Writers of Color Alliance

Hugo House

I am deeply inspired by the Writers of Color Alliance (WOCA) comprised of Seattle area writers Anastacia-Renee, Claudia Castro Luna, Dujie Tahat, Shankar Narayan, and Harold Taw. True confessions: I have been in awe of Claudia Castro Luna since hearing her keynote talk at the Chuckanut Writers Conference in 2018.

Last weekend I went down an internet rabbit hole, learning about WOCA and their efforts to create systemic change at Hugo House. More than a few things come to mind. Here’s three:

1. Weathering the invisibility of one’s contributions is exhausting.

2. By necessity, change is messy.

3. Perfectionism rooted in whiteness prefers an appearance of orderliness that disregards the first two listed above.

Anastacia-Renee, Claudia Castro Luna, Dujie Tahat, Shankar Narayan, and Harold Taw comprise the Writers of Color Alliance (WOCA).