Every year, ESSENCE Festival brings together hundreds of thousands of beautiful Black women in New Orleans, LA for a three-day celebration. Ford Motor Company joined these boss women last weekend, in celebration of ten years of sisterhood with their #MyFordFam campaign.
Held at the Convention Center, Ford created a virtual home for Black women that featured various rooms to accompany the many aspects of being a boss. xoNecole was able to capture all of these moments, serving as the official host of the booth.
Each station had an accompanying theme. At "My Power," women could charge their phones to ensure they weren't missing important notifications.
At "My Style," guests could create custom t-shirts. At "My Beauty," women could get a quick touchup by a professional makeup artist, and at "My Whip," guests could create a 360-activation video in a Ford Mustang.
Our founder, Necole Kane and I (acting as host) had a great time testing out this feature.
While waiting to enjoy a station, guests could also enjoy live celebrity interviews with Sirius Heart & Soul. Some of the many celebrities to grace the stage, included Mary J. Blige, Regina King and the Cast of Beale Street, Ne-Yo, and R&B group, June's Diary.
In addition to the ongoing celebration, Ford took a moment to highlight breast cancer survivors with its Warriors in Pink/Tracey Nicole Fashion Show. Through the fashion show, Ford celebrated strong women who find ways to uplift each other in their everyday lives.
But that's no surprise, because ESSENCE Festival has a way of bringing together the strongest women to celebrate each other. Among these women are dedicated entrepreneurs who work day in and out to manage successful businesses. Ford held a pitch contest that provided these entrepreneurs with an opportunity to pitch their businesses to finance expert, Tiffany the Budgenista.
Melissa Mitchell of Abielle Creations walked away a finalist and now has a chance to win a brand new Ford vehicle. She told me prior to stepping on stage to pitch her business, "In December 2017, I said I'm going to be far more intentional about what I say, what I do and what I write," Mitchell said while explaining her journey to ESSENCE Fest. "I said I will be going to Essence Festival paid in full. I will be a guest of Ford and a guest of ESSENCE Magazine, and within six months, God allowed all of that to be manifested. I prepared for ESSENCE Festival before I even got the call."
Jaleesa Lashay and Winner of the Ford Pitch Contest Melissa Mitchell
She also shared, "My brand is very unique. I turn all of my favorite paintings into artwork. I've turned about 40 or 50 of my favorite paintings into head wraps, socks, bowties..anything you can name."
And…because you know we love feeling special, Ford also offered VIP experiences for vehicle-owners. Ford owners were able to chill in the VIP-garden, and enjoy other perks that included giveaways and more.
xoNecole had the chance to experience our own VIP treatment when we test-drove the platinum edition Ford Explorer.
The @Ford Motor Company Test Drive Ride & Share experience was so fun this weekend!! I love that the new vehicles a… https://t.co/ApTEbsX9Kz— xoNecole (@xoNecole) 1531136625.0
ESSENCE Festival truly is a one of a kind experience. It's not every day that we get to be surrounded by women who see us, love us and know our struggle. Thank you to Ford for inviting xoNecole to be a part of that celebration with #MyFordFam.
To follow along with all of our coverage for ESSENCE with #MyFordFam, click here.
RELATED
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Since it’s Stress Awareness Month, we caught up with Keanne Owens, LCSW, founder of Journey To Harmony Therapy Center, to talk about these triggers and what Black women can do to manage and cope.
Owens is an experienced South Florida-based counselor and social worker who offers her services via Grow Therapy, a therapy and medication management platform. She has worked with Black women professionals to unpack issues related to workplace stressors. “One is the pressure to perform–having to meet deadlines and deliverables. And a lot of times, these subtle stressors from performance are put upon ourselves as Black women. We want to make sure we’re doing our best. We don’t want to be critiqued in certain ways.”
Excessive micromanagement leading to fear of overly critical bosses is another subtle trigger that can negatively impact Black women in the workplace.
“Whenever something is done wrong, or we experience some type of injustice and have to report it, it’s the fear of retaliation–[fear that] we won’t be taken seriously or [our words] will be taken out of context because of being deemed as the ‘angry Black woman,’” she said.
Black Women And Workplace Stress Triggers
Her sentiments are backed by research. A recent report by Coqual found that 28% of Black women (compared to 17% of White men) say their supervisor uses “excessive control or attention to detail” when managing them. There’s more: A survey by the National Employment Law Project found that Black workers were “more likely to have concerns (80 percent) and twice as likely as white workers (18 percent) to have unresolved concerns at work, with 39 percent reporting they were “not satisfied with the employer’s response or did not raise concerns for fear of retaliation.”
The survey also found that 14 percent of Black respondents said they “avoided raising concerns to their employer for fear of retaliation—more than twice the average rate of 6 percent for all survey respondents.”
Owens pointed to the fact that these subtle stress triggers can negatively impact our physical health and our career advancement. “A lot of time it’ll affect our productivity,” Owens added. “We start to have negative thoughts of ourselves. The stressors can also cause fatigue. We’re no longer meeting or working up to our desired potential.” Other challenges as a result include insomnia and increased insolation, withdrawal, and lack of motivation to apply for jobs or promotions even when qualified.
valentinrussanov/Getty Images
How To Manage Subtle Stress Triggers
While there are systemic issues at play for Black women at work that has less to do with us and more to do with major overhauls that must be addressed by the powers that be, there are steps we can take for the betterment of ourselves and our mental health. Owens offered the following tips:
Tap into a support system, whether it’s a coworker you trust, a family member, an organization, or an outlet like a hobby.
Create a good work-life balance before burnout even starts. “Having certain boundaries [is the goal] such as, for example, if you get off at 5, you get off at 5. If your job description is this, you don’t go above and beyond because that brings you to a lot of burnout,” Owens said.
Prioritize self-care, whatever that means for you. “If you don’t have a routine, create one. Practice mindfulness and even some meditation,” she added.
Create structure in your life outside of work. “Even if you have a family, applying some structure in your routine helps relieve stress,” she said.
Get into grounding techniques. “Do a real quick square breathing exercise, that’s literally 30 seconds, or you can do a grounding technique that’s less than two minutes, right there where you are. You don’t need any other materials. That’s something you can do with just yourself and your body.”
Ask for help. “As Black women, we don’t ask for help enough,” she said. “Find where you need to ask for help. A lot of times, people think that’s indicative of weakness, but we need to rewrite that narrative. It’s okay to ask for help where you see fit. [If] you’re a mom, [it could be] every Wednesday from 5 to 6, your children are with the dad. You have to carve out that time.”
For more information on Grow Therapy, visit their website. You can also find out more about Keanne Owens, LCSW, via BeginYourJourneyToHarmony.com.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Charday Penn/Getty Images
