ESSENCE Magazine Launches Special Social Media Campaign #HeIsNotASuspect in Response to the George Zimmerman Verdict

NEW YORK, July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ESSENCE, the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women, is launching #HeIsNotASuspect, a powerful social media campaign and movement in response to the George Zimmerman verdict aimed at stopping racial profiling of African-American males. The goal of this counter-stereotyping campaign, which launches today, is to declare to the world that young Black men are valued, loved and not to be feared.

"ESSENCE editors have been flooded with responses ranging from anger to sadness over the Zimmerman verdict—especially from Black mothers who daily worry about the dangers their sons face when they are profiled without consequence," said ESSENCE Acting Managing Editor Vanessa Bush. "ESSENCE's #HeIsNotASuspect campaign is designed to challenge negative images of young African-American men. We also wanted to create a forum for mothers, grandmothers, aunts and everyone else to proclaim that young African-American men are to be celebrated and not feared."

Readers simply need to upload to Instagram or Facebook a photo of themselves and a young Black man they care about—a son, brother, nephew, cousin, neighbor—and tell ESSENCE in a few words why he's so much more than a stereotype, using the hashtag #HeIsNotASuspect. 

For more on this campaign, visit Essence.com/heisnotasuspect.

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 43 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of over 9.7 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.

SOURCE ESSENCE magazine

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