Howard University Women As Agents of Change (WACA) proudly presented Ms. Susan L. Taylor who spoke on Living Fearlessly on Tuesday November 16, 2010 from 12 PM - 1.30 PM at Howard University’s Armor J. Blackburn Center East Ballroom.
The welcome address and event moderation was by Dr. Tricia Bent-Goodley, Professor of the School of Social Work
Remarks were given by Dr. Paula Whetsel-Ribeau, Howard University's First Lady.
Introduction of Mrs. Susan L. Taylor was by Ms. Victoria Kirby, a graduate student in the Masters program, who is also First Lady, Michelle Obama's friend.
Her Background
Ms. Susan L. Taylor is a guru in spirituality and taking care of ourselves. Her name is synonymous with Essence Magazine, a beauty, health and fashion bible for African American women. This is a brand she built, serving for several decades as its fashion and beauty editor, editor in chief and editorial director. She was the driving force behind this celebrated black owned business where she authored one of the magazine’s most popular columns, In The Spirit. She is definitely a legend in the magazine publishing world.
She was the first and only African American woman to be recognized by the Magazine Publishers of America with the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the industry’s highest honor, and the first to be inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of fame. She is the recipient of the NAACP President’s Award for Visionary Leadership and has received honorary degrees from more than a dozen colleges and universities.
A fourth generation entrepreneur, Ms. Taylor grew up in Harlem working with her father in his women’s clothing store. She founded her own cosmetics company, Nequai Cosmetics, a first for a black woman, which led to the beauty editor’s position at Essence Magazine. She is the author of four books, namely: In The Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor, Lessons in Living, Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives, which she co-authored with her husband Khephra Burns; and her most recent book, All About Love, Favorite Selections From In The Spirit On Living Fearlessly. She is a much sought after speaker, inspiring hope and encouraging everyone to reclaim our lives and create sustainable communities.
She is an avid supporter of a host of organizations dedicated to moving the black community forward, but her passion and focus today is the National Cares Mentoring Movement (NCMM), a call to action which she founded in 2006 as Essence Cares. The NCMM, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show is a massive campaign to recruit one million able adults to help secure our children who are in peril morally, physically, psychologically, and educationally, because we are losing ground. “Not on our watch! Our children are the mothers and fathers of our tomorrows, and their future is in our hands,” she says. The goal of the NCMM is to increase high school graduation rates among African American students, end the violence in black communities and the over incarceration of our young. “Creating safe, top-tier schools in every underserved community in this nation is the mandate, and it’s doable,” Ms. Taylor says.
Ms. Taylor is a co-founder of Future PAC, the first national political action committee devoted to providing a network of support and sources of funding for progressive African American women seeking federal and state level political offices. She is the co-chair with actor and activist, Danny Glover of Shared Interest, a capital campaign to raise money to build housing in rural areas of South Africa, and she serves on the boards of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. She has worked passionately to help restore the lives of people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region that were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
PSA Video Viewing
Viewing of the National Cares Foundation celebrity studded PSA featuring Terence Howard, Susan Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ciara, Iman, MC Lyte, Harry Belafonte, and Mariah Carey. Click here to view it.
Remarks by Ms. Susan L. Taylor
Dr. Tricia Bent-Goodley, Dr. Paula Whetsel-Ribeau, thanks for your bravery. First Ladies don't often gather women together to heal, protect, and move ourselves forward. Know that at the beginning of anything, such as your organization, Women As Change Agents (WACA) that invited me here today, people will look at you like you're crazy, but women coming together to achieve something is great.
The Alarming Facts
One third of all black children are living in poverty.
The vast majority of schools in New Orleans are still closed.
For young black women aged 25-34, HIV AIDS is the leading cause of death
The leading cause of death for our boys and our young black men, is homicide.
6.6% of births are to black mothers who are 18 years old or younger.
Infant mortality in the black community is twice that of the national average
56% of black fourth-graders are functionally illiterate and reading below their level.
In some cities, 80% of boys drop out before finishing high school.
Every day 1,000 black children are arrested
1 in every 8 black males ages 25-29 is incarcerated in a for profit prison system built to contain black men.
The Current State Of Black America
Where are we as a community? We have President Obama in office. The last Congress had the most blacks ever. We have more affluent and "degreed' black people more than ever before, but we're losing ground in every corner. Politicians have no answer. Can you name 3 things black leaders who are asking you to do something beyond vote? They don't have an answer. The demonization of black males and the demeaning of black women is prevalent. We must learn to love one another. If we don't come together, we will continue to slide. We must be change agents because the village is on fire. This is a scream for help in the wealthiest country in the world. We are in deep crises. What are we doing in our faith institutions? Yet, we sit in churches, dressed to the nines, and we're raising $25,000 for a pastor’s fifth anniversary celebration.
In Detroit 18 months ago, I was working with the Detroit Cares when the school principals put out a call for toilet paper. We didn’t grow up like that. I was at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Detention Center in San Leandro, California, I met with some sisters, but I was told that I really need to talk to the men, so I went back and spoke to them. I told them, "I'm here because I care." They told me, middle class black people don't care about poor black people. One said, “I went to a school with no water in the bathroom, after using the bathroom, I'd go across the hall into the cafeteria to eat.” That shouldn’t happen. We need to do better. We're not conscious enough to support each other and we're not loving us, because we're not loving ourselves.
How We Arrived Here
We have more than enough, but we come out of the womb hating ourselves and our features. We look in the mirror feeling discounted. Love you. Love your big behind, your no behind, your gut hanging over your pants, your thin lips, your thick lips, your big hips, the color of your skin, no matter what shade it is, your kinky hair, your weave, or your braids. Change your life source to ones that validate you.
The Solution
If we can create peace in the Middle East, we can fix the public schools in America. With their educational levels, many of these students are not on their way to Howard University. The solution is simple, not complex. We must organize, come together under one umbrella and create an agenda for change. Roxann Thomas Chargois is here from the Capital City Area Cares Movement. Connect through her. The world's a mess because of us. There's too much testosterone out there. Women know how to make peace. However, if women were in all the leadership positions too, things would be out of balance. Both women and men leaders are needed. However, we as women are sitting, when we should be standing, and we are silent when we should be shouting and lifting each other up.
From slavery till now, African Americans have always fought back. We are the people who refuse to die. Change must begin with us. We must be the change agents. Things are a mess because of us, and I hope when we leave, we leave with a new consciousness. The NCMM is a critical call to commitment. We have partners like Tommy Dortch, President Emeritus of 100 Black Men of America, Al Dotson, the current president, Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League; Dr. Lorraine Cole, formerly of the YWCA and now of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability and Dr. Gwendolyn Lee, President of The Links Inc. You can do your part too.
NCMM is not a mentoring organization. We collect, connect and direct mentors and mentees. Connect to the closest NCMM to you. We shop for mentors and mentees for you. There’s also a new program that has started at Clarke University, where students are trained as literacy trainers to help with kids reading below their grade level. We hope other colleges and universities will be participating in the project as well.
Latinos do family because they didn't go through the middle passage. The Jews went through holocaust which lasted for about 10 years and now they stick together like a fist. There's an African saying, which means, "I am, because you are." We must love each other. This isn't the rough side of the mountain. Someone else has navigated this before you. Many African Americans stooped so low, so you could ride piggy back on them. Even at Howard University there was a time you couldn't get in based on the color of your skin, but now you can.
How Cares Mentoring Began
I was staying at a hotel in Georgia when I saw this man with his pants sagging and a do-rag on his head who looked "too cool to sweep" sweeping. I said to him, "Can I speak to you? Do you know what intentional means?” He said, “No.” I said, “It means making things happen." In my fine dress, I took the broom from him and began to sweep, showing him how to sweep intentionally and getting all the dirt he had missed.
I told him, "If you do this intentionally, you'll only be here for a moment. Next thing, management will notice your actions, and you'll be promoted to the front desk, then upstairs to management and higher and higher. You can even own a hotel or a chain of hotels. When you come to work, you must be on your job. Dress as you like when you hang with your own people on your own time.”
From his reaction, I could tell that I was the first person to correct him gently and lovingly, and I thought to myself, this is it! What they see is what they'll be. You can have piercings and tattoos because you want it, but have self love. I speak to everyone, especially the few men we have here. As elders of the village, we must bring life into our young people's dreams. We must think, I may not be everything I want, but I'm still here and I must make the best use of my opportunities.
Since our mission at the Essence Music Festival is to party with a purpose and after the devastation of Katrina, with 250 thousand people coming to the festival, the question was what can we do to change lives? The answer was to ask them to become mentors because it doesn't cost anything. This was not a Susan Taylor idea. It is a God idea. When you live for a higher purpose, the Holy Spirit gives you whatever you need to succeed.
Giving Back
NCMM has only 5 employees and all the others including me are volunteers, but it is love for us. We must support our own. We’d appreciate the support of professional athletes. Currently no athlete is assisting us with this brand, when brothers are signing $250 million contracts. Alonzo Mourning is doing a great service through his Overtown Youth Center in Overtown, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Miami. He also would appreciate more support from other professional athletes especially the brothers. It’s painful to see cranes in Miami; building homes these people can't afford to buy, but can see being built right from their neighborhood.
Do You
The biblical book of Genesis states that you are made in the likeness and image of God. You are a divine original. There's genius in your make-up. No two leaves are the same. There are more stars and suns in the universe than there are grains of sand in all the beaches in the world. That's the genius that created you. You have the power of the Holy Spirit in you to create.
You don't have to think about moving anywhere. Start right where you are. Stop comparing yourselves. When I joined Essence Magazine, things were falling apart, but I turned things around. Twyla Garrett is a motivated sister who owns 7 thriving businesses. She was working for the government here in DC, when she thought to herself, what I'm doing here? I can do on my own. She stepped out on faith, went back to Ohio, built a night club and all the other businesses. Jamie Foster Brown of Sister 2 Sister Magazine envisioned her magazine and said it could be done, and she got her husband and her children to help her. Adrianne Todman is the interim Executive Director for the DC Housing Authority. Roxann Thomas Chargois runs our Capital City Area Cares Movement.
What Roxann, Jamie, and Twyla are doing, you can do too. You can do anything you put your mind to. No dream is too big to dream. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Don't let God have your face hit the floor, for you to wake up to realize your power, your majesty and responsibility. You too have the power to create something to benefit society. If you're not into working the mundane, be an entrepreneur, be the next JayZ, Sean Puffy Combs, or Queen Latifah.
Self Rejuvenation
With a life lived in the Holy Spirit you can always begin again. Engage your mind. Pause and ask God to be strong when you feel weak. However, you can't hear the Holy Spirit’s still small voice when you have your IPod, computer, TV, Blackberry and phone on. Daily put on your spiritual armor. Give yourself to yourself before you give yourself away. Take care of you. Fill the cup, so you can give from the overflow. Don't give on empty. When Mahatma Gandhi went back to India after working as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa to help with the independence struggle, he told his followers that he could only work 6 days a week. They replied, “But we need you every day.” He told them, "If I don't have a day for me, I won't love you back.”
Wake up early; give yourself 45 minutes of self time to organize and come together. Take 15 minutes of that time to get still. Have a smile on your face. Walk around for at least 20 minutes a day. Exercise is important. Cardio stimulation decreases stress and creates natural hormones like endorphins, the body’s natural feel good hormones. Don't buy them in anti-depressants. It's not possible to be happy and healthy without exercise. You can't save your community while you're holding your head in pain. Use your bathroom as your spa. Listen inwardly. The Holy Spirit is speaking to you. But you can't hear it with the chatter of the world. Stop cursing yourself out. Fire the judge.
Eat only till you're satisfied. Your belly is hanging out over your pants because you over eat. Drink plenty of water, eat green leafy vegetables. When you think consciously, feed yourself healthily, not eating on the fly, you reap the rewards. By doing this, you are honoring the vessel. When you don't do these things, of course you'll have acid reflux and other health problems. Your most precious friend is your body. When you begin your day positively, it flows through out your day. The craziness doesn't happen inside you and you're not cursing everybody out. Everything falls into place and you find your higher purpose.
Be A Fabulous Fighter
I can be a grandmother or a mother to some of you. Be thankful. Have the attitude of gratitude. We think happiness creates gratitude, but it’s the opposite, gratitude creates happiness. When I was going through menopause, suddenly, I couldn't remember things. So, I shrank back from life. I felt fear and shame, though I looked perfect. Life's not a fashion show, though I must praise Dr. Ribeau. Talk about fly, you are so fine. I should have worn my green flowing dress. You can wear lipstick and high heels and fight for justice. Be fabulous and fight for your causes. You don't need 40 dresses to be fly, fashion is a repeat performance.
Personal Life
On Thanksgiving I will be celebrating with both my present husband Kevin and my ex-husband, Billie, who I’m sure is thinking, "How did I let that go?" I got married at 20 years old for all the wrong reasons. Billie was 10 years older than me. He was fine, took me to dinner every night and I was in love. 3 years later, I had a baby, but when I was pregnant, he had a girlfriend, so we divorced. Billie found someone else, I was left and I went from being a middle class woman with a child, to a single parent with no money. I wasn't worried about him beating me, because I'm not a woman to take a beat down. He should have been worried about that. However, do you know that majority of the women on death row are there because they killed their abusers?
Advice To Young Sisters
I must come back to talk about sex to these young ladies. With 1 million black men incarcerated, a sister can't even find a date, because black men are locked down, but still, only lay down with a man when you are adored. When you go around saying, "There are no good men," you attract no good men. Have your own money regardless of who you marry because nothing will derail your life more than you having a baby when you are not financially responsible enough to do so. We do not love us collectively, because we do not love ourselves individually. So the charity we need is the one that begins at home. The cake is loving you without hesitation, everything else is icing on the cake. Love yourself. Don't be door mat, but don't be demanding either.
Life, Pain & Change
Pain is a natural part of life. All the celebrities in the video you saw all have pain. If it wasn't for pain, I wouldn't be standing here. Life is always giving us challenges, sadness and joy. Life is messy. Everything that comes your way is a blessing and a lesson in living. Life is about change. If you are unwilling to change, you are going against the grain of life. As strong and powerful as we need to be to do the critical work we are called to do, Rumi the 13th century Persian Sufi mystic said, "Every day, there's a new arrival of someone to derail us from it." That's life. Pain is a natural part of life. Suffering is a choice when you choose to live in the painful place. Whenever you are hurting, find out what's hurting you. Suffering is staying with what’s hurting you.
When pain or loss comes, the question to ask is, what have you come to teach me? When you experience a health crisis, ask, “Is this to teach me how to eat better or how to exercise? Worry solves nothing. It only makes you a host for sickness. Put on your spiritual armor. Realize that hurt people, hurt people. They can't help themselves. Where ever they go, they hurt people. So when you see them, you can still say, “How are you doing?" but you don't have to have them at your house. Rumi said, “Life is like a guesthouse, everyday it leaves drama at your door.” It’s up to you to let it in. Some of us have experienced loss, even lost a child, which is painful. I got a call from my sister in law because in a flash, her life changed. Her father died and her mother had died months before. The only thing that’s constant in life is change. Embrace Change.
Self Evaluation & Interaction Advice
You can only be who you are and operate at your level of understanding, so you must pray to function at a higher level. Look at yourself critically. When I'm not taking care of myself, and I’m giving all my stuff away, I'm not right and I don’t act right. For example, I hate how my husband, Kevin drives like a speed demon. When I don’t meditate and get my massages and he's driving like that, I yell, “Slow down, are you out of your mind?” He gets upset and we don't talk. Then later I ask, “Will you be talking to me by lunch time or maybe by dinner time?” But when I've meditated and had my massages, I ask nicely. I say, “Honey, are you not driving a little too fast?” And he responds nicely, saying "May be a little, I can slow down.” And he slows down. When you meditate, you’re in a positive state of mind and your relationships change. There are three questions I ask before saying anything.
1. Does it need to be said?
2. Does it need to be said by me?
3. Does it need to be said now?
Speak to one another as you want to be spoken to. When I was at Essence Magazine, during our staff meetings, I'd have all 50 editors and writers in my office, which was built to contain everyone. I'd say, "If I get it wrong, if I say it wrong or get out of line, come and see me. We’ll talk about it and I’ll apologize, so we can serve the people. Don't call your girlfriend and tell them about it. However, this happens everywhere we gather, especially with our women. Ego steps in front of projects and keeps us from moving forward.
Self Acceptance
I am not here by accident. My parents are from the Islands and I grew up wishing I was born into another family, but I thank God for my family because some of us have been touched inappropriately. Only a few women haven't. Raise your hands if you were not touched. You see, only a few hands are up. I thank God for my family, because I wasn't touched inappropriately, but my father touched me with a belt. Now he would have been arrested. We're angry at our past. Ask the Holy Spirit to heal this wound, to damp this hurt. Get over it. Get your healing. Move on. Without hurt, loss, pain, or spinning through a gauntlet, you can't help anyone. If my life had been perfect, I can't tell people to pull their pants up and pull themselves up by their bootstraps, like I did.
Closing Words of Affirmation Recited
Shadow beneath thy hand
May we forever stand
True to our God
True to our native land
I'm a black woman
I'm human
I'm divine
Here to usher in change
To set the world right
And God's got my back
~The End~
As spoken by Ms. Susan L. Taylor
Edited by Susan Majek
After the speaking part of the event, the first 25 people at the venue received a free autographed copy of her latest book All About Love, Favorite Selections From In The Spirit On Living Fearlessly and a book signing followed.
Editor’s note: There you have it. Please take time to think about the words of knowledge and advice shared by this inspirational woman, and if you are led, please assist the cause any way you can. Remember that she said the village is on fire, so we should all do what we can to put out the fire before we all burn down. A word is enough for the wise…
Grab copies of Ms. Taylor's inspirational books from your nearest book store.
For more information about NCMM visit www.caresmentoring.org
For more information about Howard University’s Women As Change Agents (WACA), visit www.HUWomenAsChangeAgents.com
No comments:
Post a Comment