Urban-Reviews.com - Inside Out with Susan L. Taylor

Susan L. Taylor

A fourth-generation entrepreneur, Susan L. Taylor was the founder of her own company, Nequai Cosmetics, before becoming Essence Magazine’s fashion and beauty editor in 1970, the year it was first published. She became editor-in-chief in 1981, a post she held until 2000, when she was promoted to publications director. Susan was most recently the magazine’s editorial director. Susan left Essence magazine to work on building the National Cares Mentoring Movement, which she has founded as Essence Cares.

Essence Cares, which has become Susan’s deepest passion, encourages black adults to serve as mentors for at-risk young people. This year she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to promote the National Cares Mentoring Movement, which she founded in 2006 with the goal of signing up more than one million people to become mentors. The organization is a coalition of advocacy groups, including the National Urban League, 100 Black Men in America and the Y.W.C.A.

Susan will be touring throughout February & March, 2008 to promote her new book All About Love: Favorite Selections From In the Spirit on Living Fearlessly.

Link to her feature on Oprah.com: Click Here

More information about Essence Cares: Click Here
Order Your Copy Today: Click Here

Urban Reviews: Start by telling our readers about All About Love.
Susan L. Taylor: These writings are my and Essence readers favorite "In the Spirit" columns, which I have rewritten and deepened. Essentially, they are to help us remember that we are not weak or incomplete, but more than enough. We are human and divine and with our mind, we can create the joyful, peaceful and prosperous life God created us to have. All About Love is our encouragement to cast off negativity, doubt or fear--they grow when we give them power--and keep on stepping toward our goals and plans with walk-on-water faith.

Urban Reviews: What inspired you to create this collection of essays?
Susan L. Taylor: For years, Essence readers have been asking me to compile the ones that have been most helpful to them in a single volume. I also wanted to be able to read the ones that are most meaningful to me, the truths that have saved my life and that I must remember and practice to keep balance and inner peace at the center of my crazy-busy life.

Urban Reviews: You have a mentoring program called Essence Cares. Can you tell us about this project and what motivated you to create it?
Susan L. Taylor: This is the painful truth we can no longer avoid addressing: Of all African American births, 6.6 percent are to girls under the age of 18. Among our children, 58 percent of Black 4th graders are functionally illiterate. In some cities, nearly 80 percent of Black boys aren’t finishing high school.
Everyday more than a thousand Black children are arrested. One in every eight Black men between the ages of 25 and 29 is incarcerated, and the leading cause of death for our Black boys is homicide. What I and people all over the country are saying is, "Hell no! Not on our watch. Millions of our young are in peril and the negative forces claiming them--the mothers and fathers of our tomorrows--are more powerful than our community's or country's effort to secure them. The goal of the National Cares Mentoring Movement is to put a caring and loving adult in the life of every vulnerable child and to increase the rate of high school graduation among Black youngsters by 10 percent annually. Now there are 22 cities at various stages of launching local movements. Already in operation are Atlanta Cares Mentoring Movement, Chicago Cares, Memphis Cares, Baltimore Cares, and the fearless brothers of MADD DADS are organizing the state of Florida.

Urban Reviews: As being the "face" of Essence magazine for a number of years, you are leaving the magazine to work on building the Essence Cares movement. Was this a difficult decision for you?
Susan L. Taylor: It's time for the next generation to take the reigns of Essence. They are energized, well trained and hard working. At times we older ones hold on too long. I did what I came to Essence to do; my 37 years there have seasoned me well. Now I'm ready for the heavy lifting, for even tougher, mightier work--linking arms and aims with the many caring people throughout the nation who have a passion for justice and understand that neither public policy nor political will is going to rescue our young and that this is our call to commitment, Black people's work to do. I founded the movement as Essence Cares, and Essence will continue to support this critical mentor-recruitment effort.

Urban Reviews: What are your long-term goals for Essence Cares ?
Susan L. Taylor: Oprah Winfrey put out the call for one million people to sign on to mentor. She devoted a show to the National Cares Mentoring Movement and ran it twice within a month. This gave the movement a tremendous life. Mentoring costs nothing and saves lives. We asking every able, stable Black person to devote four hours a month in a one-to-one mentoring relationship, or to with a group of friends mentor a number of youngsters--say those in a group home. Not only do mentees benefit, mentors grow in ways that are immeasurable.

The long-term goal, is ending the carnage in our communities, the over-incarceration of our young and turning every failing public school into a top-tier, safe learning environment that young people want to be a part of. Also, the leaders of the four national Baptist convention, that together have over 16 million congregants, have agreed to encourage churches to open their doors after school and enlist retired teachers to offer homework help, and on Saturdays for the accurate teaching of our history. We need our women and men to organize their congregations in churches, temples and mosques to do this critical work. This is the overarching goal.

Urban Reviews: Where can our readers find more information on joining this movement?
Susan L. Taylor: Readers can log on to EssenceCares.com for more information and to sign up to mentor. Just enter your zip code and a list of mentoring opportunities in your area will appear on the screen. Select one that appeals to you, investigate it and sign on.

Urban Reviews: Are you working on any other upcoming projects?
Susan L. Taylor: I am working on a healing and stress-reducing meditation CD. And a book about how we sisters and brothers can build solid lasting relationships is in my heart. All of my work is in synergy. We need inner peace and we need to get along with one another in order to secure the children and rebuild our communities. Peace and love begin in our individual hearts and homes, then we can live and build together well. We have to practice forgiveness and non-judgment every day. This is the most difficult and most necessary walk we humans must take. The most revolutionary thing we Black folks can do is learn to love one another.

Urban Reviews: Name one thing that the world does not know about Susan L. Taylor-the person?
Susan L. Taylor: Many folks think I have it all together all the time. Life is a school room, and I am learning how to listen to my life and my own intuition. When I don't, things fall apart, I get depressed, lose faith and suffer. Them I turn to a wisdom book, or someone who helps me remember this: Magnify God, not the perceived obstacle. We combine with whatever we focus on. "God's ways are ingenious; God's methods are sure." Each day I'm learning to trust God more and more.