LEAVING A JOB DURING A PANDEMIC?
8 Years. 7 Months. + Working during a pandemic.
It’s been a weird year. As much as I reflect on it, I still struggle with putting into words what brought me to this decision, especially when the beginning of the year seemed so promising, with so many opportunities on the horizon. During the start of a pandemic, everything changing and the world reacting in response to this new idea of social distancing and working from home, it would change everything for me in a major way. Add in the heightened racial tensions and the uncovering of the disparities that has always there and you come up with a very different outlook especially being affected by it directly.
On one hand you have all of the projects that is within your grasps and in the space of the direction you want to go in and then you have your actual work that is deemed “essential”. While everyone has a work from home plan, that leaves no plan for the essential work that needs to be done on site. All of the projects gets cancelled or postponed and there is no real plan for it to continue and work becomes stressful. You hear about everyone’s experience working from home and how they hate it, and how its hard being at home and its an experience you can’t understand because you’re working, in a pandemic, risking your life and facing the unknown while being tasks with everything outside of your job description. You rarely hear the experience on the opposite side from those deemed essential outside of healthcare. It definitely puts a strain on finding ways to be creative and the time set aside for creativity.
Launching ELSV in 2014 and revisiting it in 2019 with plans for 2020 was a highlight for where it seemed 2020 was going. With a planned event in March, that would kickstart the original goal that helped launch ELSV — creating a space for Black Voices often silenced; celebrating Black stories and Black Creatives and pushing the boundaries of what it looks like to be Black in the future. 2020 has been a year that has brought unexpected challenges. Months into a pandemic and having to take a concerning look at where things are and where they are heading and what is important in a time of uncertainty can be alarming. Being deemed essential but being overlooked, left out and forgotten can also be alarming. So deciding on the plan you had in mind long before Covid-19 becomes easy. Reflecting on leaving, one month later, puts things into perspective. If 2020 can teach us anything, it is the resilience we have when faced with a variety of difficulties — That we can become stronger and adapt and thrive in spite of. So for me, a new city, rebuilding a brand, taking on new opportunities becomes promising. It becomes a step that seems necessary when looking at the upside of 2020.
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PHASING OUT ON THE REAL ISSUES OF BLACK LIVES MATTER
It’s been several weeks; slow progress, and fleeting attention but it looks like it’s back to business as usual. In its peak, it seemed there was some solidarity in pushing the movement of Black Lives Matter. Companies and Brands rushed to post their black squares “for the aesthetic” which to me felt just to alleviate from the backlash if they had not taken a stand. Several statements went out but it started to feel like a PR response. Now we are a month in, the media has quickly shifted its focus as if the protests stopped happening, or as if the issues had been solved, or as if the drop in rioting and looting that took focus away from the peaceful protest made it difficult to just talk about the peaceful protest.
Paint the streets with art saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ and that should do it. Name a few streets ‘Black Lives Matter’ and that should also do it. Dress in Black Culture and that should do it. Organize your company to focus on the few Black employees and that should do it. What about… put Black Music first in your streaming services or movies with Black Issues first and that should do it. Let’s skip over arresting the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor and so many others. Lets also skip over changing anything. Instead let’s distract with this performative act, hoping they won’t notice.
What else haven’t we noticed? Donations and petitions in the name of Black Lives Matter, where have they gone? How much have they helped? How much has been used for the issues we as a community has been facing? …
Let’s not forget, there’s still a pandemic going on - well two but Covid-19 hasn’t disappeared unless there’s something we’re not being told. Suddenly it’s back to business and a rush to Phase 4. What’s the rush? Are we in a hurry for the business aspect of things? Of course, we can’t keep the economy falling so let’s ignore all the social distancing and get back to opening everything. As we move towards reopening, it seems Phase 4 is just phasing out the real issues and returning to normal. But that norm as forever changed and we cannot go back to what was before. Like Post 9/11, airport security as forever changed; as for Covid-19, the way we live has forever changed. Adding the awareness of the systemic racism that is ingrained in America; we can no longer ignore what this country has been built on and move forward, neglecting the people who have been effected the most. Are we going to let media and elected officials quietly sweep this back under the rug so we can be “great” again?
Breonna’s Law has been passed which bans “No-Knock” warrants and now sets procedures for executing all search warrants. One officer has been fired but no arrests have been made and we are going on 100+ days since the murder. With cameras and under public scrutiny, nothing has slowed down more cases of police misconduct and brutality. Protests continue for Defunding The Police, with the media misinterpreting it as removing the police forces instead of what it actually means - which is to redistribute the funds into other areas that need it.