During our after-school program in collaboration with Art Gallery of York University (AGYU), we feature a guest speaker to discuss their journey and path to success. This month’s guest speaker was Whitney French, who is the founder and coordinator of Writing While Black, an initiative that aims to unite and develop a community of Black writers. Whitney French came by the SBL After-School Program on October 3^rd to share with our youth her life experiences and to share some of her work! The discussion also focussed on the victories and challenges of being a Black writer in Canada. One of the participants from the workshop Margaret Sam, said that what resonated with her from the workshop is that “Despite what people say about you, you can still rise”. The workshop allowed our youth to not only support each other artistically via writing, but to also empower each other!