Blog 4/ The Art of Speaking Up: Courage, Clarity, and the Cost of Staying True
Speaking up is not about confrontation. It is clarity. It is about reclaiming your own narrative when others try to rewrite it.
There comes a point in every leader’s journey when silence no longer feels safe — it feels suffocating.
Speaking up is not about confrontation. It is about clarity. It is about reclaiming your own narrative when others try to rewrite it. And for me, that has meant standing tall in rooms where my presence alone is seen as disruption — not because of what I’ve done, but because of who I am.
When You’re the Only One in the Room
For years, I have walked into meetings where I was the only Black woman at the table — the one whose ideas had to be proven twice, whose tone had to be softened, whose competence was questioned before her contributions were even considered.
In those spaces, the air can feel heavy. Every word carries weight. Every silence feels loud. But I have learned something sacred in those moments: your voice is not meant to blend in — it is meant to break through.
There is courage in choosing truth over comfort. There is power in saying what others will not, even when it costs you ease, popularity, or approval.
And yes, it is beyond exhausting. But silence costs more.
Holding the Line
As I near the finish line of my doctoral journey, I have found myself reflecting not just on the research I have done, but on the resilience, it has taken to get here. The truth is, you can do everything “right” — work hard, get the degrees, show up with integrity — and still be met with resistance. You cannot falter, though. You cannot quit. Because the finish line is not proof to them — it is a promise to yourself. It is the evidence that even when every door closed, you refused to stop knocking. That is the kind of faith that builds legacies, not résumés.
There are systems that will try to make you question your worth. People who will try to minimize your voice. But resilience is not about proving them wrong — it is about staying aligned with your purpose no matter what they say. Because without pain, there is no purpose. Without the test, there is no testimony. Going through the fire does not destroy you — it refines you. Every flame shapes you, strengthens you, and equips you to shine brighter than before. And when you rise from it, you do not just survive — you become the light that guides others through their own darkness.
I have been asked why I am still here — in spaces that made it clear I was not the ‘expected’ fit. I stay because I was not called to conform; I was called to confront what others are too afraid to name. My presence is not rebellion — it is purpose. And purpose has never been comfortable, but it has always been necessary.
The Cost of Courage
Speaking up will make people uncomfortable — sometimes even afraid. You will be labeled difficult, defiant, or “too much.” But courage has always unsettled the comfortable. It is meant to. It stirs the stagnant and exposes what has been quietly accepted for far too long.
The truth is that leadership is not about fitting in; it is about standing firm — even when standing firm makes others uneasy. When God places you in certain spaces, it is not always for your comfort. Sometimes it is to serve as a mirror — to reflect what is broken, to call truth to power, and to plant seeds of integrity where dishonesty has taken root.
That kind of leadership will cost you. It will bruise your ego, test your faith, and leave a few scars. But it will also build a strength that no title, paycheck, or policy can ever give — a strength grounded in purpose, refined by fire, and sustained by grace.
Choosing Voice Over Validation
Every time I have spoken up, I have been reminded that courage is rarely comfortable, but it is always clarifying.
Because when you speak truth with conviction and compassion, you set a new standard — one rooted in integrity. You show others that there is another way to lead: grounded, honest, and deeply human.
So, if you are reading this and you have been silencing yourself out of fear of being misunderstood — please hear me: Your peace is not worth their approval. You were never created to shrink. Take up space — deliberately, unapologetically, and on your own terms.
You were not created to dilute your brilliance to make others feel at ease. You were made to stand in your fullness — to pour light into dark spaces, even when it feels like you’re pouring alone.
Final Pour
Courage, much like coffee, should be bold — never watered down.
It is strong. It is real. It wakes people up.
In a world that often rewards conformity, choosing to speak up is an act of radical faith. It is standing firm when silence would be easier. It is leading with light when the room feels dim.
So, keep brewing your truth. Keep holding the line. Keep showing up as yourself — loud, loving, and unapologetically seen.
Because the ones who try to silence you will never taste the freedom of authenticity.
And that, my friend, is your power — brewed deep, poured pure, and grounded in grace.
Blog 4/ The Art of Speaking Up: Courage, Clarity, and the Cost of Staying True
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Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson
Founder of CourtneyCoffeeChats
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