Workplace Transparency
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On the heels of being fired from America's Got Talent, Gabrielle Union spoke about the need for transparency. Recalling her 2013 Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon speech — that she says changed everything for her. Union said, “I led in that room with the absolute truth and it freed me in a way that I have never been freed before.” Her exit from America's Got Talent, allegedly stemmed from Union reporting on the Toxic Culture behind the scenes.
"I speak differently. I take my life much more seriously. I take this time [speaking] with the microphone seriously. And I have to tell the truth. In my truth, it freed other people." Gabrielle Union speaks about not always being supportive of others success and not wanting to use her time in the spotlight to "cover us all." Never thinking that speaking the truth can be a catalyst for change. "The truth and transparency can lead to more."
Opening up a dialogue and a safe space to speak truth and be transparent in the workplace can help change the culture. There are many issues that employees may face – from feeling discriminated against to feeling that they can't speak on situations in fear of the repercussions. Even when it comes to job opportunities, employees can feel discriminated against during the recruitment process.
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The routine exclusion of people of color in the workplace isn't okay if we accept the fact that as long as they are recruited, we've accomplished Diversity and Inclusion. There is a need for those to use their position or platform to "cover us all," — meaning, those in a position should use their voice or platform to push for change and not be motivated by self promotion. How can we get to a place where we don't stand idly by and accept workplace discrimination or an environment that doesn't uphold a standard for a better workplace? What will be the catalyst for change?
"I was quiet when I should have spoken up. I turned a blind eye to injustice instead of having the courage to stand up for what's right."
- Gabrielle Union
(2013 Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon)
Reframing The Narrative of The Black Experience
Echoes of the notion can constantly play when thinking of the Black experience in the workplace, in education or in everyday life. Sort of a reminder to one's self to mentally prepare for recurring situations in the real world.
In order to succeed, you need to be twice as good, twice as smart, twice as dependable, twice as talented...
How can we restructure a system and change preconceived notions that overshadow who we are and the talent we possess in the workplace?
BLACK MENTAL HEALTH & RACIAL TRAUMA
Race-related trauma could include the traumatic experiences, emotionally, psychologically, physically that manifest as the result of experiencing one or multiple events. Sometimes trauma is widely categorized as occurring from natural disasters, sexual abuse, or car accidents, but we don't think about race-related trauma as a part of that. It's important to include that in our understanding of trauma and how it can effect marginalized communities and African-Americans.
"If there's no name for a problem, you can't see a problem. And if you can't see a problem you can't solve it. And sometimes we don't name these traumas as racial traumas that black and African-Americans are experiencing." Kimberle Crenshaw
Police interaction with the black community can also play a role in the trauma faced by black people. Just the appearance of a police officer can raise the levels of fear that a black person may feel in a given situation. Being stopped and questioned by a police officer, often creates, brings out, or changes the way black people will act and have them questioning every move they make in the presence of an officer, in order to reduce escalating a situation or to get out of the feeling of being in danger.
The handling of black people in many cases have been detrimental to the black community and police relations and can also contribute to the trauma that affects black mental health. Looking at the Eric Garner case and even Sandra Bland; it can attribute to the mishandling of black people in or around police custody. Police must be held accountable for their actions and have the proper training when it comes to the black community. Incidences have highlighted the potentially harmful effects of police practices based on racial profiling procedures toward minorities, especially Black men. Police abuse can be associated with distress, depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms that is faced by the black community.
Black Artists fight mental health stigma with their work
South London-based digital artist Kirsty Latoya is using her work to unpack the complexities of mental health. To create her art, the 25-year-old uses her finger as a stylus to draw on an iPad — a technique that creates compelling, contemporary work.
Tsoku Maela — a photographer from Cape Town, South Africa — has been extensively recognized for his work documenting what it's like to live with mental illness through complex imagery. His recent photographic series, titled Abstract Peaces , documents Maela's own experience with depression.
KEYS TO PROTECTING BLACK MENTAL HEALTH
With years of systemic oppression, exclusion, and discrimination, people of color have been left to shoulder the burden of that trauma alone. With an ongoing fight for social, racial and
When it comes to mental health and its effects on the black community, it tends to get brushed off or overlooked. The mention of therapy and seeking help is often seen as a weakness or even something to be ashamed of. With years of systemic oppression, exclusion, and discrimination, people of color have been left to shoulder the burden of that trauma alone. With an ongoing fight for social, racial and economic justice, these efforts will remain incomplete until mental health disparities are addressed.
It shows up when applying for jobs and facing disproportionate pay. It shows up in sentencing disparities and it shows up in our national approach to maintaining mental health and fighting addiction. Most of the difficulties are directly reflective of the lack of access to appropriate and culturally responsive health care. Historical trauma also attribute to the case, with years of abuse, racism, classism and prejudice, the black community will likely under utilize the resources due to a lack of trust among health providers.
Removing the stigma associated with mental health can be the first step towards improving it in the black community. Helping people understand that mental health is apart of well-being like a healthy diet, sleep and exercise is essential. Improving the lack of information surrounding mental health issues and when someone may need help or where to find help is needed. Culture also plays a role. Health providers with physicians that understand and are responsive to things within the culture is crucial in improving mental health.
Recently there have been a growing number of people in the public eye who have come forward with their own issues with mental health, and have brought awareness to the situation. Using their platform to spread awareness to a number of resources or donating to non profit organizations focused on health services; and even creating a space or organization for it like Therapy for Black Girls or Therapy for Black Men. There are also a growing number of social media resource and multimedia platforms available including several podcasts for focuses on discussing these issues amongst each other.
Keeping the conversation going could be key to protecting our mental health.
FUTURISM REDESIGN
NEW YORK - MARCH 2019 — A FUTURE FUSED. Colliding at a single point to bring out new perspectives and interpretations. Thinking outside of the box. Viewing things differently. Creating a distinctive civilization that embodies all that is new. Forward Thinking. Breaking out of the cycle of sameness and repetative movements. Taking the risk of trying something new. Challenging the standard of what used to work, against the possibilities of what could work.
We cant being defined by previous standards and stereotypes made to keep us out or keep us from achieving the possibilities of the impossible, so we create our own. Looking at a future and fusing the different versions of this distant place that somehow we imagine. Some of it is ingrained in us - what we expect of the future, what we think the future should look like and what the future could be; Hover cars and jet packs, high tech gadgets, skyscrapers and high-rise futuristic buildings and more. On the other hand its different for everyone. It can be what we see for ourselves in the future, how we want things to change in the future or how the future should be based off our perspective and experiences. It’s about where we see things going and how we expect to get there. Envisioning a place for everyone in this future; and not excluding or only showing a piece or even portraying a future that’s only for some.
While I strive for creating this environment, I push for Introducing the direction and conversation of what a future should be. Essentially, a number of things coming together, different in its own way and taking the pieces of self into what we see for ourself. Everyone is in search of something for their future and this is the journey to how we get there, how we shape it and how we make it the present.” - Jonathan Dante - Creative Director ▲
FUTURISM REDESIGN is the beginning concepts of the redesign of ELSV Magazine’s overall design, new cover and layout, while continuing to build on the core concepts of ELSV.
For media inquiries, interviews, or review copies, please contact: Press@elsv.net
ELSV. — LEVERAGING TRENDS IN MUSIC, FASHION, ART AND DESIGN THROUGH A FUTURISTIC LENS.
FOR SUBMISSIONS AND COLLABORATIONS CONTACT MAGAZINE@ELSV.NET For more information, visit elsvmag.com.
ELSV STYLE // OBESERVATIONS
PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
No. 2. the second drop from observations; The fashion label operating in New York City, designed and artistically directed by Adrian Torres. adrian who was featured in eLSV magazine’s launch issue has added designer to has name and learned the art of pattern & sample making - a skill he taught himself. Teaming with co-founder Julian Ruales, Observations goal is to "blur the line between social classes" through design.
Photographer : Jonathan Carmelli
SEE MORE AT OBSERVATIONS.SHOP
ELSV STYLE // REO MA
IN THE
BIG SMOKE
Reo Ma, the 23-year-old stylist and fashion blogger from London, UK, has entered the realm of fashion design through pattern making and photography. From accessories to apparel, Reo Ma has implemented what appears to be a lot of pent up fashion aggression in his pieces. Ma’s lightweight, black cotton scarf has the added style bonus essential for modern fashion statements. His red, triangle 3D shoulder bags are cowhide-dyed featuring double zippers.
Reo Ma has a knack for showcasing dark, modern styles in his apparel which is evident throughout his Endless Collection. The Endless collection is comprised of striped, longline trousers, hakama pants and coated, drop-crotch skinny leg pants with pleated front pockets featuring a YKK (Japan) trim.
Reo Ma has also designed blazers, hoodies and high quality t-shirts all bearing a fashion-world-changing grungy image. Elusive to the eye, yet Reo Ma manages to vent fashion creativity in a lane so saturated with identical trends.
Nothing is bright, nothing is in the foreground, everything is toned down, filtered and withdrawn.
As a small atelier, with a small but devoted team, the goal for the brand is to remain his own; independent and completely free, staying away from becoming a massive brand but maintaining its core and its identity and its creativity.
For more information on Reo Ma, please contact reoma@reoma.co
www.reoma.co
Instagram: @reo.ma
THE AUTONOMOUS PERSON
In the future, people won’t be confined to their 3-dimensional bodies as described by the “Substrate-Autonomous Person” complex. Eventually, people will be more inclined to
In the future, people won’t be confined to their 3-dimensional bodies as described by the “Substrate-Autonomous Person” complex. Eventually, people will be more inclined to generate identities in a multitude of substrates, such as a “platform diverse body”. A platform diverse body refers to a future body that is habitable in the physical/material world but also coexists in computer generated environments and virtual realities – similar to a matrix of sorts. The autonomous person is metaphorically exemplified throughout numerous futuristic phenomena such as clairvoyance, mind alteration and the alter-ego through photography.
By definition, clairvoyance is the power of discerning objects not present to the senses and/or the ability to perceive matters beyond one’s traditional perception. Through gaining information about a person, object or physical event one can begin to experiment in sensory deprivation to stimulate clairvoyance. The imagery generally attached to the term clairvoyance is more of a futuristic, “Sixth sense” type of imagery that has left traces throughout most forms of art.
When showcasing clairvoyance in photography, the photographer can use a plethora of techniques to achieve the look of a hypersensitivity towards higher energies. Blurring backgrounds and faces creates a “fade to black,” or in this issue “fade to white,” aura that lingers in each photo. Blurring faces almost forces one to think of the multiple possibilities as to what’s going on mentally in the photograph.
Using a camera for the above mentioned point of view, pictures will tell a complete unique story and will defy the imagination of the audience. Mind alteration pertains to the objects and spaces that surround your subject. How do people use, look at and experience the space around them? What evidence or suspicion is left behind? What mood is this individual in at that particular moment in time?
Metaphorically speaking, the human mind is a data mining tool and to represent this in photography and art the creative variations are limitless. Alteration symbolizes the fascination for photography and the constant search for a personal revelation regarding the self.
Ghosting and fading effects, and flipping/inverting copies to symbolize the yin & yang of a subject tells so much with so little. The alter-ego concept is a popular concept showcased in countless forms of photography such as wedding and hair photography and even fashion editorials. But what if we focus on the self? What if we show the inner mental war we all face every day? This war reveals the many sides, personalities and perspectives of one object/individual on an in-depth level. The alter ego can be good, evil or a polar opposite of what’s visible at first sight.
A true but cliché fascination with light provides the different effects of light and shadow that capture an image in its rawest, most genuine state – originality. The autonomous person leads a life of hopeful seclusion that leaves normalcy in the dust and carries the torch of our future’s mindscape once married to secrecy and curiosity. Step into the light and fade to white as we venture into a world unknown, a second self, for an alter ego is the most trusted and intimate friend we know. ▲