Category: The PISLA Beat

2020 was an insane year for most to say the least. Life as we knew it was changing into a new unsettling climate that we still are recovering from. Businesses and other Organizations moved their operations from crowded tight office spaces to the reclusive corner spaces of their homes. It hasn’t been easy for anyone in business. The shutdown was unfortunately a sink or swim affair. But now that there is some semblance to a normal reality (or as much as it could be); leaders are now pondering the question, “Should we go back to the office?”

The overblown image on screens or 5- minute water breaks. There are several pros and cons to making such a change. One of the pros is the energy that you and your workers will produce interacting with each other and building a community of camaraderie. A negative aspect of moving back is the risk you run with COVID-19 not being eradicated and the constant looming fear of the safety of your workers. Have safety protocols in place so that if/when you go back into the office your staff will feel at ease and protected. You could go with a hybrid model where you have essential workers to your business come into the office and others stay at home. This is the model that institutes of higher learning are using which reduces the risk of liability if anything goes wrong.

A side benefit of this is that you can gradually and patiently start bringing people back into the workspace a few at a time. Most importantly keep the option to return just that, an option. Giving people the option to choose what is best for them will not only make them happier with whatever decision they make, but it will also create trust as you have given the initiative to your employees.

Video Games have been an integral part of the American pop culture landscape. It’s like Baseball and Apple Pie. It has now turned into a monetary endeavor sought after by large entertainment companies, vendors, etc. The Video Game industry has now crossed the $180 Billion mark as of 2020. Earning more than the film industry and North American Sports combined. This is due to sponsorship, e-sports, and streamers. But like Social Media Influencers there is an obvious lack of diversity in this ever-growing community. In research done by The International Developers Association only 2% of Game Developers are black. A number that will surely put fear in the hearts of any aspiring Game Developer. But now Black Creators in the industry are looking to change that.

On the development end of things; we have Chandana “Eka” Ekanayake. Ekanayake is a part of a movement meant to make the gaming community more inclusive. Ekanayake took initiative and started his own studio, Outerloop with his partner in 2017. Outerloop specializes in virtual reality experiences. Starting his own studio Ekanayake was working at Uber Entertainment. While there he saw the drive investors had for VR. So Ekanayake made the leap and pitched his ideas and released his first game, “Falcon Age” in 2019. During Ekanayake’s tenure, he never would emphasize his cultural history, “I was always worried about losing my job.”

But it’s not just about the development. Streaming games is a whole sub-industry within the gaming industry. But the similarities that the two share are a love of games and a heinous lack of inclusion. A wall that will be knocked down. 3BlackDot, the studio behind the acclaimed “Queen and Slim” is producing a new series called, “Gaming While Black”. A digital series designed to show representation in the gaming industry. CEO of 3BlackDot, Reginald Cash said, if you ask a fan who the top gaming creators were, they would maybe say Ninja or PewDiePie. Or if you asked them who some of the top game designers, engineers, or even characters were, there likely wouldn’t be much diversity on that list. Clearly, there is something missing, from just a representation standpoint, if half the adult population on earth says, ‘I’m a gamer,’ and you can’t think of any diversity, that’s a pretty massive problem”.

It’s apparent that the gaming community in the past has not been too welcoming towards creators of color, but with these creators of color. That will soon be a thing of the past.

It was only recently that the Tulsa race massacre was put into the public consciousness. The magnanimous cruelty and uninhibited savagery finally brought into daylight. In 1921 a mob of white terrorists brutalized, beat, and destroyed the neighborhood famously penned by educator and leader, Booker T.Washington as “The Black Wall Street” in 1913. This capital of black entrepreneurship and business had been turned to rubble in a matter of a few hours. 176 people were killed and numerous amounts of the un-tapped potential lost.

Fast forward more than 100 years later and the town is going through a resurgence like no other. Numerous amounts of black businesses and tech leaders have gotten together and have decided to dedicate themselves to the revival of this once beacon to the black economy. This renaissance includes billionaire, George Kaiser and John Rogers who is the founder of Arial Investments which is America’s largest Black-owned asset management firm.

This new venture is called, “Build in Tulsa”. Launched in 2020 the initiative is meant to be a direct line for black businesses to thrive and prosper in this new tech lead world. Tulsa is also engaged in the development of young professionals as well. “The Tulsa Remote Program” offers remote opportunities and if applicable $10,000 in grants if you need to relocate.

There have been 209 black businesses that have benefited from the resurgence in the Tulsa community. This is a long time coming for the town once plagued by nothing but pain and suffering.