What luck to be in this world with so many brilliant & beautiful people who have helped me to rise up.
Thank you to these collective families: Hagan, Dawson, Bazaz, Sferra & Flores for all the ways you have nurtured me—especially my parents: Gianina & Pat Hagan, who embraced my feminist ways from early on. Thank you to this community of people: Aracelis Girmay, Lisa Ascalon, Marina Hope Wilson, Parneshia Jones, Caroline Kennedy, Kelly Norman Ellis, Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Dana Edell, Rob Linné, Lisa Green, Moriah Carlson, Rajeeyah Finnie-Myers, Nanya-Akuki Goodrich, Andrée Greene, Catrina Ganey, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, Vincent Toro, Grisel Acosta, Andy Powell, Tanya Gallo, Lindsey Homra-Siroky, Melissa Johnson, Kevin Flores, Danni Quintos, Nykeira Franks, Alondra Uribe, Megan Garriga, Lisa Roby, Kelly Wheatley, Becca Christensen, Kate Carothers Smith, Britt Kulsveen, Brandi Cusick Rimpsey, Leslie Blincoe, Michele Kotler, Berry, Ellie Clark, Alecia Whitaker, Stephanie Dionne Acosta, Jessica Wahlstrom, Will Maloney, Kate Dworkoski Scudese, Pete Scudese & Cindy Uh for all the ways you have held & propelled me.
Thank you to Renée Watson—what a supreme honor to work & vision & build & create with you.
& to Sarah Shumway Liu for your stunning editorial eye—I am so grateful. & to Bloomsbury for the care & love you’ve given to us.
& especially & always for David Flores—walking through this world with you is such blessing & balm.
Thank you to these spaces that honor voices in such profound ways: The Affrilachian Poets, Conjwoman, girlstory, DreamYard, Global Writes, Sawyer House Press, Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, VONA/Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation, Northwestern University Press, The Girl Project & WHEELS: Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School.
—E. H.
Sometimes life imitates art. I was not prepared to lose my father during the final revision of Watch Us Rise. I am so thankful for the community of friends who prayed for my family, who offered love and concern. I am sure that without you checking on me and being there during that time of loss, I would not have finished this book. Thank you, Allie Jane Bruce, Beth Cho Grosart Little, Brendan Kiely, Catrina Ganey, Chanesa Jackson, David Flores, Dhonielle Clayton, Ellice Lee, Grace Kendall, Ibi Zoboi, Jason Reynolds, Jennifer Baker, Jonena Welch, Käthe Swaback, Kristen Wilkerson, Laura Williams McCaffrey, Lisa Green, Meg Kearney, Moriah Carlson, Namrata Tripathi, Nanya-Auki Goodrich, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Rajeeyah Finnie-Myers, Robin Robinson, Tokumbo Bodunde, Shadra Strickland, Shalanda Sims, and Tracey Baptiste.
To Ellen for being on this journey with me. What a wild adventure we’ve been on for over a decade now. I will forever cherish the time we had together to create and vision. How grateful I am that you are not only my colleague but my friend.
To Kendolyn Walker for taking such care of the Langston Hughes House and I, Too Arts Collective with me. Thank you for being flexible and understanding as I travel and write. You are irreplaceable.
To Trinity Church Harlem, DreamYard, and Community-Word Project for the spaces you create to make sure young voices are amplified and celebrated.
To early readers of this manuscript: Adedayo Perkovich, Dana Edell, Kori Johnson, and Linda Christensen. Thank you for your feedback and support.
To Angie Manfredi and Dana Edell, thank you for helping to shape our resource list.
And to my agent, Rosemary Stimola, my editor, Sarah Shumway, and my team at Bloomsbury. Thank you for championing my writing. I love doing this work alongside you.
And thank you to my family for encouraging me to soar, always. Mom, Roy and Vonda, Cheryl and Kevin, Trisa, and Dyan, it is a privilege to be loved by you.
—R. W.