Essence Fest catches backlash for shutting down New Orleans bookstore event

Essence Fest catches backlash for shutting down New Orleans bookstore event Several high-profile social media users slammed the festival for targeting the bookstore. 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...