Youth who come from marginalized, minority communities more often than not also grew up with cross cultural values and beliefs, shaped by their parents’ and communities’ experiences and traumas. The clashing of these values with typical American ideals is all too common, and it can be difficult for them to find a space of people who resonate with their efforts to confront such social biases and judgments. Stereotypical perceptions threaten to define their identities on both sides, which, combined with a lack of understanding from their American peers and schools, makes being silenced all too easy.

But what can we do?

Mei Literary Works seeks to empower these individuals to find their own voice and use it in a world that consistently strives to do it for them. Through our work to make marginalized youth known and seen via the creative arts, we work to ensure that their communities have a chance to surface and that there is a space for their voices to be amplified and echoed. But most importantly, heard.