Who Are You?
I am Danielle Broadway. An English Literature MA student at California State University,Long Beach. I have been published in Black Girl Nerds, LA Weekly, Cosmopolitan, Blavity and more. I am an assistant editor at Angels Flight • literary west, as well as an activist and educator that is inspired by my family to make social change both in the classroom and beyond.
Where do you currently reside?
Los Angeles.
How long have you been writing professionally?
This is my first year of freelancing.
Who or what inspires you to write when inspiration is lacking?
I often find that inspiration isn’t lacking, as there is something that always compels me to write. However, burnout is something I suffer from, and when I feel myself staying still for too long, I remember the tenacity of the Black women that have come before me. Their legacies drive me and keep me grounded.
When did you or will you know you’ve arrived as a writer?
I think I’m already there. It’s not just me though, once you pick up a pen and start writing, you’re a writer. There’s no trick or special status for it. Even just telling a story can make someone a writer.
What piece of writing are you most proud of and why?
Personally, I am very proud of my piece on Rewire.com, as it’s an ode to Black girls who feel like giving up that serves as a personal letter to them based on my experiences with self-harm and mental health. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve been on paper, yet it makes me feel reborn. https://www.rewire.org/a-letter-to-black-girls-who-feel-like-giving-up/
Do you have any current published pieces?
Yes, they’re all on my linktree: https://linktr.ee/danielle.broadway
What is your favorite quote from yourself and from your favorite writer?
Oh goodness, I don’t want to be one of those people that quotes themselves! However, I love this bell hooks quote,
“Sometimes people try to destroy you, precisely because they recognize your power—not because they don’t see it, but because they see it and they don’t want it to exist.”
What does being a Black woman identifying writer mean to you?
It means everything. We were never supposed to read, write or even survive, so every day that we do is a revolution. Society doesn’t want to hear what we have to say, but we tell them anyway. People are always trying to make our voices small, so we make them big. I believe that words can be a catalyst for systemic change, and if my words are even a fragment of that change, I have lived my life accordingly. I love that we are a sisterhood of writers and when we are united, there is nothing that we cannot achieve with our melanated magic.
What do you wish you knew before embarking on this journey?
To be honest, I wish I knew about being a professional writer sooner. I always thought it was something that other, more important and talented people did, but not me. I wish that I had known that I was smart, that my voice mattered and that people could actual admire me. It still blows my mind that I thought that I was so far from the dream and the journey, and there it was beside me waiting, all along.
Any last words?
If you want to write, go for it. If you want to be published, pitch. If you want to achieve your aspirations, work it, and be ready to keep working it. You can do it.
Keep up with Danielle on Twitter and Instagram.
