When we launched Fourth Pov, Inc., more than a few people asked: “Why now?”

Why start something new in the midst of such political tension? Why launch a literacy nonprofit while executive orders are shifting the landscape of education? Why focus on creative writing when funding for the humanities is being slashed and conversations around “value” in education are dominated by numbers, not narratives?

Here’s our answer:
Because now is exactly the time to do it.

We’re living in an era where the direction of public education feels more uncertain than ever. From the rollback of DEI initiatives in higher education to shifts in how federal funding reaches community-based programs, it’s clear that underserved children—especially Black children—are often left out of the conversation entirely.

And still, we press forward.

We press forward because no executive order can erase the hunger a child feels to be seen, heard, and understood.
We press forward because our communities can’t afford to wait for permission.
We press forward because every young person deserves access to stories that reflect their lives—and the tools to write their own.

This is bigger than policy. It’s about power.

Let’s be clear: we’re aware of the political landscape. The ongoing tension between this administration and many colleges and universities. The appointment of Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education and the concern that comes with someone whose expertise is rooted in business, not in classrooms. These are real issues that deserve attention.

But they’re not our center.

Our center is the child in Hartford, or Jackson, or Baltimore, who has a story to tell but no journal to write it in.
The 10-year-old who’s never read a book with a protagonist that looks like him.
The teen who could be a brilliant author or poet or journalist—if only someone gave him the space to try.

That’s why we started Fourth Pov, Inc.

We are not waiting on federal shifts. We are not chasing policy wins. We are planting seeds in soil we know is rich with talent, imagination, and untapped brilliance.

Our work is simple at its core:

• We give kids access to words.
• We help them find their voice.
• We create spaces where they’re allowed to matter.

Because literacy is not a luxury—it’s a right.
Because writing is not just academic—it’s survival, it’s healing, it’s power.

So yes, this administration may shape certain headlines. But it will not shape our mission.

We are here.
We are building.
We are writing.
And we are doing it for the children who have waited long enough.