Susan L. Taylor 1946—

Editor, author, journalist

Self-Assertiveness Ran in Family

Celebrated Power to Speak Out

Rose Through Ranks at Essence

Addressed Myriad Issues in Column

Selected writings

Sources

Editor-in-chief of the enormously popular magazine Essence, Susan L. Taylor is also the author of 1993’s In the Spirit, a collection of essays reprinted from her Essence column of the same name. Taylor is a key source of critical thought, inspiration, and encouragement for African American women throughout America. She was called “the most influential black woman in journalism today” by American Libraries in 1994.

Her success is all the more remarkable when one considers that Taylor was once down-and-out and barely scraping by, alone with her daughter, Shana-Nequai. When she was 24, she found herself separated, with rent due, car broken, and three dollars to her name. One Sunday morning in November of 1970, Taylor was beset by pain in her chest and experiencing trouble breathing. The New York City emergency room doctor who admitted her diagnosed her with acute anxiety and prescribed a heavy dose of relaxation. Leaving the hospital feeling fearful and hopeless, Taylor stumbled on inspiration on her way home.

Walking up Broadway, Taylor came to a church and went in on impulse. She had not attended church in years, but sitting in a back pew in her jeans and leather jacket, she heard a sermon that changed her life. “The preacher said that our minds could change our world. That no matter what our troubles, if we could put them aside for a moment, focus on possible solutions and imagine a joyous future, we would find a peace within, and positive experiences would begin to unfold,” she recalled in In the Spirit. “I decided to try it. I gathered up some of the small pamphlets in the church vestibule. Little did I know I was taking the first step toward replacing my fears with faith. It was the beginning of my realization that our thoughts create our reality.” Taylor held on, and eventually her part-time job at the new magazine Essence became full-time, providing direction for her career.

Self-Assertiveness Ran in Family

Born in the Harlem section of New York City to West Indian parents on January 23, 1946, Taylor was raised in a strict yet loving environment. She was taught about the determination of her forebears to make a better life. She heard stories of her maternal grandmother’s bravery—leaving

At a Glance…

Born January 23, 1946, in New York, NY; daughter of Lawrence and Violett Taylor; married William Bowles, 1967 (divorced, 1971); married Khephra Burns; children: (first marriage) Shana-Nequai (daughter). Education: Fordham University, B.A.

Actress, Negro Ensemble Company; licensed cosmetologist, beginning c. 1970; founder, and president of Nequai Cosmetics, 1970-72; Essence magazine, freelance writer, beauty editor, 1970-71, fashion and beauty editor, 1971-80, editor-in-chief, 1980—; television host/executive producer, Essence, the Television Program, late 1980s; Essence Communications Inc., executive coordinator, then vice-president, 1983—. Author of Essence column “In the Spirit”; author of in the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor, 1993.

Awards: Honorary doctorate of Humane Letters, Lincoln University, 1988; National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women’s Clubs business award, 1983; Howard University Excellence in Media Award, 1982; Women in Communications Matrix Award.

Addresses: Office —Editor-in-Chief, Essence Magazine, 1500 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

a broken marriage and six children in Trinidan in 1916, settling in Harlem, working and saving and bringing her children and mother to the United States by 1925, and doing battle with anyone and anything that stood in the way of her family’s forward movement, including racist police, school principals, and even the federal government. “Like the women of her time, my grandmother didn’t wait for change; she initiated it,” Taylor noted in her column in Essence.

Taylor’s father, Lawrence, arrived in Harlem from St. Kitts, West Indies, in the early 1920s and opened a clothing store with Taylor’s mother, Violett. But by the early 1960s, the street on which the store was situated had become a “war zone” of drug-related crime and after 30 years, the business closed. Noting the “disturbing sadness” of many black male youths in the 1990s, Taylor remembered seeing a similar “deep, quiet kind of sadness” in her father’s eyes when his clothing store, the family’s main means of support, closed.

Celebrated Power to Speak Out

In her Essence columns, Taylor also recognized a central trait she had inherited from her mother. “My mother always said that one of her greatest frustrations with me was my mouth,” Taylor wrote. “But I come by my strong opinions naturally: In that respect I am my mother’s child.” In fact, Taylor celebrates her power to speak out. “It is not for nothing that black women have acquired a reputation for speaking out. Historically, our words have been our only weapons, and our voices often our only defense…. But let us not forget the power of our collective voice when it is united—in prayer or in protest or in demand.”

In her early 20s Taylor trained in acting with the Negro Ensemble Company. She also founded her own company, Nequai Cosmetics, obtaining a license as a cosmetologist and developing beauty products for African American women. Taylor’s experience with Nequai attracted the editors of Essence, which led to her first free-lance articles there.

After divorcing her first husband, William Bowles, Taylor struggled as a single parent in personal and financial crisis. She credits her daughter with helping her remain focused through these hard times. “After the breakup of my first marriage, I realized it was my sole responsibility to feed, clothe and educate my daughter,” she was quoted as saying in Memphis, Tennessee’s Tri-State Defender. “This empowered me and compelled me to live my life with purpose. My daughter has been my anchor.” The child accompanied Taylor everywhere while she pursued her career. In an interview with Michele Willens of Cosmopolitan, Taylor recollected her early days at Essence, explaining, “I just decided that rather than limit myself because I was a mother, I’d take her everywhere and expose her to everything. She was hanging around these offices when she was two.”

Rose Through Ranks at Essence

Taylor’s rise to the top at Essence took some ten years. While friends moved from one magazine to another, Taylor stayed on at Essence. “There were some moments of self-doubt, but the bottom line was that I was still challenging myself. And the waiting paid off.” Taylor moved from the part-time position of free-lance beauty editor, to the full-time staff position of fashion and beauty editor, and eventually became editor-in-chief, in 1981.

By the late 1980s Essence had a paid circulation of 800,000 and an estimated “pass-along” circulation of some 4 million, of whom about one-fourth were male. When asked what she hoped to communicate with the magazine, Taylor told Cosmopolitan, “We’re saying, ‘You’re beautiful and ‘you’re intelligent and you can do.’

We try to deliver the strategic information and the inspiration to help black women make a triumph of their lives.” Taylor boasted to Beverly Beyette of the Los Angeles Times that Essence was one of the first magazines to consider in print the difficult subjects of incest, drug use, and rape. The publication’s coverage has ranged widely, from interviews with figures like Winnie Mandela, a leader in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, to features on romantic meals for two, male-female relationships, hair-styling tips, and spa and European vacations.

In addition to her success editing Essence, Taylor has also excelled as a business executive and in television. During the 1980s, she became vice-president of the magazine’s publisher, Essence Communications, and the host/executive producer of the television show Essence, the Television Program, a 30-minute interview series produced in New York and syndicated to 55 network affiliates and independent stations. The show ran for four seasons in more than 60 countries. During this period Taylor also returned to school to finish her degree at Fordham University. She later received an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University.

Addressed Myriad Issues in Column

During much of her tenure at Essence, Taylor has maintained a column titled “In the Spirit.” In addition to autobiographical reflections, she has addressed such diverse topics as sexuality, domestic violence, male-female relations in the African American community, the Gulf War, the beating of Rodney King, the meaning of Africa for African Americans, and black history. Offering her insights in the form of general advice, Taylor frequently stresses the need for positive and empowering thought—for spirit and faith—among black women and throughout black America in the ongoing personal and collective struggle against racism.

In 1993 Taylor collected a number of these essays and new ones for her book, In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor. “In the Spirit is a deeply personal book,” Taylor wrote in the preface. “It’s about my healing and yours. It contains the seeds I want to plant in our hearts and within our universal garden so that we can uplift our people and ease the suffering in our world.” Publishers Weekly commended the book, particularly the author’s style, warmth, and generosity in revealing herself. Library Journal highly recommended it, noting that it was written “first of all for black women,” yet still “appeals to common humanity while encouraging transcendence.” In the Spirit became a national best-seller.

Taylor travels widely to address conferences for African American women and to speak on the state of black America. The African Women on Tour conference, for example, which was held in New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles in 1994, featured three days of workshops, motivational speakers, and entertainment. In her address as keynote speaker, Taylor urged “quiet time” for focus and critical thought. “We need to know what our needs are and not let others tell us what are needs are,” she proclaimed, as reported by Malaika Brown of the Los Angeles Sentinel. “It’s just time for us to do the work and we know what the work is. What we have to become are critical thinkers.”

Selected writings

In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor, Amistad Press, 1993.

Sources

Books

Taylor, Susan L., In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor, Amistad Press, 1993.

Periodicals

American Libraries, September 1994, p. 712.

Atlanta Journal and Constitution, November 29, 1993, p. B1.

Baltimore Afro-American, January 15, 1994, p. B10.

California Voice, January 24, 1992, p. 1.

Cosmopolitan, July 1988, pp. 100, 104.

Detroit News, October 30, 1986, pp. Cl-2.

Essence, November 1991, p. 47; May 1992, p. 83; October 1992, p. 51; November 1992, p. 59; July 1994, p. 51.

Library Journal, November 1, 1993, p. 100; October 1, 1994, p. 38.

Los Angeles Sentinel, October 27, 1994, p. C5.

Los Angeles Times, April 13, 1986, sec. VI, pp. 1, 13.

Philadelphia Tribune, October 29, 1993, p. ID.

Publishers Weekly, October 11, 1993, p. 78.

Seattle Skanner, January 5, 1994, p. 2.

Tri-State Defender (Memphis, TN), November 23, 1994, p. 1B.

—Nicholas Patti