Kweli is like a family reunion, but the joy of the conference is the feeling we take with us back to our drafting tables, desks, libraries, and coffee shops. The community is what will sustain us as we go back to the trenches and resume our publishing journeys.

I’m thinking about the writers who have come before me. I’m thinking about Nikky Finney. I’m thinking about Audre Lorde. I’m thinking about James Baldwin. I’m thinking about Toni Morrison. I’m thinking about the people who have written because they needed to break down barriers and create access and create change.