LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
“If the future doesn't come toward you, you have to go fetch it.” – Zulu Proverb
Dear Friends, I am writing this letter to you out of much trepidation because I have been so nervous about not delivering the most crucial issue that LRM magazine has produced to this date, as it is the premise of why LRM was created (to profile brilliant designers of color in design). I hope that I have done you well. Twenty years ago design was an elitist, closed profession and to a degree it still is. Though many will agree that the landscape for minorities has vastly improved others maintain that we still have a very long way to go. But rather than complain about the circumstances dealt to those of us who had the courage to pursue careers in architecture or design, I will offer that though the road less traveled is harder, it will offer great benefits to those who come behind us. Is that not a legacy worth championing? We are certainly in an exciting position.
Allow yourself to reflect for a moment, back to when you were a student in design school where you were the only minority in your class or quickly fast forward to the last time you were at a industry function and you were perhaps the on practitioner of color at the event. To facilitate an improvement in our presence within this field, we must take responsibility for ourselves and become more active participants rather than reluctant spectators. It is time for us to leverage our knowledge and share our wisdom with our youth and emerging professionals by mentoring them as they enter this field. Come on, together we can do anything! Shalom Y’all…