Elaine Welteroth Discusses her Memoir “More Than Enough”

OUR NEXT GUEST WAS THE YOUNGEST EVER EDITOR OF TEEN VOGUE.

DURING HER TENURE, SHE READ AN EVOLUTION, PUTTING THE POLITICS OF TODAY'S AMERICA AT THE HEART OF THE PUBLICATION COVERAGE, COMMENT ON IDENTITY, IMMIGRATION, SEXUALITY, CAME TO PUNK YOU CAN WAIT TEEN VOGUE, TYPICAL STORIES ON STYLE, BEAUTY AND FASHION.

SHE DETAILS ALL OF THIS AND THIS TRANSFORMATION IN HER BARRIER BREAK PATH TO SUCCESS WITH HER NEW MEMOIR MORE THAN ENOUGH AND SHE HAS BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS.

ELAINE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

THERE IS A MOMENT IN THE BOOK.

AND I WANT YOU TO TAKE ME BACK TO THAT MOMENT IN YOUR CHILDHOOD, WHEN ARE YOU GOING THROUGH MAGAZINES, TRYING TO CREATE A PICTURE COLLAGE OF YOUR FAMILY.

HMM.

SO THIS IS ACTUALLY MY VERY FIRST MEMORY IN LIFE.

I WAS IF PRE SCHOOL, SO PROBABLY AROUND 3-YEARS-OLD.

I WAS SITTING AROUND TO SEE KIDS AND THE INSTRUCTORS GAVE US AN ASSIGNMENT, WHICH WAS TO CUT OUT PEOPLE FROM MAGAZINES WHO LOOK LIKE OUR FAMILY AND MAKE A COLLAGE OF OUR FAMILY TO SHOW AND TELL THE CLASSROOM.

AND SO I DIG IN.

I'M LOOKING THROUGH AND I'M REALIZING, NO ONE LOOKS LIKE ME OR MY FAMILY.

BECAUSE?

BECAUSE I'M BROWN.

AND I THEN REALIZE EVERYONE ELSE IS NOT BROWN, EXCEPT ONE BOY IN THE CLASS, WHO IS MEXICAN AND IT INSTANTLY MADE ME FEEL WHAT I NOW KNOW AS OTHER.

AND AS I LOOK THROUGH THOSE PAGES, I RECOGNIZE NOW THAT WHAT I WAS EXPERIENCING WAS FOR THE FIRST TIME A LACK OF REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA.

OBVIOUSLY, DIDN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS, DIDN'T HAVE THOSE TERMS AT 3 YEARS OLD.

I JUST KNEW IT DIDN'T MAKE ME FEEL GOOD AND I ACTUALLY HAD TEACHERS REALIZE WHAT WAS GOING ON AND COME OVER AND TRY TO POINT ME TO LIKE THE ONE BROWN PERSON IN ONE OF THE MAGAZINES AND SHE POINTED AT THE GIRL AND SAID SHE LOOKS SO PRETTY.

LOOK AT HER, SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU, OH, LOOK AT HER HAIR.

NOTHING LIKE ME.

OKAY.

SHE'S THE ONE BROWN GIRL.

SOMETHING IN ME SO DESPERATELY DID NOT WANT TO BE DIFFERENT THAT I IGNORED HER.

I FROZE UP, AND I KEPT CUTTING OUT PEOPLE AND I MADE ACO LAMB OF A WHITE FAMILY.

HOW DID YOUR MOTHER FEEL ABOUT THAT?

MY MOM WASN'T HAVING THAT, IT WAS AS IF SHE WAS PREPARING HER WHOLE LIFE TO HAVE THIS RACE CONVERSATION.

THERE WAS A FULL ON INTERVENTION.

MY OLDER BROTHER GOOD PULLED INTO IT.

SHE PULLED OUT 'EBONY AND ESSENCE' MAGAZINE AND SAID WE WILL REDO THIS ASSIGNMENT.

YOU WILL TAKE OFF THOSE WHITE BODIES OFF THAT PAGE.

YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR DAD.

MY DAD WAS WHITE.

HE WAS NOTHING LIKE THE WHITE GUY I PICKED OUT.

I PICKED OUT THIS BUSINESSMAN, THIS CHIC MAN WITH A BUSINESS SUIT AND MY DAD WAS A CARPENTER WHO CAME HOME IN SAWDUST EVERY DAY.

SHE SAID WE'RE GOING TO REDO THIS ASSIGNMENT.

WE WENT THROUGH AND CUT OUT PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE US.

AND SHE PROCEEDED TO PIN THAT COLLAGE OR SHE TAPEED THAT COLLAGE ON TO MY BEDROOM WALL RIGHT NEXT TO MY BED.

SO EVERY NIGHT IT WAS THE LAST THING I SAW AND THE FIRST THING I SAW EVERY MORNING PAUSE SHE WANTED TO REENFORCE THIS IDEA THAT YOU ARE A BLACK GIRL AND THIS IS NOT ANYTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF AND THERE IS NO ESCAPING IT.

WE CELEBRATE THAT IN THIS HOUSE.

I THINK HAVING MY MOTHER THERE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING REENFORCED THOSE MESSAGES OF PRIDE, IT WAS REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT.

ESPECIALLY AS A BROWN GIRL GROWING UP IN A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE WORLD.

I FIND SO INTERESTING ABOUT THE WHITE PEOPLE PAPER FAMILY STORY AND A LOT OF THE STORIES THAT FOLLOWED IS IT UNDERSCORES, AT HOME YOU ARE RECEIVING ONE MESSAGE.

ARE YOU BEING SUPPORTED, VOIRKSD THERE IS NO CONFUSION THERE.

RIGHT.

EVEN THEN, YOU CAN NOT PROTECT A GIRL FROM ALL OF THE MESSAGES THAT WILL COME FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

YES.

WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

WELL, LISTEN, I THINK I'LL SAY THIS, THE THROUGH LINE OF THIS BOOK AND THE TITLE EVEN MORE THAN ENOUGH REALLY WAS INSPIRED BY THIS STAT THAT I FOUND THAT SAID IN AMERICA YOUNG GIRLS' CONFIDENCE PEAKS AT AGE 9, WHICH RATTLED ME TO MY CORE AND AT THE SAME TIME WHEN I REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT, IT WAS UNSURPRISING THINKING OF MY OWN JOURNEY AND THE JOURNEY ALL THE WOMEN IN MY LIFE.

IT MADE ME REALIZE THAT WE ALL SORT OF SHARE THIS SIMILAR ARC WHERE YOU ARE BORN INTO THE WORLD WITH A SENSE OF LIMITLESSNESS AND POSSIBILITY AND THEN SLOWLY BUT SURELY, THE WORLD PLACES YOU IN BOXES AND LABELS YOU AND CHIPS AWAY AT THAT CONFIDENCE.

ONE OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT YOU GIVE US THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HEAR AS MUCH ABOUT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF TRYING TO PROVE TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS THAT YOU ARE BLACK ENOUGH.

AND THAT COMES IN VARIOUS FORMS, BOYFRIEND THAT YOU WOULD USE TO VALIDATE YOUR BLACKNESS, FRIEND CIRCLES.

YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANY OF THOSE DECISION WERE CERTAINLY NOT WHO I CHOSE TO DATE WERE CONSCIENCE.

IT WASN'T ME CONSCIOUSLY TRYING TO YOU KNOW EMBRACE MY BLACKNESS.

YOU SEE IT AS A PART OF YOUR RETROSPECTIVE, RIGHT?

WHEN I LOOK BACK, I THINK THAT I MEAN I JUST THOUGHT THAT BOY WAS FINE.

YOU STAYED A LITTLE TOO LONG?

I STAYED WITH HIM TOO LONG.

SO MANY DO STAY WELL IN RELATIONSHIPS WELL PAST THEIR EXPIRATION DATE.

CERTAINLY WITH SOMEONE FROM A MIXED FAITH BACKGROUND, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO I AM AND FIT INTO THE RECALLED WHO, THERE WERE SOME AWKWARD STAGES, YEAH, I WAS OFTEN THE BLACK FRIEND, THE TOKEN BLACK FRIEND IN WHITE CIRCLES WHEN I WAS YOU KNOW COMING UP ALL THE WAY THROUGH UNTIL COLLEGE AND I FELT THIS YEARNING TO REALLY FIND MY TRIBE OF BLACK WOMEN THAT I COULD BE FRIENDS WITH AND NURTURE A SISTER HOD WITH BLACK WOMEN AND I JUST DIDN'T HAVING A SAYS TO THAT COMMUNITY REALLY WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

SO THERE WAS THIS URGENCY WHEN I GOT THE CALL, I HAVE TO FIND BLACK FRIENDS AND SOME OF THAT CAME FROM A LEVEL OF HURT.

THEIR ONE EXPERIENCE THAT I SHARE WHERE YOU KNOW MY WHITE GIRLFRIENDS ARE MY BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE.

BUT THERE WAS ONE INSTANCE THAT I EXPERIENCED YOU KNOW AT A SLUMBER PARTY AROUND 8th GRADE WHERE THE N-WORD WAS USED AND THEIR NOTHING LIKE THAT MOMENT WHERE THE TRUST IS BROKEN BETWEEN AND WHERE YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR BLACKNESS AND HOW IT SEPARATES YOU FROM THESE PEOPLE THAT YOU FELT SO INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO AND STILL DO, TO BE CLEAR.

WE WORKED THROUGH IT AND THE SYSTEM TO THIS DAY IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIEND.

BUT THESE ARE THE MOMENTS THAT HELPED ME RECOGNIZE THAT BLACKNESS IS NOT ABOUT THE WAY YOU TALK OR THE WAY YOU WALK OR WHO YOU DATE.

THIS IS A COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF EXCLUSION THAT CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD BY SOME DEEPLY IN THE SAME WAY BY SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER HAD TO FACE THAT SAME TYPE OF DISCRIMINATION.

AND SO IT SOUNDS SILLY BUT LIKE I WAS LAID DOWN BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO FIND THE BLACK TABLE AT THIS SCHOOL, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT I TALK ABOUT IN MY BOOK, THIS CONCEPT OF THE BLACK TABLE AND REALLY WHAT THE BLACK TABLE IS, IT'S A SAFE SPACE WHERE YOU CAN JUST BE YOURSELF AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THESE TYPES OF ENCOUNTERS HAPPENING, THESE MICRO-AGGRESSIONS HAPPENING, YOU CAN JUST TAKE OFF THE MASKS AND YOU CAN STOP CODE SWITCHING AND REALLY BE YOURSELF.

IN THE COLLEGE, YOU HAD COMPETING INTERNSHIPS.

YES.

ONE AT EBONY, ONE AT ESSENCE.

YES.

YOU CHOSE TO GO TO EBONY WHICH EVERYONE DRAGGED YOU FOR.

YES.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE HIERARCHY OF AMERICAN MEDIA WORKING FROM ENEMY?

I'M FROM A SMALL TOWN.

I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE POLITICS OF MEDIA COMING INTO THIS WORLD.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE BEST, THE CLOUDS WOULD PARDON AND THIS WAS THE BEST JOB I CAN COME ACROSSCH ON DAY ONE I WALKED IN, THIS IS NOTHING LIKE DEVILS WEARS PRADA, THIS IS NOTHING LIKE 'SEX IN THE CITY.'

I WAS LIKE WRAFS THE FASHION CLOSET?

I REMEMBER OPENING THE DOOR, AN OFFICE SUPPLY ROOM, WE LACKSERS SPILLING OUT OF A MIXED BACK.

IT WASN'T THE VISION OF WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE TO WORK AT A FASHION MAGAZINE.

I CRIED IN THE BATHROOM.

DID I MAKE THE WRONG DECISION?

BUT I SUCKED IT UP AND I LEARNED SO MUCH AT THAT FIRST JOB AND THE REST IS HISTORY.

I EVENTUALLY WAS ABLE MAKE MANY I WHAT I TO KOCONDENAST.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE.

SHE WAS LIKE THE DARLING OF NEW MEDIA.

SHE CALLED ME AND TOLD ME IN CONFIDENCE THAT YOU KNOW OVER COFFEE THAT SHE WAS YOU KNOW LOOKING TO HELP FIND HER REPLACEMENT AND THOUGHT I WOULD BE GREAT FOR THE JOB.

I SAID, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THINKING OF ME, BUT I DON'T WANT TO RISK IT RIGHT NOW.

I THINK YOU KNOW IF THIS WERE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW, I'D FEEL BETTER.

I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND.

I TOTALLY RESPECT THAT.

AND DAYS LATER, I GET A CALL FROM HR AND THE LONG STORY SHORT IS A FRIEND OF MINE PUT IT THIS WAY, WHAT EVA WANTS, EHAVE GETS.

SO TALK TO ME ABOUT SOME OF THE STORIES YOU CHOSE TO TELL AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE YOU ALLOWED TO TELL THEM DURING YOUR TIME AT TEEN VOGUE.

WELL, THE VERY FIRST STORY I TOLD AT TEEN VOGUE WAS MY NATURAL HAIR STORY.

I WAS APPOINTED AS THE BEAUTY DIRECTOR AND I LEARNED ONLY AFTER ACCEPTING THE JOBS THROUGH HEADLINES THAT I WAS THE FIRST BLACK BEAUTY DIRECTOR IN CONDENAST HISTORY.

I DIDN'T THINK OF MYSELF AS AN ACTIVIST.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A STORY THAT HAD NEVER BEEN TOLD.

I KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL RESONATE.

SO I TOLD MY NATURAL HAIR STORY.

KI NOT TILL HOW MANY TIMES I WAS STOPPED BY YOUNG GIRLS WHO SAID THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT STORY.

I NEVER SEEN MOMS OR AUNTIES WHO SAID HOW MUCH IT MEANT TO THEM.

IT REALLY REENFORCED THAT I WAS THERE ON A MISSION.

BUT WHAT DID THAT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE IN THE WORKS AT TEEN VOGUE?

HOW DO YOU TAKE THE POLITICAL AND MAKE THE BEAUTY?

OF WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF AS INHERENTLY POLITICAL?

NO, NOT AT ALL.

HOW DID YOU DO THAT.

I WOULD SAY BABY STEPS, STORY BY STORY.

AND USING BEAUTY AS A VEHICLE TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND TO START CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER AROUND IDENTITY, CULTURE IDENTITY, RACIAL IDENTITY, WE DID A STORY ABOUT CULTURE APPRECIATION THAT PUT YOUNG GIRLS FROM ROUTINELY APPROPRIATATED COMMUNITIES AT THE CENTER, WHO COULD TELL THE WORLD FROM THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVE WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN CULTURAL APPROPRIATION AND CULTURAL APPRECIATION.

IT WAS THOSE KIND OF STORIES THAT STARTED TO SHIFT THE CULTURE INTERNALLY AND HOW WE THOUGHT ABOUT OUR PLATFORM AND HOW WE COULD USE IT TO REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND HOW EVEN YES AT A TEEN FASHION TITLE WE COULD START TO INFUSE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS INTO IT AND EVENTUALLY YOUTH AND POLITICS.

AND I WILL SAY THIS, WE DID, WE GOT IT DONE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ASK FOR PERMISSION.

WE WERE PREPARED TO APOLOGIZE.

THIS IS 21 OF MY FAVORITE STORIES IN THE BOOK.

TELL ME ABOUT THE DAY YOU WERE PROMOTED TO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF TEEN VOGUE?

WHEW, WHAT A DAY.

MM-HMM.

SO LET'S SEE, I REMEMBER I WAS ON SET IN LIKE BAGGY JEANS AND A SWEATSHIRT, LEATHER JACK.

YOUR WORST OUTFIT.

MY BEST OUTFIT.

I WAS WEARING VALENCIA BOOTIES.

THEY WERE CUTE.

THEY WERE NOT ANNA WINTOUR APPROVED.

I GET THIS E-MAIL FROM ANNA WINTOUR'S OFFICE TO COME IF RIGHT AWAY.

SO I RACE BACK TO THE OFFICER, CHANGE MY CLOTHES.

LUCKILY I HAD AN OUTFIT IN MY OFFICE.

I MIGHT HAVE PULLED SOMETHING FROM THE FASHION CLOSET AND I THROW MYSELF TOGETHER.

I GO UP THERE, I AM OFFERED THE JOB AND I HAVE TO SAY, IT WAS SORT OF THIS SURREAL MOMENT AS YOU WORK YOUR WHOLE CAREER, JUST DREAMING OF ONE DAY, MAYBE THAT HAPPENING.

NOT EVER REALLY ACCEPTING THAT OPPORTUNITY.

YOU WERE YOUNG.

HAPPENING.

YEAH, I WAS 29-YEARS-OLD.

WE HAD BEEN DOING THE WORK TO CHANGE THE MISSION OF TEEN VOGUE BEFORE THAT HAPPENED.

SO I FELT REALLY EKWICHLTD I FELT REALLY READY.

I HAD A CLEAR VISION OF WHERE I KNOW I WANTED TO TAKE THE TITLE AND I ALSO DID FIT CONCERT WITH TWO OTHER PEOPLE SO BY THE TIME THAT SORT OF WE WERE HANDED THE REIGNS AS LEADERS OF THIS TEEN TITLE.

WE WERE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND WE DID AND THEN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HAPPENED AND THERE WAS ONE STORY THAT SORT OF CAUGHT FIRE AND WENT VIRAL THAT WAS PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE AND IT WAS CALLED TRUMP IS GASLIGHTING AMERICA.

AND THAT STORY IS REALLY WHAT PUT TEEN VOGUE ON THE MAP AS THIS SORT OF NEW POLITICAL PLATFORM THAT WAS GIVING VOICE TO A YOUNG GENERATION OF SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS AND POLITICALLY ENGAGED YOUNG PEOPLE.

THERE IS A STORY IN THE BOOK.

IT TAKES WHAT WE THINK OF GENERALLY CODE SWITCHING AND TURNS THE PARADIGM OPEN ITS HEAD.

IT'S SOMETHING YOU LEAD WITH BOB ST. JOHN A NOTED MARKETING EXECUTIVE FROM HER TIME AT UBER.

SHE SORT OF OWNS THE ROOM.

SHE OWNS EVERY ROOM.

SHE DOES NOT CODE SWITCH.

AND THAT ALLOWS YOU TO NOT CODE SWITCH AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU NOTICE THAT THE WHITE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM ARE HAVING THE EXPERIENCE.

YES.

OF WHAT ORDINARILY NON-WHITE PEOPLE IN WHITE SPACE CONSTANTLY HAVE?

THAT IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES IN THE BOOK.

SHE IS SOMEONE WHO JUST EPITOMIZES LIBERATION IN THE WAY SHE MOVES THROUGH ANY ROOM.

AND SHE TAUGHT ME SOMETHING, REALLY EARLY ON, WHEN I BECAME EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.

I REACHED OUT TO HER.

I HAD THIS BIG IDEA THAT I WAS HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING TRACTION.

SO I SHARED THIS IDEA WITH HER.

I ASKED FOR A MEETING.

I HAD PLANNED FOR IT TO BE A FORMAL MEETING.

MY WHOLE TEAM WOULD COME.

HER TEAM WOULD COME, YEAH, YEAH, WE'LL DO THAT.

HAVE YOUR PEOPLE TALK TO MY PEOPLE.

BUT WHEN CAN YOU COME?

MB-HMM?

SO I COME TO HER OFFICE.

IT'S LIKE, FUR AND LIKE MYRR, INCENTS, JILL SCOTT'S PLAYING.

OH, THEY LOT YOU DO THIS?

SHE'S LIKE, THEY DON'T LET ME DO ANYTHING.

I JUST LOVE THE WAY THIS WOMAN ROLLS.

THE LONG STORY SHORT IS WE COME ONE THIS IDEA.

I SHARE IT WITH HER.

SHE LOVES IT.

SHE GOES GREAT.

LET'S SET UP THE OTHER MEETING.

WE WILL ACT LIKE THIS MEETING NEVER HAPPENED.

THIS IS A PRE MEETING.

WHAT'S A PRE MEETING?

I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A PRE MEETING?

GIRL, THIS IS WHAT WHITE MEN HAVE BEEN DOING ON GOLF COURSES FOR GENERATIONS.

THIS IS HOW WE GOT IT.

I GOT YOUR BACK.

I WILL SUPPORT YOU IN THE MEETING.

WE WILL DO THIS.

THEN WE HAVE THE MEETING WHERE THE TWO TEAMS ARE COMING TOGETHER.

IT WAS A SMALL MEETING.

THE MAJORITY ARE BLACK WOMEN LEADERS.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN MY CAREER.

I HAD SEEN THEALCHEY SWITCH.

I SAW THE WHITE WOMEN IN THE ROOM SORT OF GRAPPLING WITH BEING THE ONLY ONES IN THE ROOM AND SORT OF CO-SWITCHING OR REVERSE CO-SWITCHING.

IT WAS FASCINATING TO ME.

IT WAS ILLUMINATING TO ME.

IT WAS A LITTLE BIT HUMERUS TO ME.

BECAUSE I HAD BEEN THAT PERSON MY WHOLE LIFE THROUGHOUT MY CAREER.

IN BOTH DIRECTIONS?

IN BOTH DIRECTS, IN ALL BLACK SPACES, IN ALL WHITE SPACES, DEFINITELY BEING THE ONLY BLACK PERSON SO I THOUGHT, WHAT IT ILLUMINATED FOR ME WAS THAT WE ALL WOULD BE BETTER CITIZENS FOR GOING OUTSIDE OF OUR COMFORT ZONE AND EXPERIENCING WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THE ONLY ONE IN THE ROOM.

ELAINE, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING