Susan L. Taylor, the face and voice of Essence Magazine for nearly 40 years, has announced that she will be leaving her post as editorial director to devote more time to an organization she created to help troubled children.
Taylor joined Essence in 1970, the year of its first publication as a freelance fashion and beauty editor. She became editor in chief in 1981 and remained in the position until 2000 when she was promoted to publications director.
Her most recent position at the magazine was as editorial director and author of the popular In The Spirit column. During her tenure at Essence she helped establish the magazine as a powerful brand and communications tool among black and the magazine boasts a circulation of more than one million readers. She also became the first black woman to receive the Henry Johnson Fisher Award from the Magazine Publishers of America, a top honor in the magazine industry, in 1999.
Taylor sent news of her departure via e-mail. In the note she said “I will be leaving Essence to do what at this juncture in my life has become a larger work for me – building the National Cares Mentoring Movement, which I founded as Essence Cares and today is my deepest passion.”
National Cares Mentoring Movement operations in coalition with several advocacy groups including the National Urban League, 100 Black Men of America and the YWCA.
According to the message, Taylor’s departure from Essence will be effective in Mid-January.
Information from the New York Times contributed to this report.
