Among her fans there is an expectation that Susan L. Taylor will be almost prophetic when she speaks, each syllable delivered in soothing, deliberate tones.
For them, listening to her is kind of like the spoken-word equivalent of a spa treatment after a really bad day at the office. Girl, relax. Restore yourself. Live to fight another day. There’s so much work to do.
If Taylor hadn’t built Essence magazine into the influential and profitable franchise it became during her more than three decades there, almost 20 of them as editor-in-chief, that message of uplift might seem like little more than a platitude. But legions of African-American women came to rely on Taylor’s monthly “In the Spirit” column as a reliable source of that can-do, you’ll-make-it-through inspiration. She was pushing the power of positive thinking and purposeful living long before Oprah Winfrey decided to live her best life and tell everybody else to do it too.
Taylor, now editor emeritus of Essence, will deliver the commencement address today at Clark Atlanta University. But with a faltering economy and a dismal job market, particularly for young college graduates, even Taylor realizes that a willing spirit and encouraging words aren’t enough.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, here’s what she had to say about her own legacy as well as a number of challenges facing the class of 2011 — not to mention the rest of us.
On the inhospitable job market graduates will face:
“It’s not the rough side of the mountain. They have to understand that. If you step out and you believe you won’t find a job, you won’t. But if you know that there’s a job out there with your name on it, they need to be prepared.”
On the importance of writing well in an age of texting and tweeting:
“Our writing skills are appalling. And the critical thing today’s young people must know is that before they ever make in-person contact with anyone, they are introducing themselves through their writing, and that writing has to be pristine — grammar, syntax, basic punctuation, making sure names are spelled correctly. These are the fundamental things that all job seekers must master. Without that, there’s no chance.”
On the National CARES Mentoring Movement she founded to recruit African-American mentors for youths:
“The most difficult mentors to find are black men and women. That’s the lane that we’re in. So ours is a call to the African-American community to say that this is our moral and spiritual responsibility. We take care of our own, but we’re not doing it at the level that we must right now.”
On the sentiment that Essence lost its “essence” when she left:
“People say that to me all the time, but it’s a different magazine today. I wouldn’t be the one to report on who Chris Brown is seeing. I don’t care! Young people are interested in celebrity and journalism is moving in that direction. But Essence is strong, it’s moving forward. And Essence is still serving the needs of black women, but it’s doing it for a generation that I’m not the one to speak to.”
On having her own magazine to speak to older women not so consumed by celebrity style and actions:
“My magazine years are behind me. Right now, I belong in those communities galvanizing people, encouraging people.”
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