Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Pre-Talk Video

Margaret Huettl Author

10/19/2020 Added

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Margaret Huettl, Assistant Professor of History and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, introduces the November E.N. Thompson Forum speaker Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.

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[00:00:01.390]Hello, everyone. I'm Margaret Huettl.
[00:00:03.320]I'm an assistant professor in History and Ethnic studies.
[00:00:07.430]And it's my honor and pleasure to speak to you
[00:00:10.730]about November's E.N. Thompson Forum guest.
[00:00:13.990]Activist, hip hop artist, and author,
[00:00:16.720]Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.
[00:00:19.160]Youth director of Earth Guardians,
[00:00:21.500]a worldwide conservation organization.
[00:00:24.610]Xiuhtezcatl was born in Colorado and is Mexica or Aztec,
[00:00:29.610]an indigenous nation from what is currently Mexico.
[00:00:32.890]He's been an environmental activist
[00:00:35.010]since he was like six years old.
[00:00:37.400]But I first learned about Xiuhtezcatl
[00:00:40.260]when as a 15-year-old, he and about 20 other young folks
[00:00:45.430]sued the federal government
[00:00:47.070]for knowingly contributing to climate change.
[00:00:50.890]This case, Juliana v. United States,
[00:00:54.170]is still working its way through the judicial system
[00:00:57.480]in an effort to hold those in power accountable
[00:01:01.350]to the next and future generations.
[00:01:05.150]Martinez has a gift for communicating
[00:01:07.960]with different audiences.
[00:01:09.720]He seems as comfortable delivering a speech
[00:01:12.490]to the UN General Assembly
[00:01:14.400]as he is rapping to crowds of concertgoers.
[00:01:17.430]And he does both in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl
[00:01:21.440]the Mexica language.
[00:01:23.068]His first solo album "Break free", came out in 2018.
[00:01:28.300]And he has collaborated with artists
[00:01:30.700]including Jaden Smith and Shailene Woodley.
[00:01:34.130]He also has a book,
[00:01:35.867]"We rise the Earth Guardians guide to building a movement
[00:01:39.840]that restores the planet".
[00:01:42.440]And this book provides an accessible
[00:01:45.170]and inspiring action guide for a young audience.
[00:01:50.490]Talking about how to embrace sustainability
[00:01:53.220]in their everyday lives.
[00:01:55.020]Organize at the local level.
[00:01:57.760]And collaborate across borders
[00:02:00.380]to address some of today's most daunting issues
[00:02:03.440]such as fossil fuel extraction and industrial agriculture.
[00:02:08.450]The book provides a practical localized solution
[00:02:12.760]for a global crisis.
[00:02:16.210]Across his many mediums,
[00:02:18.350]Xiuhtezcatl empowers audiences to direct their anger,
[00:02:22.220]fear and passion toward creating meaningful change.
[00:02:27.580]It's hard not to look at the world today
[00:02:30.480]with most of the West coast still smoldering
[00:02:33.860]from massive forest fires.
[00:02:36.060]With indigenous activists being arrested
[00:02:38.470]at the US Mexico border
[00:02:40.040]for protesting the destruction of sacred sites
[00:02:43.510]for the sake of a wall.
[00:02:45.420]And with dire headlines about climate change
[00:02:48.070]in the news every few weeks
[00:02:49.940]and not feel a little scared and helpless.
[00:02:54.280]But Xiuhtezcatl envisions a future
[00:02:56.400]in which our individual and collective actions
[00:03:00.220]create a more just, sustainable world.
[00:03:03.850]In which humans and the rest of the earth thrive together.
[00:03:08.600]I hope you will join me
[00:03:10.050]in listening to what this distinguished speaker
[00:03:12.240]has to share with us.
[00:03:14.142]Miigwetch, thank you.

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