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'Essence' editor delivers inspirational gift

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published February 23, 2005

I felt guilty as I left the University of South Florida Special Events Center Monday night.

Guilty, because after hearing a stirring speech by Essence editorial director Susan Taylor, I left richer in spirit yet no poorer in pocket. The inspirational and motivational gems Taylor bestowed upon the audience would have cost a fortune coming from a Tony Robbins or a Zig Ziglar.

But for Taylor, admission was simply a willingness to listen as she blended life-altering advice and spiritual beliefs with accounts of her own ups and downs during a 35-year career with Essence, a monthly magazine that targets African-American women and reaches more than 7-million readers.

Taylor, a youthful-looking 59, started at the magazine writing fashion stories before working her way up the ranks to become editor-in-chief, a position she held from 1981 to 2000. Along the way, she endured a failed marriage, being a single mother and an anxiety attack that forced her to be hospitalized.

She spoke openly about all of those obstacles, but her challenge to the audience was more complex. She implored folks to grab hold of the reins of their lives, not so that they can triumph as individuals but so they can help others and reset America's moral compass.

"We're blessed. We have everything we need on this little rock floating through space that we call Earth. We have enough air, water, land, food. What's missing is common sense. It's irrational that we could look at the issues of morality through the lens of gay marriages and a debate on whether a woman should be able to control her own biology, when it's really the fact that we have hunger and homelessness and abject poverty among such wealth."

The key to grabbing the reins? Taylor said it's important to set aside time for one's self. So often, people become so fixed on everyday tasks they never stop to ask a simple question: How am I doing? Taylor devotes 45 minutes to an hour every day to meditation and exercise. Borrowing from actor Ossie Davis, who passed away this month, she called it "the long thought."

"You have to give yourself to yourself before you give yourself to someone else," Taylor said. "You know what's needed in this world? A critical mass of courageous leaders, but before you can lead anybody else you have to become your own inner leader.

"You have to know what you need every day to create joy and peace in your life."

Encouraging the audience to draw upon spiritual gifts they have within, Taylor spoke for more than an hour. Self-esteem was just the cover story. Taylor delved into a range of topics.

ON COMPARISONS: "Stop comparing yourself to everybody else because then you'll always think you are more than or less than and neither is true. Each of us is a divine original. That speaks about the genius of our maker. Embrace yourself."

ON FINANCIAL PLANNING: "I love to dress up, but if you invite me back next year, I may have on this suit. I love shoes, I love cute clothes. But ... I'm buying property. I don't want to be an old poor black woman in this America because I see how America treats old people."

ON THE OBSESSION SOME BLACK MEN HAVE WITH SKIN COLOR: "Not all of us are little light-skinned women with long brown hair. We're a rainbow people. So many of us are negating black-skinned women. To negate black-skinned women is to slap yourself in the face, to slap your ancestral mother in the face."

ON YOUNG WOMEN'S INTEREST IN SEX: "Put sex on the back burner. I don't know one man who stepped away from a woman he loved because she said she's not ready yet or she wants to become friends. To have a sexual relationship on top of a friendship - that's delicious."

ON WHAT BLACK MEN NEED: "They need tenderness. They need safe harbor. They need understanding. I'm not talking about being anybody's doormat. So many brothers tell me, "You women talk about tenderness and wanting a man who's vulnerable, a man who's gentle, but you go for the thugs.' ... It's that gentle brother who can shed some tears. I wouldn't have a man in my life who couldn't cry."

I've heard many a speech, and Taylor's presentation ranks as one of the best. I only wish more of those 42,000 USF students were in attendance. No one needed this wisdom more than our young people.

That's all I'm saying.

Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 23, 2005, 00:34:19]