WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 Welcome in, everyone. It is it's really great 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:04.360 to have you with us for today's deep dive. Absolutely. 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:06.719 So glad you're here. Yeah. If you are joining 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:08.539 us for the first time or if you are a longtime 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:10.439 listener, we are just thrilled you decided to 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:12.400 spend some time with us today. We have a truly 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:15.560 fascinating journey ahead. We really do. We are 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:17.780 looking at a Wikipedia article that serves as 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:20.859 our source material for this one. And it details 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:24.320 the life and career of a woman named Ruby A. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.879 Saunders. Now, if you are sitting there thinking. 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:30.920 That name doesn't immediately ring a bell for 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:33.780 you. Don't worry. Right. That is exactly why 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:36.979 we were here. Exactly. The mission of this deep 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:39.539 dive is to really bring this remarkable story 00:00:39.539 --> 00:00:42.420 to light. We are going to explore the life of 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.579 a woman who quietly but profoundly shaped youth 00:00:45.579 --> 00:00:48.659 culture and broke major representation barriers 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:52.020 in 20th century publishing. She really did. She 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:54.380 is one of those essential hidden in plain sight 00:00:54.380 --> 00:00:57.179 figures. Her work rippled out into the wider 00:00:57.179 --> 00:00:59.640 world in ways that. frankly are still being felt 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:02.340 today even if her name isn't on the tip of everyone's 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:05.019 tongue and to really get us in the right headspace 00:01:05.019 --> 00:01:07.400 for this i mean i have to point out the incredible 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:09.700 visual you've got going on today oh you noticed 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:12.819 the background i did Your backdrop has completely 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:15.540 shifted. You've transformed your space into this 00:01:15.540 --> 00:01:18.739 amazing mid -century publishing office. We tried 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:21.079 to set the mood a bit. It's perfect. I'm seeing 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:25.459 stacks of vintage teen magazines, dog -eared 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:27.620 mass -market romance novels scattered on the 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:30.719 desk, a classic heavy metal typewriter. It is 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:32.599 the perfect mood for the conversation we are 00:01:32.599 --> 00:01:34.579 about to have. Thank you. I was going for that 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:36.980 authentic feel. It really makes you feel like 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:39.099 you've just stepped off an elevator and into 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:41.900 a bustling editorial bullpen in the heart of 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:45.060 Manhattan in the 1950s. Yeah. Like the air practically 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:47.739 smells like ink and coffee. Okay, let's unpack 00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:50.239 this. Where does the story of Ruby Saunders actually 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:52.670 begin? Well, the foundational facts of her early 00:01:52.670 --> 00:01:55.230 life really set the stage perfectly for everything 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:57.989 that comes later. Ruby Saunders was born on January 00:01:57.989 --> 00:02:01.750 31st, 1929, right in New York City. A true New 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:04.329 Yorker from the start. Exactly. And she stayed 00:02:04.329 --> 00:02:06.510 in the city for her education, attending Hunter 00:02:06.510 --> 00:02:09.389 College. She graduated from there in 1950 with 00:02:09.389 --> 00:02:12.129 a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Wow. Getting 00:02:12.129 --> 00:02:15.469 a journalism degree in 1950. That feels like 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:18.050 a significant starting line. It was a very specific 00:02:18.050 --> 00:02:21.250 era to enter the workforce. Right. Stepping out 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:24.030 into the professional world at that exact moment 00:02:24.030 --> 00:02:26.909 in history, especially in a media capital like 00:02:26.909 --> 00:02:29.930 New York City, it must have been incredibly competitive. 00:02:30.210 --> 00:02:32.669 Highly competitive and, frankly, highly homogenous. 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:35.189 But she took that degree and immediately put 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:37.840 it to work. She entered the publishing industry 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:39.919 by joining a company called Parents Magazine 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:42.439 Enterprises. Okay, Parents Magazine. And her 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:45.219 career trajectory there is, I mean, it is essentially 00:02:45.219 --> 00:02:48.280 a masterclass in tenacity. She didn't come in 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:50.560 at the top. She started at the absolute ground 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:52.860 level as an editorial assistant. Wait, before 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:55.039 we go further for listeners who maybe haven't 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:57.360 worked in mid -century publishing, what exactly 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.379 does an editorial assistant do in that era? It's 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:03.129 a lot of heavy lifting. Because today, that might 00:03:03.129 --> 00:03:05.849 mean managing emails or updating social media. 00:03:06.009 --> 00:03:08.849 But back then, I'm picturing just a literal mountain 00:03:08.849 --> 00:03:12.389 of paper. What exactly is a slush pile? Oh, the 00:03:12.389 --> 00:03:15.090 infamous slush pile. That is exactly what it 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:17.849 is. Before digital submissions, aspiring writers 00:03:17.849 --> 00:03:20.229 would physically mail their typed manuscripts 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:23.729 to a magazine. Just massive stacks of envelopes. 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:26.030 Right. The slush pile was the towering stack 00:03:26.030 --> 00:03:28.629 of unsolicited submissions that arrived every 00:03:28.629 --> 00:03:31.629 single day. The editorial assistant is the person 00:03:31.629 --> 00:03:34.289 tasked with reading through that massive, often 00:03:34.289 --> 00:03:37.490 terrible pile of paper to find the one diamond 00:03:37.490 --> 00:03:41.280 in the rough. That sounds exhausting. It is notoriously 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.199 grueling work. It's managing those piles, physically 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:46.879 typing out memos on cargan paper, running copy 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.360 between departments. It's handling all the invisible, 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:52.139 exhausting logistical work that keeps a publication 00:03:52.139 --> 00:03:54.439 running. So it is paying your dues in the most 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:56.840 literal manual labor sense of the word. Absolutely. 00:03:56.919 --> 00:03:59.240 But she didn't just survive that environment. 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:02.000 The source material highlights how she systematically 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.419 mastered it. She rose through the ranks. She 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:07.240 put in the work. She did. She clearly demonstrated 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.500 a sharp editorial eye and eventually climbed 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:12.439 all the way up to become the managing editor 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:14.639 of a publication under their umbrella called 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:18.100 Calling All Girls Magazine. That is quite the 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.759 leap because managing editor, that's the person 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.160 actually putting the puzzle pieces of the magazine 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:25.500 together every month, right? Yes. The operational 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:27.600 core of the magazine. Making sure the trains 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.439 run on time, basically. Precisely. And she didn't 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.560 stop there. In 1963, she achieved something truly 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.500 extraordinary. She was promoted to the very top 00:04:36.500 --> 00:04:39.060 of the masthead. She became the editor of Calling 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:41.079 All Girls. And just to give you a sense of her 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:43.720 staying power and her influence, she held on 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:47.399 to that top editorial role until 1979. Until 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:50.879 1979? Yeah, a 16 -year tenure at the helm of 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:53.959 a national youth magazine. 16 years is an absolute 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.360 eternity in publishing. But, you know, something 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:58.139 you just said makes me wonder about the timeline 00:04:58.139 --> 00:05:01.800 here. What's that? She takes over in 1963. The 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:04.759 1960s were, well, they were the 1960s. The culture 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:06.959 completely fractured and rebuilt itself between 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.920 1963 and 1969. It was a wildly transformative 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.920 decade. How does a magazine called Calling All 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.199 Girls survive the counterculture movement and 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:18.680 the rapidly changing face of teenagers? By not 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.500 staying static. This is where her brilliance 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:24.500 really shines through. Under her leadership the 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:26.860 magazine evolved to keep up with that changing 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:29.579 era. She saw the writing on the wall. She absolutely 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:33.680 did. In 1966, right in the middle of that cultural 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:36.839 upheaval you mentioned, she rebranded calling 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:40.759 all girls to Young Miss. Young Miss? Yes. She 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:42.720 recognized that the young women reading her magazine 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:45.540 were maturing faster. Their interests were shifting. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:49.139 A title that sounded like a 1950s sock hop just 00:05:49.139 --> 00:05:50.899 wasn't going to resonate anymore. That makes 00:05:50.899 --> 00:05:52.980 so much sense. She was steering this national 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:55.339 publication to meet young women exactly where 00:05:55.339 --> 00:05:58.089 they were at. I really want you, the listener, 00:05:58.189 --> 00:06:01.089 to pause for a second and picture the sheer determination 00:06:01.089 --> 00:06:04.529 required here. It's immense. We are talking about 00:06:04.529 --> 00:06:07.810 a woman, and specifically a black woman, navigating 00:06:07.810 --> 00:06:10.649 the corporate publishing structure of the 1950s 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:14.149 and 1960s. Against massive systemic odds. Exactly. 00:06:14.569 --> 00:06:17.629 To climb from an entry -level assistant wading 00:06:17.629 --> 00:06:20.149 through those physical slush piles to the top 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:22.410 of the editorial masthead of a national youth 00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:25.350 magazine and then successfully rebranding it 00:06:25.350 --> 00:06:28.430 for an entirely new generation, it speaks volumes 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:31.189 about her talent. And her absolute mastery of 00:06:31.189 --> 00:06:34.439 her craft. It does. And she wasn't just participating 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.139 in the industry. You know, she was directing 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:38.639 it, which makes the next part of her story almost 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:40.480 hard to believe from a time management perspective. 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:42.560 I was just going to say running a national magazine 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:45.420 for 16 years sounds like an all consuming 80 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:48.660 hour a week job. Oh, easily. But looking at our 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:51.220 notes here, she was simultaneously running a 00:06:51.220 --> 00:06:54.680 completely separate dual career. Yes, she was. 00:06:55.449 --> 00:06:57.529 While she was shaping the direction of Young 00:06:57.529 --> 00:07:00.149 Miss during the day, she was constantly freelancing 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:03.029 as a nonfiction author. That is wild. She was 00:07:03.029 --> 00:07:05.050 producing a monthly magazine and simultaneously 00:07:05.050 --> 00:07:07.970 writing and publishing entire books. What kind 00:07:07.970 --> 00:07:09.670 of books are we talking about here? Was she writing 00:07:09.670 --> 00:07:12.699 memoirs or... I don't know, industry tell -alls 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:15.540 about the magazine world. Not at all. Her books 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:18.379 were highly practical, hands -on manuals specifically 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:21.420 designed for teenagers. Okay, sticking with her 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:24.139 core audience. Exactly. To give you an idea of 00:07:24.139 --> 00:07:27.279 her output, she started in 1966 with the Calling 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:29.779 All Girls Party book. Makes sense, tying into 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:32.860 the magazine. Right. Then in 1972, she released 00:07:32.860 --> 00:07:36.519 two books in one year, Babysitting, A Concise 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:39.939 Guide, and Good Grooming for Boys. even writing 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:42.939 for the boys yep she followed that with good 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:47.040 grooming for girls in 1976 then came quick and 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.139 easy housekeeping in 1977 and eventually the 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:53.379 beauty book in 1983. so she was really covering 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:56.079 all the bases of mid -century teen life the whole 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.399 spectrum it sounds like she viewed her magazine 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:01.199 work and her book writing as two different vehicles 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.759 for the exact same overarching goal which was 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.379 helping young people figure out how to be functional 00:08:06.379 --> 00:08:09.209 confident young adults But did she stick mostly 00:08:09.209 --> 00:08:12.310 to etiquette and parties and housekeeping? Because 00:08:12.310 --> 00:08:15.670 it feels very domestic. That is the assumption 00:08:15.670 --> 00:08:17.089 you might make just looking at those specific 00:08:17.089 --> 00:08:18.870 titles. But she actually went much deeper than 00:08:18.870 --> 00:08:21.389 that. Oh, really? Yeah. Tucked into that bibliography 00:08:21.389 --> 00:08:24.629 is a title from 1973 called Smart Shopping and 00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:26.610 Consumerism. Okay, that sounds a bit different. 00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:29.250 What's fascinating here is that Saunders wasn't 00:08:29.250 --> 00:08:31.769 just teaching teens about the traditional expected 00:08:31.769 --> 00:08:35.090 topics like throwing a good party or making sure 00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:37.789 their hair was neat. With smart shopping and 00:08:37.789 --> 00:08:40.970 consumerism, she was actively trying to create 00:08:40.970 --> 00:08:45.149 informed, savvy young citizens. That is an incredibly 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:48.690 modern concept for 1973. It was way ahead of 00:08:48.690 --> 00:08:51.929 its time. The 1970s marked a massive surge in 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:54.629 youth consumer culture. Teenagers suddenly had 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:57.169 more disposable income from part -time jobs or 00:08:57.169 --> 00:08:59.950 allowances, and corporations realized this. The 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:01.769 advertisers figured it out. Oh, they definitely 00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:04.750 did. Teens were being heavily marketed to. By 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:07.190 writing a book on consumerism specifically for 00:09:07.190 --> 00:09:09.570 them, she was empowering them. She was giving 00:09:09.570 --> 00:09:11.710 them the tools to think critically about how 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:14.370 they spent their money. Like recognizing manipulative 00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:17.009 advertising tactics. Exactly. And teaching them 00:09:17.009 --> 00:09:18.769 how to advocate for themselves in the market. 00:09:18.830 --> 00:09:21.129 place. Think about teenagers today just scrolling 00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:23.570 TikTok or Instagram and being bombarded with 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:25.730 targeted ads, sponsored posts and influencer 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:28.429 marketing. It's relentless today. It is. And 00:09:28.429 --> 00:09:30.850 Saunders was recognizing that exact same vulnerability 00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:33.450 to marketing back in the 70s. She was trying 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:35.429 to give teens the armor to protect themselves 00:09:35.429 --> 00:09:38.309 long before we had buzzwords like media literacy. 00:09:38.710 --> 00:09:41.610 Precisely. It elevates her role from just giving 00:09:41.610 --> 00:09:45.210 lifestyle advice to actively fostering financial 00:09:45.210 --> 00:09:48.539 literacy in a young generation. She deeply She 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:50.159 respected her audience. She didn't talk down 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.259 to them. Never. She didn't talk down to teenagers 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.340 at all. She recognized their economic agency 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:57.840 and treated them like capable adults in training. 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:00.419 Which is such a refreshing approach. So she's 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:02.620 running Young Miss during the day. She's writing 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:05.039 practical guides on babysitting and consumerism 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:07.360 on the weekends. The very busy woman. Incredibly 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.720 busy. But her writing career didn't even stop 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.519 at nonfiction. She also made a major pivot into 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:14.720 genre fiction. She did. Here's where it gets 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.879 really interesting. In 1969, she published her 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:21.539 very first novel titled Marilyn Morgan, R .N. 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:23.899 We really need to unpack the context on this 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:26.720 1969 novel because it represents a significant 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.220 cultural milestone. Let's do it. The book was 00:10:29.220 --> 00:10:31.399 published under the New American Library's Signet 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:35.480 Nurse Romances line. A nurse romance. I am vaguely 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:37.279 familiar with the concept, but for listeners 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.919 who might not know, how big of a deal was this 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.960 specific subgenre in the late 60s? It was massively 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:46.399 popular. Mass -market paperbacks were entirely 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.639 different from the hardcovers you'd buy at a 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.220 dedicated traditional bookstore. Right. The format 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:52.940 was different. These were small, inexpensive 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:56.840 paperbacks placed on spinning wire racks in drugstores, 00:10:56.860 --> 00:10:59.240 supermarkets, and bus stations. Impulse buys. 00:10:59.500 --> 00:11:01.240 Exactly. They were designed for accessibility. 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:04.919 And the nurse romance was an absolute staple 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:08.120 of these racks. Structurally, Marilyn Morgan, 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:11.100 R .N., followed the standard beloved trokes of 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:13.340 the era. Which are what, exactly? You know, the 00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:16.340 dedicated, capable nurse navigating a fast -paced 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:18.860 hospital setting, usually with a handsome doctor 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:21.519 as a love interest. It delivered exactly the 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.299 comforting, predictable beats that fans of the 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:26.279 genre were looking for. Right, but looking at 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:28.259 the source material, the groundbreaking significance 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:32.110 isn't... in the plot structure itself no it wasn't 00:11:32.110 --> 00:11:34.370 it wasn't reinventing the wheel narratively the 00:11:34.370 --> 00:11:36.809 real significance is in who was writing it and 00:11:36.809 --> 00:11:39.610 who it was about Exactly. Our sources highlight 00:11:39.610 --> 00:11:42.529 that Marilyn Morgan RN was one of the very first 00:11:42.529 --> 00:11:44.889 nurse romances to be written by a black author 00:11:44.889 --> 00:11:47.470 and to actually feature black characters. That 00:11:47.470 --> 00:11:50.389 is huge because when you picture the covers of 00:11:50.389 --> 00:11:53.389 those vintage pulp romances, it is usually just 00:11:53.389 --> 00:11:56.309 a sea of homogenous faces. It was a genre that 00:11:56.309 --> 00:11:59.429 was overwhelmingly, almost exclusively white, 00:11:59.529 --> 00:12:02.409 both in its authorship and its characters. And 00:12:02.409 --> 00:12:05.019 she changed that. Ruby Saunders stepped into 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:08.220 that deeply established, very white space and 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:11.779 introduced Marilyn Morgan. She brought a black 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:14.220 professional woman to the center of a mainstream, 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:17.740 widely distributed romantic fiction line. And 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:20.019 clearly readers responded to her. Because this 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:22.000 wasn't just a one -off experiment, right? Marilyn 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.200 Morgan didn't just appear in one book. No, she 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:26.580 didn't. Saunders actually turned her into a recurring 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:29.039 character and built an entire franchise around 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.279 her. She did. After that 1969 debut, she published 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.379 Nurse Morgan's Triumph in 1970. Keeping the momentum 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:37.759 going. And then the following year, in 1971, 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:40.789 she was incredibly - prolific and gave us two 00:12:40.789 --> 00:12:43.210 more installments. We got Marilyn Morgan, Cruise 00:12:43.210 --> 00:12:45.750 Nurse, and Nurse Morgan Sees It Through. Two 00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:49.009 in one year. Yeah, she created a genuine multi 00:12:49.009 --> 00:12:52.149 -book series centered on a black heroine in the 00:12:52.149 --> 00:12:54.750 mass market paperback space. A cruise nurse. 00:12:55.169 --> 00:12:58.029 I love that. Taking the medical romance trope 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:00.429 to the high seas. It's a great premise. It really 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:02.450 is. But you know, it makes me wonder, sometimes 00:13:02.450 --> 00:13:04.830 we think of quote unquote important literature. 00:13:05.610 --> 00:13:09.009 As only being the thick, dense novels taught 00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:11.549 in university courses. The prestige fiction. 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:14.309 Yeah, the prestige stuff. Why does a paperback 00:13:14.309 --> 00:13:16.370 about a Kruisner's matter so much historically? 00:13:16.690 --> 00:13:18.909 If we connect this to the bigger picture, the 00:13:18.909 --> 00:13:21.250 cultural weight of what she accomplished here 00:13:21.250 --> 00:13:23.889 is just immense. When we talk about representation 00:13:23.889 --> 00:13:26.710 in literature, the conversation often does gravitate 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:29.350 toward high literature or prestige literary fiction. 00:13:29.429 --> 00:13:32.289 Like you said. But representation in accessible 00:13:32.289 --> 00:13:34.990 everyday genre fiction like a mass market nurse 00:13:34.990 --> 00:13:37.509 romance you grab at the pharmacy is arguably 00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:40.289 just as impactful, if not more so, for the average 00:13:40.289 --> 00:13:42.210 person. Because it reaches people where they 00:13:42.210 --> 00:13:44.980 actually are. Exactly. These were books that 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:47.139 everyday people picked up for pocket change to 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:49.419 read on the subway commute or during a lunch 00:13:49.419 --> 00:13:52.000 break at a factory or waiting at the laundromat. 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:54.559 Just slipping into everyday life. By placing 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:57.379 a black professional at the center of a relatable, 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:00.919 popular genre, Saunders was doing the vital work 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:04.340 of normalizing diversity for a massive mainstream 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:07.179 audience. That is so powerful. She shifted the 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:10.059 cultural landscape not by writing a dense sociological 00:14:10.059 --> 00:14:12.970 text that only academics would read. but by giving 00:14:12.970 --> 00:14:15.549 everyday readers an engaging, entertaining romance 00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:18.769 where the capable, beloved heroine happened to 00:14:18.769 --> 00:14:21.490 be a black woman. It's a perfect example of how 00:14:21.490 --> 00:14:23.710 profound change can happen from within popular 00:14:23.710 --> 00:14:25.590 culture. You don't have to write a political 00:14:25.590 --> 00:14:28.190 manifesto to change how people see the world. 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:30.529 Sometimes you just write a really good, accessible 00:14:30.529 --> 00:14:33.830 story. Exactly. It's incredible. So we've traced 00:14:33.830 --> 00:14:35.710 her journey through the intense world of mid 00:14:35.710 --> 00:14:37.929 -century magazine publishing. We've seen her 00:14:37.929 --> 00:14:40.529 prolific output of practical nonfiction for teens. 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:43.879 explored her barrier -breaking run in mass market 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:46.639 fiction. A massive career. But looking at the 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:49.720 timeline, her story actually takes another fascinating 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:52.700 turn later in her life. Let's move forward a 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:56.399 bit to the late 1980s. Yes, by the late 1980s, 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:59.019 Saunders had transitioned out of her long, demanding 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:01.950 career in national publishing. But she didn't 00:15:01.950 --> 00:15:04.409 just retire quietly. That doesn't sound like 00:15:04.409 --> 00:15:06.730 her style. Not at all. She shifted her focus 00:15:06.730 --> 00:15:09.549 toward public service and local education. She 00:15:09.549 --> 00:15:11.710 actually joined the school board in New Rochelle, 00:15:11.789 --> 00:15:14.710 New York. Why the pivot from national magazines 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:17.710 to a local school board? On the surface, it seems 00:15:17.710 --> 00:15:19.929 like a very different world. It is a different 00:15:19.929 --> 00:15:23.649 venue, certainly. But the core mission is exactly 00:15:23.649 --> 00:15:26.120 the same. How do you mean? When you look at her 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.399 whole life, it's a remarkably consistent thread. 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:31.240 She spent decades guiding and educating youth 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.659 through magazines and books on a national scale. 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:36.299 Joining the school board was simply her bringing 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:39.019 that exact same dedication to the youth in her 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:41.039 own local community. That makes perfect sense. 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:43.679 And knowing her track record from the magazine 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.840 world, I am guessing she didn't just sit quietly 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:48.460 in the back of the school board meetings either? 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:51.200 You would guess correctly. Just like she did 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.190 at Parents Magazine Enterprises, she led. She 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:56.730 eventually rose to the role of president of the 00:15:56.730 --> 00:15:58.529 New Rochelle School Board. Of course she did. 00:15:58.710 --> 00:16:01.370 It just speaks to her inherent leadership qualities. 00:16:01.809 --> 00:16:04.830 Whether she was managing a slush pile in an editorial 00:16:04.830 --> 00:16:08.149 bullpen in Manhattan, steering a magazine through 00:16:08.149 --> 00:16:11.529 the 1960s cultural revolution, or running a school 00:16:11.529 --> 00:16:13.710 board meeting in New Rochelle, she was someone 00:16:13.710 --> 00:16:16.269 who took responsibility. She climbed to the top 00:16:16.269 --> 00:16:18.450 wherever she went. And she worked to improve 00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:20.889 the systems around her. She truly lived a life 00:16:20.889 --> 00:16:23.799 of impact from every conceivable angle. from 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.899 the newsstand to the classroom. Our sources note 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:29.460 that Ruby Saunders passed away on December 20, 00:16:29.620 --> 00:16:33.700 2001, at the age of 72. A tremendous loss. But 00:16:33.700 --> 00:16:35.860 it's clear her story doesn't just abruptly end 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:38.679 there. A life lived with that much intention 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.779 leaves mark. It absolutely does. Her impact in 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:43.940 New Rochelle was so deeply felt that her legacy 00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:46.220 is actively preserved today by the New Rochelle 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:48.299 Fund for Educational Excellence. Oh, really? 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:50.960 How so? They hold an annual event in her memory 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:53.620 called the Ruby Saunders Fall Literary Festival. 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:56.460 That is a beautiful tribute. It perfectly ties 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:59.539 together her love of literature, her... background 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:01.919 in publishing and her later in life commitment 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:04.539 to local education. It really does. And the source 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:07.039 material even gives us a great specific detail 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.309 about the festival. The 2012 iteration of the 00:17:10.309 --> 00:17:12.910 event celebrated the works of Henry David Thoreau. 00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:15.789 Wow, Thoreau. It's wonderful to know that over 00:17:15.789 --> 00:17:18.430 a decade after her passing, her name was still 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:20.269 bringing the community together to celebrate 00:17:20.269 --> 00:17:22.769 reading, learning, and the discussion of big 00:17:22.769 --> 00:17:25.269 ideas. It really is the perfect way to remember 00:17:25.269 --> 00:17:28.369 someone who dedicated so many thousands of words, 00:17:28.430 --> 00:17:31.490 both in magazines and paperbacks, to guiding 00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:34.490 others. So what does this all mean? Good question. 00:17:34.789 --> 00:17:36.569 When you look at the entirety of the Wikipedia 00:17:36.569 --> 00:17:39.630 article we've been using as our source, how do 00:17:39.630 --> 00:17:42.789 we sum up the life of Ruby A. Saunders? We started 00:17:42.789 --> 00:17:45.369 by saying she was a hidden figure. What is the 00:17:45.369 --> 00:17:47.829 takeaway for the listener today? I think we have 00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:49.750 to look at her through the lens of a dual legacy. 00:17:49.970 --> 00:17:52.410 Okay, let's break that down. On one hand, she 00:17:52.410 --> 00:17:54.730 was a pragmatic, guiding voice for an entire 00:17:54.730 --> 00:17:58.170 generation of teenagers. Through her 16 years 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:01.470 as a magazine editor and her extensive nonfiction 00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:04.509 bibliography, she helped young people navigate 00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:07.130 the practical realities of growing up. The day 00:18:07.130 --> 00:18:09.950 -to -day stuff. Yes. She taught them how to manage 00:18:09.950 --> 00:18:12.470 their lives, how to care for themselves, and 00:18:12.470 --> 00:18:16.029 crucially, how to become informed, critical consumers 00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:18.569 in a world that was trying to sell them everything. 00:18:18.789 --> 00:18:21.000 And the other half of that legacy. On the other 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.380 hand, she was a quiet pioneer who broke significant 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:27.140 racial barriers in the mass market romance genre. 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:30.779 By creating Marilyn Morgan, she ensured that 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:33.279 black readers could see themselves as the capable, 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.240 romantic leads in the everyday books they bought 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.359 off spinning wire racks at the corner store. 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:40.680 She made representation accessible. Exactly. 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:42.960 She was a woman who worked tirelessly behind 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.460 the scenes, both in fiction and nonfiction, to 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.000 shape the culture for the better. This raises 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.690 an important question. As you think about the 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:53.009 story we've shared today, take a moment to reflect 00:18:53.009 --> 00:18:56.250 on your own youth. Think about the magazines 00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:59.049 you read, the practical guides you relied on, 00:18:59.170 --> 00:19:01.369 or the cheap paperbacks you bought with your 00:19:01.369 --> 00:19:05.069 allowance. Who were the unseen editors and everyday 00:19:05.069 --> 00:19:07.609 genre writers working behind the scenes of the 00:19:07.609 --> 00:19:11.349 media you consumed as a teen? How many other 00:19:11.349 --> 00:19:14.430 hidden pioneers quietly broke barriers to shape 00:19:14.430 --> 00:19:16.609 your worldview without ever becoming household 00:19:16.609 --> 00:19:19.670 names? That is a profound thought to leave on. 00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:22.470 It really underscores why digging into these 00:19:22.470 --> 00:19:25.470 sources and uncovering these stories is so incredibly 00:19:25.470 --> 00:19:28.309 rewarding. It changes how you look at the media 00:19:28.309 --> 00:19:30.529 you grew up with. It really does reframe things. 00:19:30.869 --> 00:19:32.609 Thank you so much for joining us on this deep 00:19:32.609 --> 00:19:35.109 dive. We hope you walk away today with a new 00:19:35.109 --> 00:19:37.769 appreciation for the hidden figures who shape 00:19:37.769 --> 00:19:39.549 our culture. Thanks for listening, everyone. 00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:41.789 And we hope you'll join us next time as we unpack 00:19:41.789 --> 00:19:45.190 another fascinating topic. Until then, keep exploring, 00:19:45.390 --> 00:19:48.309 keep questioning, and keep reading. Take care, 00:19:48.349 --> 00:19:48.569 everyone.