January 20, 2020
Susan L. Taylor challenged the audience to create “America the Beautiful,” at the 28th Annual Mayors’ Breakfast in the Canton Memorial Civic Center. Taylor, who was the former editor-in-chief of Essence Magazine, talked of her interview with Dr. King’s wife, and the need to take time to get to know ourselves. Taylor stated that Dr. King’s body showed the stress of a person in their 60s at the time of his death. Dr. King was 39 years old when he was assassinated. She encouraged the adults to support their youth because suicide was the second leading cause of death; car accidents being number one. She noted that African American teens had the highest suicide rate. Taylor told the students present at the Breakfast “You are phenomenal, you are here.” Taylor showed a video of the deconstruction of the black family as the result of slavery, governmental policies, and media depictions. She encouraged the audience to reduce the stress in their lives and take time out of their day to do some soul searching. She said that the “quiet time” would help us heal ourselves. In the spirit of unity, Taylor reminded everyone “if they included more, their pie would be bigger and if their pie was bigger, they would have a larger slice.”