“In spite of countless examples to the contrary—Baldwin, Hughes,
Ellison, Morrison, Walker, Angelou, James (and who could hope to fill
such lofty shoes?)—I didn’t think my voice would be valued in the
world. In many ways I still don’t. To the extent that I go forward
anyway, I do so as a result of that helplessness I described earlier. It’s
not that I feel the world hungers for my stories. It’s not that I think
most of what I want to write about is as valued in mainstream
publishing as other stories are. It’s more that I’m resolved to sing my
songs anyway, and I’m content to sing them to those in the world who
want to hear them.”
— Michael Kleber-Diggs, How Dare We! Write a multicultural creative writing discourse