Marquelle Turner-Gilchrist: The Artistic Journey of The New Stereotype

He pursues his dreams with hard work and determination, and his diligence and drive have made his success relentless. Turner-Gilchrist took it a step further by launching The New Stereotypes: STORIES, which presents black men in a positive light through fashion and photography.

"Using photography and fashion to tell stories has been one of the greatest privileges of my life, and I am grateful for the platform and the ability to share it with others," said Turner-Gilchrist. The North Carolina native says fashion and style have allowed him to escape his shell without saying much to others. Turner-Gilchrist grew up in a single-parent household in an impoverished rural town but discovered the importance of earning a dollar and masking his poverty at fourteen.

Turner-Gilchrist was also influenced by the tragic events surrounding Mike Brown. The New Stereotypes were used as a response and declaration for the media overlooking Brown's humanity and avoidance of justice. The reporters were only talking about his background, how he behaved at school and what he did in a grocery store. Turner-Gilchrist pondered on what these things had to do with his murder, and he didn't understand why they were being conflated, but from the news segment, he had an opportunity to be an activist.

"I never really thought of myself as an activist, but there are so many different forms of resistance; music can be a form of resistance, dance, fashion and so I wanted to combine two things I know about, being a black man, being a black man in this country (United States) and fashion, so we created a digital photo series," said Turner-Gilchrist.

For the series, Turner-Gilchrist and seven other men completed a photo shoot on Wall Street and wanted to find a unique place where people don't think about black people. They decided to name it "The New Stereotype" because it's essentially a play on words, and in his eyes, stereotypes should not exist.

"They should not exist because it puts people in a position where they're not allowed to have individual expressions, individual identities; we all should be allowed to have our own stories," said Turner-Gilchrist. "That's how the project started. A few extensions in London, Dallas, Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Birmingham and DC created their version of The New Stereotype.”

He paused the project while traveling abroad, but Turner-Gilchrist was ready to take The New Stereotype to another level once he returned and worked alongside Olushola Bashorun, Wendy Oduor, and Fred Sands, IV, to complete STORIES in 2020, a visual element for the book.

"In the book, people are monochromatic, with two purposes. The first thing is a play on the idea around the term colored because, as you know, there was a time when people referred to black people in this country as color. So, it's reclaiming the idea around color. And I think all colors on our skin are beautiful. The contrast and originalist create visually stunning photography and images," said Turner-Gilchrist. "But the second part of that is because some people have the same color, but in different ways, so mark your context and still have our identities. I believe black people should be allowed to do anything they want about style and identity; whatever your identity is, it should be allowed in the room."

Overall, Turner-Gilchrist empowers people to share their stories because their truth is valid, and everyone should be allowed their individual experience and identity. He says there are two worst things you can do to someone: remove their voice and the pen so they can’t write their own story. Turner-Gilchrist also believes people should narrate their stories or have their voices at a volume that makes sense daily because everyone's voice is different.

"Every truth comes from a place that deserves to be heard, you know, and I want to make sure that within my power, within my creativity, within the members that I work with, anyone who engages with the book, that they continue to believe the same message, but also, you know, have the strength to tell their story, even when their voice shakes," said Turner-Gilchrist.

Turner-Gilchrist continues to spread the mission for The New Stereotype by completing a launch event in Manhattan last fall and embracing the sense of community, although he has been living in Los Angeles for two years. He also had the opportunity to connect with people who helped propel the project. Turner-Gilchrist also introduced the project to an LA audience in February, but he says everything is on the table; everything is an option, including film and television or exploring the book's second volume.

It's imperative for the fashion influencer that people have a book they can touch and feel 20-30 years from now while highlighting and honoring black beauty. Turner-Gilchrist says all topics are ever-present and will continue to explore them.

"There will always be an audience, a need and a desire to put this kind of work into the world, despite the format we ultimately decided to use," said Turner-Gilchrist.