Before they became ‘American Fiction’s’ leading ladies on the big screen, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross and Erika Alexander were queens of the small screen who showed Black women just how powerful sisterhood can be. It’s only right to give these women their flowers as the cover stars of our Jan/Feb Black love issue — because Black sisterhood is Black love. ‘American Fiction,’ out in select theaters now and directed by Cord Jefferson, is a story of America in all of its dysfunction. “It is not easy as a Black actress to find roles where you are not written in the context of something else—where your identity is not because of something, or you’re just the setup for someone else. And what Cord Jefferson did in these moments that we appear on the screen, is ensure that we are whole people,” says Ross. During the Jan/Feb cover shoot, ESSENCE helped the ladies realize the connection of Black sisterhood they share through their mega-hit shows ‘Girlfriends,’ ‘Insecure‘ and ‘Living Single....