Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170009
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CURTIS L. TAYLOR NEWSDAY
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Long
In earlier letters, Susan Taylor, editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, had learned that her pen pal had been given up for adoption when she was 6 months old by her mother and was now struggling alone to come to terms with her identity as a young black woman.
``I was so worried about this child that I called down there,'' says Taylor, her voice filling with emotion. ``She says in her letter that `I feel like committing suicide ... and your columns have helped keep me going, but somebody stole the book you sent me.'''
Taylor says she immediately sent the teen another copy of the book, a collection of inspirational writings and the number of a suicide-prevention hot line. Taylor also instructed her staff to accept a collect call if the girl phoned.
The monthly columns on personal growth that results from listening to one's inner voice while putting behind negative past experiences seems to have helped the girl learn that her situation wasn't hopeless, Taylor says.
It is this motherly advice and social commitment, she adds, that comes with the territory of running Essence - the nation's largest lifestyle monthly magazine for black women, with a circulation of about 1 million and a readership of more than 5.2 million.
Now, at 25, Essence has evolved into an institution and a brand name that embodies the hopes and aspirations of black women.
``We try to encourage our sisters to develop awareness of the divinity within, to love and embrace themselves so that they can push back boundaries - real or perceived - and expand the promise of their lives,'' Taylor says in her spacious Manhattan office.
Using a formula that delivers cutting-edge information on health, careers, money management and parenting, along with fashion and beauty tips, Essence reaches a wide spectrum of women who say they believe the magazine has helped transform their lives.
``Essence has a special place in the hearts of African-American women because it is the only magazine that speaks to us, for us and about us,'' says Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a longtime reader. ``It has an incredible following of women who can't get through the month without their Essence.''
``Susan Taylor's voice is important for African-American women,'' says Pamela Newkirk, a journalism professor at New York University. ``The whole concept of self-love and addressing the spiritual needs, no other magazine had done that.''
Readers are attracted because Essence reflects their lives and ``is not just another magazine with pretty women of color and the latest shade of eye shadow,'' says Yanick Rice-Lamb, a contributing editor.
The magazine's range of importance and influence is perhaps best illustrated by its cover subjects, who have ranged from such personalities as talk-show hostess Oprah Winfrey and actress Angela Bassett, to singers Whitney Houston, Diana Ross and Janet Jackson, to philanthropist-educator Camille Cosby, the wife of entertainer Bill Cosby.
Johnetta Cole, president of Spelman College in Atlanta, says Essence is successful because it doesn't just write fluff, which gives it the credibility to speak in a strong voice.
``The power of the magazine ... is so great because compassionate criticizing can be done in a gentle way that affects and shakes us, and calls us to do better,'' Cole says.
Essence was among the first black magazines to cover such topics as women in prison, women with AIDS, domestic violence and apartheid in South Africa.
But for many readers, it was Essence's approach to beauty and fashion that galvanized their relationship. While the beauty standards established by mainstream magazines over time have involved the mostly white supermodels and all that was thin, Essence showcased the distinctly different features of the black woman.
``We live in a society where there is a very narrow conception of what is beautiful,'' Taylor says. ``It is usually pale, blonde and a size 7, which leaves out 95 percent of the women in this country. And black women are usually the farthest from that ideal.''
Each issue features models in its stories with skin tones of cafe au lait to dark chocolate, with figures ranging from a size 4 hourglass to the fuller 22-plus. And hair - straight, short, curly, permed, dreadlocked, braided and even colored styles.
The magazine also reaches out to male readers for its regular ``Say Brother'' columns, contributions from men who share their feelings about women, relationships and life.
Chief Executive Officer and Publisher Ed Lewis and President Clarence Smith, both co-founders, have moved the parent company, Essence Communications Inc., into television, licensing and direct-mail products.
The award-winning Essence Television Show became one of the first nationally syndicated black entertainment programs in the mid-1980s and made Taylor and Essence household names.
The company also offers a line of fashion hosiery and eyewear, fine-art reproductions and a specially designed wardrobe of sewing fashions. A line of children's books is scheduled to debut in February.
``Before Essence magazine, no one had ever examined the black woman's contribution to her race, her society and her country,'' says Lewis, who along with Smith won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Publishing from Ernst & Young, a leading international professional services company.
Iyanla Vanzant, author and empowerment specialist, notes that the essence of Essence is what black women are about.
``Essence is the pulse of the African-American community because it is the conscience of African-American women,'' Vanzant says. ``No other publication can speak to our issue from our perspective.''
by CNB