The Power of Us: Disney Creatives Uplift Black Storytelling at Essence Fest

The Essence Festival of Culture played host to a dynamic and heartfelt panel titled “The Power of Us," spotlighting Black creatives and storytellers from Disney-owned platforms including National Geographic, Andscape, and 20th Television. Hosted by media personality Déjà Vu, the panel was a joyful and reflective celebration of resilience, artistry, and ancestral power.

The lineup featured:

Moderator Déjà Vu kicked things off by asking each panelist what “The Power of Us" means to them. The responses were powerful and deeply personal. Lynn Whitfield called it “magic" and “supernatural," while Luke James reflected on the richness of Black identity: “We are the original people... the power of us is everybody."

Ari Chambers spoke to the power of connection and balance, especially as a Black woman working in sports journalism: “We balance each other out... We are the positivity." Traci A. Curry framed storytelling as a radical act: “In a moment of active erasure and compulsory forgetting, telling our stories is an act of resistance."

Lynn Whitfield delivered a show-stopping monologue about choosing roles that shed light on misunderstood characters - especially Black women - and challenging ageist, limiting stereotypes. “Part of my resistance and my activism is to hold on to sensuality, complexity, and personal female power," she declared. “I'm not doing the cushy grandma trope just to make people comfortable."

Luke James shared how he uses music to tell the truth, often writing from a place of love and legacy. “When I sing, I honor the voices that weren’t heard, that made it possible for mine to be heard."

As a journalist with Andscape, Ari Chambers discussed her mission to center athletes’ authentic voices, especially in women’s sports. “We’ve filtered their stories for too long," she said. “Now, we step back and let them speak. We don’t have to be the exception anymore. We are the norm." She also teased her new show Vibe Check - co-hosted with Monica McNutt, L. Duncan, and Andrea Carter - airing on Disney+ and ESPN2.

Traci A. Curry opened up about her five-part Nat Geo docuseries Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, which premieres at the festival. She described how talking to New Orleanians - drivers, stylists, servers - inspired her to center local voices. “There’s something that changed irrevocably about this city," she said, referencing generational dislocation, gentrification, and cultural shifts post-Katrina.

Lynn and Luke, both Louisiana natives, echoed this sentiment. “It’s different," Luke said simply. “We make do. That’s what we do."

As the panel came to a close, Déjà Vu circled back to the theme. “What does the power of us mean when we are telling our stories?" Lynn Whitfield summed it up: “Sometimes we don’t need to talk about outer forces - we just need to talk about us. We rose from strife and changed the face of Western culture. We are enough."

Get the full story in our video of the panel below. Click here for more coverage from Essence Fest.