Art has never been separate from politics in my life. For me, words have always been a matter of survival. I started performing as a kid—acting, then spoken word poetry, eventually slam poetry. By 16, I was traveling the country performing. That same year, my father was brutally unalived. I remember reading about it in the newspaper. The story reduced his existence to the horrifying details of his death. So I wrote a different story. Poetry and hip hop lyricism became how I processed grief, honored my father’s humanity, and began a lifelong journey of healing. Later, that path led me to Oakland, to attain an MFA from Mills College, and eventually to teaching poetry for nearly a decade inside juvenile detention centers. Working with incarcerated youth taught me something powerful: healing doesn’t come from someone else's punishment. It comes from connection, expression, and community. That’s why I believe in cultural organizing, the idea that art, culture, and storytelling are essential tools for social change. Narrative shapes what people believe is possible. But working class artists, like many other kinds of workers, face massive challenges, including unjust debt traps. Artists make cities livable. We’re not entertainment. We’re part of the strategy for systemic transformation. Are you an artist impacted by student debt? I wanna talk to you (especially if you're in the SF Bay Area)! Send me a DM or comment below #politics #artistsofwhistlr #question