Essence Fest catches backlash for shutting down New Orleans bookstore event

The Essence Festival is catching heat on social media for shutting down a New Orleans bookstore’s event promoting Black authors, nola.com reports.

The festival filed a petition on June 29 in Civil District Court and issued a Temporary Restraining Order demanding Baldwin and Co., as well as event promoter Lit Diaries LLC, cease-and-desist using its trademark to promote a June 30 event at the Black-owned bookstore, WWL-TV reports. 

Last year, while I didn't get an invite to talk about #1619Project from the Essence Festival, @BaldwinBooks hosted me that weekend for an amazing conversation at his jewel of a bookstore. To stop him from hosting Black authors this wkend is just shameful. https://t.co/yNPWmPaKRH

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 1, 2023

The Essence Music Festival ran from June 29 to July 3 in New Orleans. Organizers claim Baldwin and Co. used the Essence name illegally and violated the city’s “clean zone” laws, reports The Associated Press. A Clean Zone is an area around the festival where other events and vendors are banned unless the city approves.

Civil District Judge Richard Perque sided with the petitioners and signed the restraining order, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reports.

On Friday morning, an Instagram post from Baldwin and Co. announced: “All Lit-House Events happening on June 30th” at the bookstore were canceled, according to AP.

Bookstore owner Dernell “DJ” Johnson slammed the festival’s legal maneuver and noted that his shop is located within the protected zone. According to WWL-TV, Johnson expressed his frustrations in an open letter, stating he is “appalled and deeply offended by these actions, particularly considering the unconstitutional nature of Clean Zone ordinances and the unjust targeting of our establishment.”

On social media, several high-profile users slammed the festival for targeting the bookstore. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted: “Last year, while I didn’t get an invite to talk about #1619Project from the Essence Festival, @BaldwinBooks hosted me that weekend for an amazing conversation at his jewel of a bookstore. To stop him from hosting Black authors this wkend is just shameful.”

Caroline Wanga, CEO of ESSENCE speaks onstage during day 3 of the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ at Caesars Superdome on July 2, 2023, in New Orleans. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

According to the AP, Johnson said actions like filing a petition against the bookstore tarnished “the reputation of Essence and raise questions about its commitment to supporting the Black community as a whole.”

“It is completely inappropriate for any large-scale event visiting the city of New Orleans to negatively impact our local businesses with something akin to a non-compete clause,” City Council President JP Morrell, in a statement Friday, the AP reports.

Morrel said his office is “looking into how this occurred and how to prevent it from ever happening again.”

WWL-TV reported Sunday (July 2) that Essence Fest dropped the cease-and-desist against Baldwin and Co., but the lawsuit against promoter Lit Diaries is moving forward. In a statement, the festival said: “Based upon Baldwin Bookstore’s apology and swift action in this matter, Essence has voluntarily dismissed Baldwin from its lawsuit.”

The festival’s lawsuit seeks reimbursement of attendance fees, nola.com reports.

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