Susan L. Taylor (born January 23, 1946) is an American editor, writer, and journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, ''

American Libraries ''American Libraries'' is the flagship magazine of the American Library Association (ALA). About ''American Libraries'' was first published in 1970 as a continuation of the long-running ''ALA Bulletin,'' which had served as the Association’s ...

'' referred to Taylor as "the most influential black woman in journalism today".

Early life

Taylor was born in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

mother and a father from St. Kitts. She grew up in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

, where her father owned a clothing store. She was raised Catholic and went to a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

. As a teenager, she moved with her family to the New York borough of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

''Essence''

Taylor started her career at ''Essence'', a magazine for

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

women, in 1970, the year the magazine was founded. Her first position at the magazine was freelance fashion and beauty editor. At the time, she was a divorced single mother without a college degree. By 1981, Taylor had risen to become editor-in-chief, a position she held until 2000. During the 1980s, she attended night school and earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. In addition to her editing responsibilities, Taylor had success building the ''Essence''

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. She was executive producer and host of ''Essence, the Television Program'', a syndicated interview program broadcast on more than 50 stations for four years during the 1980s. In the 1990s, she began Essence Books. Taylor's monthly inspirational column, "In the Spirit", became a popular feature of the magazine. She published three volumes of selected columns. In 2000, Taylor was promoted to publications director. She left the magazine in 2008.

Awards

In 1986, Taylor received a

Candace Award The Candace Award is an award that was given from 1982 to 1992 by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) to "Black role models of uncommon distinction who have set a standard of excellence for young people of all races". Kandake, Candace ...

from the

National Coalition of 100 Black Women The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (NCBW) is a non-profit volunteer organization for African American women. Its members address common issues in their communities, families and personal lives, promoting gender and racial equity. His ...

. In 1987, she received the

Matrix Award Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

from New York Women in Communications. The

Magazine Publishers of America A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

gave Taylor its Henry Johnson Fisher Award, considered one of the industry's highest honors, in 1998. She was the first African-American woman to receive the award. In 2002, Taylor was inducted into the

American Society of Magazine Editors The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is an industry trade group for magazine journalists and editors of magazines published in the United States. ASME includes the editorial leaders of most major consumer magazine in print and digital ex ...

' Hall of Fame for her work at ''Essence''.

Exceptional Women in Publishing Exceptional Women in Publishing (EWIP) is a non-profit organization formerly known as Women in Periodical Publishing (WIPP). EWIP's goal is to help women in publishing support each other, develop leadership skills, and balance professional and pers ...

presented Taylor its fifth annual Exceptional Woman in Publishing award in 2003. In 2006, the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

gave Taylor its President's Award. Taylor is an honorary member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

sorority; she was inducted on July 13, 2013.

Personal life

In 1989, Taylor married writer Khephra Burns at their home in upstate New York. Taylor's daughter, Shana, owns a beauty supply business and is married to

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors ...

Published works

* ''In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor'', 1993. * ''Lessons in Living'', 1995. * ''Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives'', 1997. Co-authored with Khephra Burns. * ''All About Love: Favorite Selections from "In the Spirit" on Living Fearlessly'', 2008.

References

External links

*
Interview with Susan L. Taylor
on

KUT Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

's ''In Black America'' radio series, October 1, 1989, at the

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digitall ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Susan L. 1946 births American people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent African-American journalists African-American non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers American magazine editors Women magazine editors American self-help writers American spiritual writers Fordham University alumni Living people People from Harlem 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people African-American Catholics