scheduled Empower U presenters include: Kandi Burruss, Kelly Price, Sarah Jakes & Toure Roberts, Tonya Lewis Lee, Fawn Weaver, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox and more. The daytime experience culminates on Sunday with an all-star, soul-stirring gospel tribute to chart-topping singer Kim Burrell.  For a full line-up of this year's daytime speakers and artists, visit www.essencefestival.com.

To register for our empowerment initiatives and for information on accommodations, visit ESSENCE Festival www.essencefestival.com. Join the Festival community: follow us on Twitter @essencefest #EssenceFest and become a fan of 2015 ESSENCE Festival on Facebook.

The 2015 ESSENCE FESTIVAL™ is executive produced by Essence Festivals LLC, a division of Essence Communications Inc. (ECI).  GeChar is the executive producer of the 2015 Essence Empowerment Experience Stage and Empower U.

Sponsors of the 2015 ESSENCE Festival include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors Ford, My Black Is Beautiful, and Verizon.

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online.  The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 45 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of 13.4 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women's lives.  Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.essence.com.

ABOUT TIME INC.

Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME) is one of the world's leading media companies, with a monthly global print audience of over 120 million and worldwide digital properties that attract more than 120 million visitors each month, including over 40 websites. Our influential brands include People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Time, Real Simple, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, Travel + Leisure, Cooking Light, Fortune and Food & Wine, as well as more than 50 diverse titles in the United Kingdom such as Decanter and Horse & Hound. Time Inc. is home to celebrated events and franchises including the Fortune 500, Time 100, People's Sexiest Man Alive, Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the Essence Festival and the biennial Fortune Global Forum. Hundreds of thousands of people attended our live media events in 2014. We also provide content marketing, targeted local print and digital advertising programs, branded book publishing and marketing and support services, including subscription sales services for magazines and other products, retail distribution and marketing services and customer service and fulfillment services, for ourselves and third-party clients, including other magazine publishers.

SOURCE ESSENCE Magazine

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