PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Nov.

NEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire/ --The judges have spoken! Today, ESSENCE and Elite Model Management proudly announce the five finalists for its national "ESSENCE It Girl" model search contest.

NEW YORK, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ESSENCE kicks off the ESSENCE It Girl model search in partnership with Elite Model Management. In an effort to address the lack of diversity on the runways, ESSENCE and Elite will conduct a nationwide search for the new African-American "It" model.