Marcia Ann Gillespie, groundbreaking editor who amplified Black women’s voices, dies at 82

Marcia Ann Gillespie, the legendary journalist and publishing pioneer who helped champion Black women voices in media, has died at 82. Gillespie died Saturday, Oct. 31, according to ESSENCE.

Her death marks the loss of an influential editor who challenged an industry that routinely overlooked Black women. Throughout her career, Gillespie helped create opportunities for women to tell their own stories and lead major American publications.

Marcia Ann Gillespie Helped Transform ESSENCE

Born July 10, 1944, in Rockville Centre, New York, Gillespie grew up on Long Island in a working-class family. Her father, Charles, worked as a church sexton and operated a floor-waxing business. Her mother, Ethel, worked as a domestic employee and ran a catering business.

Gillespie graduated from Lake Forest College in Illinois in 1966 with a degree in American studies. She then moved to New York City and began her publishing career as a researcher at Time-Life Books, her History Maker biography notes.

In 1970, she joined the newly established ESSENCE as managing editor. One year later, at just 26, she became editor-in-chief.

Under her leadership, ESSENCE grew into one of the fastest-growing women’s magazines in the country. Gillespie helped establish an editorial vision centered on Black women’s lives, beauty, culture, careers, relationships and ambitions.

She also recognized and encouraged emerging editorial talent. Susan L. Taylor, who later succeeded her as editor-in-chief, credited Gillespie with supporting her early writing career.

Gillespie additionally served as vice president of Essence Communications from 1975 to 1980. She left ESSENCE in 1980 and joined Ms. Magazine at the invitation of feminist leader Gloria Steinem.

She Broke Another Barrier at Ms. Magazine

Gillespie held several editorial positions at Ms. Magazine, including contributing writer, contributing editor and executive editor.

In 1992, she became the magazine’s editor-in-chief. Her appointment made her the first African American woman to hold that position at a mainstream publication in the United States.

She later served as president of Liberty Media for Women in 1996. The women-led investment group subsequently acquired Ms. Magazine from MacDonald Communications Corporation in 1998. Gillespie helped guide the publication through that ownership transition before it moved to the Feminist Majority Foundation in 2001.

Her Leadership Reached Beyond Journalism

Gillespie’s influence extended into education, advocacy and the arts. She served as a guest lecturer and adviser to the vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies. She also lectured widely at colleges and universities and taught media and communications as a visiting professor at SUNY Old Westbury.

Her board service included the Rod Rodgers Dance Company, the Arthur Ashe Institute of Urban Health, Black & Jewish Women of New York and the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

She also served on the advisory boards of the Aspen Institute, the New Federal Theater in New York City and the Studio Museum of Harlem. Her professional and civic affiliations included the National Council of Negro Women and the American Association of Magazine Editors.

Gillespie also served on the boards of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Global Fund for Women. In 2008, she co-authored Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration, an authorized biography of the acclaimed writer, with Rosa Johnson Butler and Richard A. Long. She was working on her own memoir, When Blacks Became Americans, at the time of her death.

Her honors included the Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications, the New York Association of Black Journalists’ Life Achievement Award for Print Journalism and the Mary McLeod Bethune Award from the National Council of Negro Women. Lake Forest College also recognized her with its Outstanding Alumni Award.

Gillespie’s legacy extends beyond the publications she led. She helped change who could shape American media, whose stories received national attention and who could occupy its highest editorial positions. Her work opened doors for generations of journalists who followed.

May she rest in peace.