When Essence magazine was founded in 1970, Ed Lewis, Cecil Hollingsworth, Clarence Smith and Jonathan Blount knew the genuine importance and value of what they were doing.

The four Black business men who started what would exist as a critical magazine for Black Women, understood that the Black Women’s desire to be seen, respected and recognized could possibly become capital.

Ed Lewis, Cecil Hollingsworth, Clarence Smith and Jonathan Blount were confident in the future success of the magazine, yet they had no concrete direction for the philosophy of it.

The four men depended on the women they hired to create substance for Essence. This would be a magazine for, by and about the Black women in America. This way of thinking was revolutionary. Essence funded and founded something to service themselves. They hired themselves, supported themselves and even fired themselves so that their overarching idea could succeed.

In the early 1970’s, everyone who came to service the magazine, earnestly improved not only the magazine but the nation they were serving.

Editor Ruth Ross gave the magazine its label.

Editor Marcia Ann Gillespie gave the magazine its loyal consumers.

Editor Susan Taylor gave the magazine its longevity.

Unless reading the small print, it was impossible to know that Essence was founded by Black Men.

There is a lot about the magazine that is unknown. Another hidden but obvious gem is that Essence Magazine created jobs for many Black women. Outside of the popular editors who became super-stars in the Black community, Essence also gave jobs to writers, photographers, models, makeup artists, hairdressers, cooks, seamstresses, athletes, travel agents, and most of all mothers, wives, and sisters some who graduated college as the first in their family with little to no opportunity.

Career at Essence

Someone Essence gave employment to was Mrs. Carol Reid- Rembert, whom I met last year at the Bisa Bulter show. She joined Essence in 1972, two years after it was founded.

When Reid-Rembert graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in 1969, she was unemployed. She met childhood friend, Susan Taylor, at a Steven Burrows fashion show who said, “Carol, what are you doing now?” Reid- Rembert, in her early 20’s, was grateful when Susan Taylor, offered her a freelance position to write articles about sewing. This position would eventually become a permanent job.

Reid-Rembert was nervous about writing but took the position that was created for her. She became Essences‘ first Home Sewing Editor under the name Carol Reid. It was a little position compared to the top executives but vital. Her articles boosted sells. Essence received many letters from women around the country who wanted to know more about different topics like, how to sew fitted knit pants for Black bodies, how to sew suits, how to create drapes for the living room, and how to make fun Kwanzaa gifts for the holidays.

Reid-Rembert said at “Essence, every day was a busy day.” She was busy from the moment she walked in until the moment she left. While she didn’t go to the office daily, she worked from home, sewing and answering fan’s mail. When she did go into the office, she’d stay there until midnight to help get the magazine’s material ready for publication.

This was the beginning of the computer age and everything was still being done by hand. She’d write everything longhand, then send her work to an editor who would type it out on a type writer.

The fashion department was ran by Susan Taylor who had editorial meetings. She discussed page layouts and themes for Essence. The fashion department worked closely with illustrator, Glen Tunstall, a popular fashion editor who also worked for Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), a fashion newspaper that was well-known in the fashion publication industry and originally published weekly. Established in 1910, WWD primarily focused on fashion news, trends, and business insights. “Tunstall”, Mrs. Reid-Rambant said, “was a perfectionist who always gave me what I was looking for. There was very little reason to edit his work.”

Mrs. Reid- Rambant was paid for writing articles and making the garments connected to the article.

Essence at this time worked extremely hard to build their advertising revenue. Every creation, textile or pattern used meant possible income for the magazine. The garment company would send Reid-Rembant free samples so their names would be mentioned. She also worked closely with pattern companies such as Vouge, and Butterick Patterns, which she didn’t know then but eventually she would work for Butterick Patten as a grader supervisor (someone who size garments). Many people who purchased the magazine and read her editorials would also buy the patterns she suggested.

Having this position, opened up a world of opportunities. Not only was she able to work in the pattern industry, she also met many celebrities like Carmen De Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder, and held teaching positions at China Town Sewing Industry, Pratt Institute, and The Bronx Museum.

Essence encouraged DYI projects before the term became popular. Through Mrs. Carol Reid-Rambant, Essence encouraged their buyers to be resourceful and business minded.

This way of thinking is slowly resurfacing and Mrs. Carol Reid-Rambant is ready to be apart of the movement. She is currently searching for grants to fund a program out of the Marcy Projects teaching youth how to sew.

Backstory of Mrs. Carol Reid-Rambant

Mrs. Carol- Reid-Rambant was born 1948 in Kings County hospital. She grew up in Brooklyn in the Marcy Projects and her parents instilled in her a love for her people and culture. Her parents had come a long way both migrating from the South. Reid-Rambant was inspired by her resilient mother who at 16, left South Carolina after being threaten by Klans men.

Mrs. Reid-Rambant was 9 when she started sewing. She shared the following:

My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said a sewing machine. She thought I was talking about a toy and I said, no mom, a real machine! My mom then threaten me by saying, If you don’t treat it right, I’m returning it!

In those days, when you brought a machine, it came with free lessons and the company thought my mother was signing up for the class. When they found out it was a 9 year old girl, they said no. But my mother insisted that I also sit in the class and told them if they discriminated against me she was going to return the machine, thus, I was able to get sewing classes! It was a gift from God! Everyday I practiced and taught myself how to sew. I would look at the department store merchandise and try to copy what they did.

I went to Sarah J Hale High School, an all girl school in Brooklyn and took Fashion Design there. Upon graduation, the guidance counselor refused to write me a recommendation letter to FIT and told me she can help me find a good factory job. I told her- that’s not what I asked you! I went home and made 14 outfits! One being a suede suit that I wore. FIT accepted me on the spot. There were 3,500 White students, 35 Black students, 15 Puerto Rican, and 5 Chinese students in the whole school.

Before Carol Reid-Rambant graduated, FIT promised her placement in the fashion industry. But the school never called her nor any of her companions. She believed intrinsically in the nature of the time and was apart of Black nationalist groups in and out of school. She knew the school did not fulfill their promised because of her political behavior and beliefs.

While in school, she was apart of the first group of students who created the Soul Club. They challenged the school to enroll more Black, Latino and Asian students. They also traveled to Harlem teaching young girls about their culture, how to sew and how to do hair.

Outside of sewing and activism, young Reid-Rembert also enjoyed dancing. Her mother, a southerner from South Carolina, who knew how to cook would invite the young people into her home where they would eat and socialize. She said, “my mother’s wisdom was- the youth was in her house so she knew the whereabouts of her own children.”

Reid- Rembert met other young people who were Black-centric and apt to Black power methods.

It was through this crowd of people that Reed- Rembert met Susan Taylor who wasn’t yet working at Essence. She and Susan became friends and would see each other frequently at the Pallidum, a popular Latin club.

Reid- Rembert became known as one of the best dancers at the Pallidum and could have considered a career as a dancer. As a matter of fact, in 1974, Ellis Hazelip, the producer of Soul Train, invited her to perform on his show on Channel 13!

Joining Essence, she understood the need for the magazine and poured everything she could into its production. Her goals for the magazine aligned with the time. She said the following about joining Essence:

“This was an age of change in the Black culture and community. We walked around calling each other brother and sister and cared about one another. I wanted people to understand that they are capable to do whatever it is that they want to do. Malcolm X had influenced me! It was my first time hearing someone say the things he said. I wanted to be apart of the change happening. “

Essence was created during a time of urgency and union for and by Black people and each person who joined or subscribed, made the need evident. The Black women who joined the magazine gave it substance. It worked because it was very apropos of the time and easy to believe. It help put what was known in the heart, in the physical, national world.