Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kendra Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kendra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

In 2020, after reading The Artist’s Way, I started doing morning pages, writing three full pages in a stream of consciousness journal. I was consuming a lot of media at the time, and I found myself thinking a lot about the types of stories we see told about Black people in popular media. Those thoughts made their way into my writing. ‘Why does it always have to be about a violent tragedy or someone who became rich by being plucked from the hood by a white savior?’ I was obsessed with this question because I exist somewhere in the middle. So many of the Black and brown people I know exist in the middle, too. We exist between cultures, identities, and the contrasts of the stereotypical characters we’re expected to relate to in mainstream stories. There are millions of our stories, and they’re laying dormant in the middle of this spectrum Hollywood has created between the exceptionally rich or talented and the hopelessly poor or oppressed. On one of those pages, I underlined and circled the phrase “Black and brown in the middle.” As the vision of a storytelling platform that centered the authentic lives and experiences of our people became clearer, so did that name: Black and Brown in the Middle. The name and our mission really couldn’t be any clearer than that.

Kendra, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Black & Brown in the Middle is a media platform that fosters healing through storytelling, on our own terms.

We’re a collective of creatives amplifying the voices of everyday Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks that have been ignored by mainstream media.

In addition to original work, we also offer storytelling services, including film, photography, and copywriting to help organizations take an actionable step towards appreciating diversity and setting an inclusive stage where teams and audiences feel they belong.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

It is our mission to bring healing to Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities through authentic storytelling.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

One thing that I think it’s difficult for people to understand (myself included sometimes) is that great work takes starting and stopping, running and resting, and falling before climbing back up again. I would love to be able to say that every time I started something, I was able to finish it successfully, but I would be lying. I’ve had to stand still more than I’ve been able to move forward, and I’ve had to become okay with that. The moves forward, and the lessons I learned in the stillness, are worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kendravalerie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meetkendrav
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendrawilliams