Simone Biles, Lizzo, & Nikole Hannah-Jones Cover The November/December Issue Of ESSENCE

By Essence ·Updated November 18, 2021

Now more than ever before, Black women are not only putting their mental health first, but recognizing the life-changing, soul-moving power of saying “no.” In our final issue of 2021, we’re reflecting on this Year of Radical Self-Care by celebrating the women who publicly said no to societal expectations and yes to themselves.

Simone Biles, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Lizzo each appear on the front of our November/December issue in a special three-cover edition of the magazine. Inside, each woman talks about having the courage to choose themselves and the lessons they learned by prioritizing their mental health.

Simone Biles

“I definitely knew any stand I took would be a little bit bigger than itself,” Lizzo who tells ESSENCE Senior Entertainment Editor Brande Victorian in her cover story, “Simply Being,” “No one’s ever right about me.”

Balancing backlash for the way she embraces her body with criticisms of her sound and the expectation of the type of music audiences think a Black woman should make is a constant battle. But Lizzo remains rooted in who she is. “I use 808s, just not in the same way everyone else does,” she explains of the drum machine that characterizes most of today’s hip-hop and R&B. “I have songs I could drop right now, but that’s just not my -purpose. That’s not why God made me and put me on this planet at this exact time.”

Because of her resolve to march to the beat of her own drum, both literally and figuratively, Lizzo has been hoisted up as a model of body-positivity. But her hope is that her fame doesn’t lead to more conversations about the success of plus-size Black women but rather less attention put on the exterior.

“It’s exhausting,” Lizzo admits. “And that’s the point. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. We should be neutral about bodies.”

Simone Biles, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Lizzo appear on the November/December 2021 cover of ESSENCE, available on newsstands December 14.

Simone Biles

Photographer: Chrisean Rose

Writer: Kovie Biakolo

Stylist: Jason Rembert

Stylist Assistant: Wilton White

Makeup Artist: Jessica Smalls at The Wall Group

Hairstylist: Weezydidit

Manicurist: Krystina Woods

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Photographer: Itaysha Jordan