It starts off as a faint feeling deep down in your belly. You acknowledge it’s there but you don’t listen, putting it off as butterflies or as a mild case of nerves so you ignore it. But it comes back and this time it’s stronger, deeper, and it rumbles, vibrating through your body. This is your intuition trying to speak to you, signaling that something needs your attention and it won’t go away until it gets its way.

Have you ever experienced this? We all have, whether we recognize it or not. Terri Broussard Williams knows that feeling well and she wants you to trust it too. It’s what led her to write her new book, Find Your Fire —a tome of powerful stories and no-nonsense advice from extraordinary changemakers on a mission to create social good. The groundbreaking lobbyist (and the voice of the popular MovementMakerCollective blog) hopes that the book will kindle more #Firestarters—aspiring politicians, activists, nonprofit professionals, social entrepreneurs, visionaries, and movement makers—to trust their gut and turn their vision for their own movement into a reality.

“The world is ripe for Movement Makers,” she tells Create & Cultivate. “If you feel a calling to help lead change for your community, just jump. Without people who are willing to lead, so much of what we love about the world today is at risk. Even with the obstacles that we face, I remain hopeful. I know that there are Movement Makers ready for the task at hand. I’m honored to be among their ranks.”

Read on to hear more about how this author trusted her own gut to write a book about it and then keep scrolling to read an exclusive chapter from Find Your Fire.

On the process of writing a book….

The process of writing the book was very different than I expected. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to self-publish or traditionally publish. So I interviewed women that had done both—two women that self-published and two that traditionally published. 

I wanted to write my book for two reasons. One, to simply inspire and to let people see that they could actually create movements. The second is I want to establish myself. I worked for 16 years at a large organization and created a lot of best practices while I was there. However, people still coupled those ideas, and the execution of those ideas, with the organization, when they were mine. So I wanted to really exhibit what I knew and establish myself as a thought leader that could stand on her own two feet outside of my organization. 

When I decided to self-publish, it was a priority to work with as many women as possible. So my entire team was women—with the exception of one, my book coach, Scott. But he was locally based. So I was still contributing to my local economy. Everyone from the cover designer to the editor to the person that helped me write, some of it were women. It was a magical experience. 

The book took longer than I thought it would. Everyone said that it would take one to two years from idea to being published, but I thought that because I was self-publishing that it would happen faster. I work really quickly, but what I did not fully account for was just life. I had a concussion during the process. I started graduate school. I switched jobs. Thankfully, everyone on the team was really helpful in telling me that I could do it or in helping me get things done when I didn't have the energy or the bandwidth. 

It’s really important that you build a team that will help you through the process. Even if you're self-publishing, invest in that team, because they will become your family and they will make or break the project. For example, I did not want to make the last round of edits to adjust the font size. It would delay my project for two more weeks, as well as cost a substantial amount of money. And someone on my team was like, "Suck it up, buttercup. Spend the money and you will be happier with the product at the end." They were absolutely right. 

A book is a huge investment of time and money. You don’t want to waste either of those things. I would encourage authors to think about their book as part of a three-legged stool while writing. Each leg of the stool: 1) brand, 2) lead magnet, 3) brand mission should help you accomplish both your personal and professional goals. I did this throughout the book writing process and it led to new and bold ideas. 

On the biggest challenge and the greatest joy in writing this book… 

The biggest challenge was really opening up. I cried while writing the acknowledgments. The first time I wrote them, they just weren't enough. My team pushed me to dig deeper while writing. I’m always an open book while blogging but when I began writing my book I found that my default was set to safe. It took a while to rewrite them. And now I cry every time I read them because they capture the spirit of my soul. 

Another challenge I had to overcome was questioning why was I the person to tell this story—and in a book. We see people with books as authorities. But sometimes you might not even stop to think that you are an expert. For so long, I was watching other people implement my ideas and say that they were their own that I forgot that power in me. I forgot that I am the expert. So that is the greatest joy: These are my thoughts. These are my ideas. It's a book that was born from my head and my heart. And I can't wait to hear people's thoughts as they read it. 

On the message she hopes to convey to readers…

You do not need a pedigree to start a movement. You do not need a pedigree to become a lobbyist. You do not need to come from money to achieve your dreams. Anyone can do these things. Hopefully, by introducing them to changemakers who have done the work and then me explaining how to use the Firestarter Formula, people will begin to say "Yes, I can do it." And they'll raise their hand and say, "If not me, then who?" 

On the biggest takeaway…

That they actually put the ideas of the book into practice. That they're not afraid to fail forward and fast. I hope they have the faith every day to believe that is something that is achievable and the fortitude to push through, to get it done. And lastly, leaders turn moments into movements. 

On advice for new authors…

Use your Spidey senses. Trust your gut. Your instinct will lead you along the way. I like to do everything with good intentions, a good heart and good work ethic. And putting out that vibe and those sentiments into the universe made them come true. 

People that don't respond to your email in a timely manner, as you would? They are not your people. If you meet someone face to face and you don't feel them? They are not your people. 

I did originally work with someone that did not share my same core values. We did not have the same spirit and many times I felt they were dishonest. And so I had to end that relationship. It set me back a good three months. But it was the right thing to do. Don’t be afraid to move on when that happens as it is more important to stay true to your project and its mission. 

The below passage is an exclusive excerpt from Terri Broussard Williams’ new book, Find Your Fire, available now.

The Activist: Angie Provost ‘We belong to the land here’

A Firestarter’s Beginnings

Angie Provost's movement is one that hits close to home for me. Really close: Angie and I are cousins, twice removed on my mother’s side. Like me, Angie was born in Louisiana. But her path took her to Texas sooner than mine did. She moved from Lafayette to Houston with her family when she was 3. As young, single twenty-somethings, we always told Angie that she would grow old in Louisiana. We knew she was destined to marry a Louisiana man.

While she grew up in a big city, it never felt like a fit for her. Angie always considered the Bayou State to be home. "We belong to the land here," she says.

She spent summers there on her grandfather's farm. And she returned to Louisiana when she became engaged to her now-husband, June Provost. June's family has a long history of sugar cane farming, just as hers did. But her grandparents were forced out of farming around the civil rights movement era of the mid-20th century.

"When I met June, I found it so fascinating that his family was still upholding that legacy," Angie says. "I became really involved in studying what he was doing."

The more she learned, the more she felt drawn toward becoming an entrepreneur and being connected to the land, just as June was. She even created her own farm.

Finding Her Fire

But even as Angie and June worked to uphold their families' legacy in agriculture, others were working just as hard to tear it down.

"We really started experiencing some harsh reprisals and harassment," Angie says. They also had to fight back against institutions. They filed a lawsuit alleging unfair treatment by their bank and another suit against a prominent local mill for breach of contract.

All of this took a heavy toll on them. June and Angie's home was foreclosed on in September 2018. Angie knew that they were hardly first farmers of color to go through an ordeal like this. Such treatment had driven her grandparents and many others from their land.

"You love Louisiana, you love the small town, you love the people in it," she says. "But there's very little opportunity and equitable relief if you are a person of color trying to advance your portfolio or your livelihood."

Amid everything going on, the Provosts were approached with an opportunity that they knew could do good but that was still pretty daunting to consider. A writer who had found out about them through Farm Aid, Center for Community Change and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project asked them to tell their story for an article in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper with a strong international readership.

"We were afraid to speak up and say what was going on with us," Angie says. They felt victimized, violated, and vulnerable, and that was hard to talk about. But they trusted the writer, Debbie Weingarten, and decided to move forward.

The extensive story in The Guardian in October 2018 details the Provosts' long nightmare: Vandalized equipment. Surveillance. Dead cats left on a tractor. This will all sound familiar to fans of the TV show "Queen Sugar," which is about a sugarcane farming family. (It's based on a novel by Natalie Baszile, who has become a friend of the Provost family.) But the mistreatment of the Provosts has actually been worse than what was portrayed on the show, Angie says.

After the article appeared, they were nervous. "We didn't know what the response would be," Angie says. But while there have been ups and downs, the article has led to many blessings for them.

"There are people out there that there are progressive voices,"' Angie says. "There are those who support change and know that change is for the better for everyone."

After the article, she and June became more active with groups such as National Family Farm Coalition, National Black Growers Council, and Farm Aid. And they created Provost Farm LLC, with the two of them as co-owners.

"The mission of that business is to preserve and advocate for the legacy of African-American sugarcane farmers and black farmers in general," Angie says. "We want people to be aware that, as African Americans, we own less than 1% of rural land in the U.S. It is steadily declining; it's been declining since Reconstruction."

Angie draws on deep knowledge of history to put their movement into a larger context. They want to raise awareness of the links that black rural land ownership has to other issues, including criminal justice reform, food equity, voter suppression, and redlining.

As they've grown their moment, they've had more opportunities to share their story. The Provosts were even featured in The 1619 Project, a major initiative by The New York Times to explore the history and consequences of slavery.

“Participating in The 1619 Project was an honor,” Angie says. “June and I believe our voice to be echoes of our ancestors — as if they spoke through us. Their triumphs and defeats, but most of all their strength. I think what (journalist) Nikole Hannah-Jones has accomplished with The

New York Times is equivalent to the tales my grandmother told me as a young adult about our family history: the tales that pull you in, paint a picture, and change your life.”

Besides fighting for their own livelihood, Angie and June are using their visibility to bring together other black and indigenous farmers in Louisiana and strengthen their sense of community. They're heartened by the other farmers who are speaking up, too — "the sugarcane farmers of the past who want platforms but have lost them."

Spreading Her Spark

Angie knows that she and June are taking on a lot, but that's because they know we're at a critical juncture. "We're in a time where we could either go backward or we could move forward," Angie says.

One way the Provosts are moving forward is by training with the Propeller accelerator program. This a New Orleans-based nonprofit supports entrepreneurs who are taking on social and environmental disparities. Propeller found out about the Provosts from The Guardian article and reached out to them to participate. Their lead mentor is Richard McCarthy, creator of Crescent City Farmers Market and former director of Slow Food USA.

Angie and June see something that others have ignored: a need to tell the story of black farmers in Louisiana in the form of a museum. Propeller is helping Angie and June with plans for a nonprofit that would include a museum or memorial to black farmers. The biggest challenge is securing funding. Angie also envisions an educational center where schoolchildren and others could come and learn more about farming. That’s the kind of field trip that I wish I could have taken as a young child. My father’s family is from the area Angie and June call home, yet I have never walked the fields that June so often mentions.

"We need to start educating more about rural life and the benefits of maintaining that rural life," she says. That connection with our rural history is vital.

"If you strip someone of their legacy and their history, if you don't educate a community on how that township or area was developed, you're leaving an entire group of people in an insecure position," Angie says. "And that community becomes vulnerable to oppressive tactics."

She knows that there are people who will say "I didn't own slaves" or "I wasn't a slave" and question why we still need to talk about all of this.

"I believe that not talking about your past is a form of insecurity," Angie says. For our future, we must learn from the past and make a better way.

Another way to build a better future is changing laws and policies that hamper farmers of color, Angie says. For example, right now there are too many roadblocks to accessing USDA programs.

"I think these are our right to be a part of," as families who have owned farms for generations, she says. After all, it was people like their ancestors who "taught Europeans how to farm these tropical crops," she points out.

She'd also like to see more actions by groups like the Urban League and NAACP. "Within our own organizations, we're missing that rural link," she says.

You can help Angie work for change. "Especially if you live in a rural community, you can you can write to your USDA county committeeman or to your city councilperson," she says. "Ask them what are they doing about farm equity and land loss prevention for people of color." If you can donate money, Angie recommends Farm Aid, which "does a lot for helping the working-class farmer," as well as the National Black Growers Council. You can find a list of other organizations to get involved in at www.provostfarmllc.com.

If you are an African American Millennial or Gen Zer who has rural roots but is living in a big city right now, you could have a vital role to play in Angie's movement. "If your parents own land, if your grandparents own land, make sure that it stays within the family — that you uphold that property," she says. Remember, too, that farming can be a lucrative business. "The reason why it's so difficult for us is because there are so few of us out there." More African Americans becoming active in agriculture equals more strength in numbers.

Although the retaliation and harassment continue, Angie and June are committed to their work because they know they're making a difference.

"I don't want to give the impression that Louisiana is the really despicable state that's not worth living in," she says. It's just that "A lot of us have moved away and the resources aren't here. Let's bring that back. Let's educate people. Let's reform. Because it's a beautiful place. It's a magical place."

The resolve she shows is in her DNA. "That comes from my grandmother's side of the family," Angie says. "They are some pretty feisty women. We come from a very strong stock of African and Native American heritage. We have a pretty long history, and one of the things that my grandmother, my great-aunt, my great-grandmother have always instilled in us is pride for our legacy and history."

She knows the stories of the women before her, the difficulties they faced, and how they overcame them. She was taught not to be ashamed of facing difficulties but rather to "always move forward and make a way," Angie says. "Those are the things that they instilled in us: a really strong value of family and knowing your past to inform your future."

Ignite Your Own Fire

What can you take away from Angie's story to catalyze your own movement?

Know where you come from Angie and I both find inspiration in our family history. If you don't know the stories of the people who came before you, now is a great time to ask parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins to share their recollections with you. Interview them about how they grew up and the changes they’ve seen. Don’t forget to record those conversations: You’ll be forever grateful for that oral history. Whatever you learn from them will shed light on who you are and your unique gifts as a #Firestarter.

Understand your movement's past Along the same lines, educate yourself about the history of your movement. Part of what sustains Angie is knowing that she's part of something bigger. And, no matter what your movement is, so are you. What have others accomplished before you? How can you build on what they've done and honor their legacy?

There's strength in your story Telling her story in the media has changed Angie's life and advanced her movement. This can feel like a big step, but Angie urges you not to shy away from it if the opportunity arises. "Everyone who tells their story should live in their truth," she says. "Give a real representation to whatever you are trying to change, whatever you are trying to maintain."

Before you get in front of the mic there are a couple of things Angie wants you to consider: Just make sure the media outlet or any other source you work with is trustworthy and makes you feel comfortable. You also need a community of support around you during what can feel like a vulnerable time.

If you're having trouble mustering the courage to do an interview or share your story in another way (like writing a blog post), remember that you'll be helping others by doing so.

"When you are a truth teller, when you are a peace speaker, you will find that there are so many people out there that have been waiting to hear your voice," Angie says. "Every single one of us has something to tell. That's why we're here on Earth as human beings. We're here to share our experience and empathize with one another."

Book cover art by Jen Pace Duran.

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