Elnora Harris understands the importance of Representation

When it comes to business or advocacy, Elnora Harris is a woman on a mission. With several companies under her belt and over twenty years of experience in education, she is someone who understands that to see the change you want in the world means you have to be it. So from custom balloon designs to empowering the next generation of Black children with Our Reflections, Elnora is making it her business. 

A chat into her three business ventures, advocacy, and representation!

Our Reflections 
www.ourreflections.com

“It’s important to start early because it helps shape their minds,” said Harris when I asked her what inspiration was behind Our Reflections. With a background in education, Elnora understood that there are pivotal ages for development in children that have lasting effects, both negative and positive. Well, to keep it positive for young Black children, she created a toothbrush company where at young ages, they would see themselves as they learn proper oral care. Elnora said, “ they need to see themselves to understand that they are beautiful and important.” What better way to show someone growing up than with a tool they use daily to remind them? 

Level Up

“I wanted to know how I could help those high school students as they transition out of high school,” said Harris. With her tenure in education helping to teach students with special needs, she found a gap between them leaving grade school and going into the real world. Not being satisfied with how the school system was preparing them, she charted out to do it herself. Elnora said, “ Level Up was created as a consultancy to help them with the transition, but it also became an advocacy organization for parents who didn’t know how to talk or approach the schools.” She saw many parents ignored by the school system and their children being misrepresented when problems arose because of their behavior. 

Soar Balloons N More

“I don’t want to say it was a fluke because everything is ordained,” said Harris. She recalled the start of this business came from her doing balloon decorating at her church for a senior citizens Valentine’s Day event. She did such a great job that people requested her services. Little do they know she did like we all do on the first day on the job and went straight to Google and YouTube University. One thing about Elnora is whatever she is going to do, she will dive deep into learning all the aspects of it. Elnora said, “It took off so swiftly that I incorporated other things into this business because I’m so crafty.” This is how it became an entire decorative service business. 

Elnora, The Advocate

I wanted to get back into her advocacy because she was passionate about it during the interview. Elnora said, “Sometimes I would have to tell Black parents before we go into the meeting to ask for this.” She said parents and students aren’t represented in special needs advocacy in marginalized communities in schools. Often, the parents don’t know what to ask for or how to defend their children when presenting a case to the school. “A lot of times, our counterparts have teams of attorneys on their side while our Black and Brown populations have no one fighting for them, “said Harris. She said they don’t have adequate resources and information, so they just take what the school says. That’s not enough for Elnora, who is a mother of three. 

She does this out of the kindness of her heart. “Though the business is in the infancy stage, the parents don’t gravitate towards what is offered, and they trust the school system more,” said Harris. It’s such a deficient area that she hopes parents understand they need to know what’s happening and what’s available. She doesn’t want Black and Brown parents just to take what’s given to them because someone says so. They deserve more!

It’s About Full Representation

Elnora shared with me that Our Reflections has plans for the future, and those include representing more than just Black people. Though Black is near to her heart, she understands that representation matters in the wide range of spectrums that we, as human beings. “Those kids in other ethnic groups need to see a reflection of themselves,” said Harris. With this company, she is expanding beyond toothbrushes and just one race. Her mission is to impact the world through representation. Elnora will ensure people feel seen, heard, and understand how beautiful they are.