Today we’d like to introduce you to Tish Jones.
Hi Tish, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story begins with my ancestors. I am a child of Black resilience, bravery, and innovation. A surviving descendant of the Black Atlantic Slave Trade and a lover of Black people, I am a Queer Black Woman Poet, Emcee, and Cultural Strategist from Saint Paul, MN.
I am an aunt, a daughter, a lover, and a homie. I work to celebrate the genius of Black people and create a pathway towards Black liberation, education, and racial equity using arts & culture as the primary vehicles for that change.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest obstacle I have faced has been the pervasive nature of white supremacy.
Sometimes that looks like white guilt, overt racism, microaggressions, systemic oppression, capitalism, cultural appropriation, climate change, and more. Yet, we persevere.
I name this as the biggest obstacle because it is often the foundation for other “perceived” obstacles. In other words, many of the issues faced or created within society stem from white supremacy being embedded into the systems we must operate within, in this society. As a non-white person, the pervasive nature of racism and white supremacist ideologist a violent hinderance.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a poet, emcee, and Hip-Hop Theater artist from Saint Paul, MN, with a deep and resounding love for Black people. My work explores themes of Black love, liberation, politics, and Afro-Futurism. I have exhibited her work throughout the United States and abroad as a public performance artist committed to the power of narrative change through the arts.
My writing can be found in We Are Meant to Rise (University of Minnesota Press), A Moment of Silence (Tru Ruts and The Playwrights Center), the Minnesota Humanities Center’s anthology entitled, Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society Press) and more.
I am currently serving as a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and an Arts Matters Artist2Artist Fellow. I am grateful to have been supported through numerous grants, fellowships, and awards throughout my career. That generous support has allowed me to excavate the kind of stories that chart new worlds.
I also serve as the Founding Executive Director of TruArtSpeaks, where I have the honor of cultivating community, building power, and amplifying the voices of those most often rendered invisible or silenced through Spoken Word and Hip Hop culture. For all of it, I am eternally thankful.
I have organized international festivals, mounted one-woman plays, and taught in schools, prisons, shelters, and cafes. I work for the people. I thrive when cultivating creative, innovative and change-making spaces, and I’m eager to connect with others interested in cultivating positive change in the world.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Stand in your purpose and you will never fall.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tishjonespoet.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thetishjones
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tishjonespoet
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tish-jones-20a33415
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/thetishjones
Image Credits
Digie Made Photography
