When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation — it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams. ― Les Brown

As people of color, many of us are discouraged from living our dreams. We are told that we are not capable, that we are less than, and we believe it. We are told that we cannot succeed and we believe it. In the case of our activism, we are told that systems of racism, sexism, heterosexism, imperialism, and capitalism will forever dominate our world. All of these thoughts breed fear. We have to stop being afraid to confront the wrongs we see in our world and stop believing that we aren’t capable of being free. We have to start living our dreams, embracing ourselves, and empowering each other and our communities. What is your dream? For many people of color, the dream of being a writer is overwhelming, daunting, and seemingly unattainable. We struggle. Yes, of course, many writers struggle, in general. period. But we have an added hurdle because we are so underrepresented in all parts of this industry… as authors, as publishers, as book printers/binderies, as bookstores, ect…This is one of the reasons I started Pens Up Press. Amplifying and empowering myself and other black writers is my dream. Today I watched this speech by Les Brown and felt so encouraged that I wanted to share one of his quotes (see above) and write this message. Please feel free to comment on this post and leave your thoughts.

Written by Kristin Richardson Jordan from Pens Up Press