Taylor, Susan L.
1946-present · Contribution: 1970-2008
Magazine editor
Rose from freelance beauty editor to editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, a post she held from 1981 to 2000, becoming, according to a 1994 American Libraries assessment, “the most influential black woman in journalism” of her era
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1946, Harlem, New York
- Active since
- 1970
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- Editor-in-chief of Essence and 'the most influential Black woman in journalism' of her era
Impact on the world
Taylor grew Essence's readership into the millions and, without a college degree at the start, became the defining editorial voice for Black women in American magazines.
Sources
- BlackPast.org
1 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Gillespie, Marcia Ann
1944-present
Became editor-in-chief of Essence magazine at age 26 in 1971, then, in 1993, editor-in-chief of Ms. magazine, making her the first African American woman to lead a mainstream national magazine not aimed specifically at Black readers
Thompson, Era Bell
1905-1986
Served as international editor of Ebony magazine for roughly two decades within a nearly 40-year career at Johnson Publishing Company, traveling to 124 countries and shaping the magazine’s global coverage of the African diaspora
Bennett, Lerone Jr.
1928-2018
Spent more than fifty years at Johnson Publishing Company’s Ebony magazine, rising to executive editor, and used its pages to publish groundbreaking popular history — above all Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America (1962) — that made him the era’s most widely read chronicler of the African American past
Norris, Michele L.
1961-present
Became the first African American woman to host NPR’s flagship program All Things Considered in 2002, then created The Race Card Project in 2010, a Peabody Award-winning national storytelling initiative that has collected more than 500,000 six-word narratives about race and identity