Prominent black editor to address King dinner

1/19/2001
Edward E. Parker, whose work has been exhibited nationally, works on a sculpture of Susan Taylor at the University of Toledo's student union in preparation for her appearance here.
Edward E. Parker, whose work has been exhibited nationally, works on a sculpture of Susan Taylor at the University of Toledo's student union in preparation for her appearance here.

Susan Taylor, senior vice president of Essence Communications, Inc., and editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, will speak at three events in Toledo, beginning today.

Ms. Taylor will be the featured speaker at a program, “Women Developing Wealth,” in Room 2592 of the University of Toledo student union from noon to 2 p.m. today.

The event is sponsored by the university's Multicultural Student Center.

Tonight, she will be the keynote speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Dinner in the student union auditorium at 7 p.m.

Four students - Louis McCalmon and Tasha Lothery of Toledo; Alicia Renix of Euclid, Ohio, and Ebone' Dansby of Elida, Ohio - will be awarded $1,500 scholarships at the dinner.

The MLK scholarship was established at the university in 1969, a year after Dr. King's death, to honor the slain civil rights leader. More than 70 students have received money from the scholarship fund since its inception.

Ms. Taylor will speak Saturday at a workshop, “Healthy Spirit: The Status of African American Women,” which runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Hilton Hotel, 3100 Glendale Ave.

“It's been almost nine years since she's last been here, and she left us with a lot of enthusiasm and wisdom,” said Dr. Ardenia Jones-Terry, assistant to the vice president of student services at UT. “She believes that individuals can make a difference. We're not powerless. That's the same thing Dr. King believed. He believed we can go out and make a difference and be successful.”

Ms. Taylor has been editor-in-chief of Essence, the popular magazine targeting African-American women, since 1981 and took on the additional duties of senior vice president of Essence Communications in 1993.

Through her magazine column, “In the Spirit” and book by the same name, she has been an advocate for African-American entrepreneurship and for working with disadvantaged women and young people.