Patrisse Cullors, a New York Times best-selling author, artist, abolitionist, educator, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, will be on the Vashon Center for the Arts campus in early April for a multi-disciplinary residency to promote education and dialog about critical social issues and how to be an effective agent for change.

Her three-fold residency will include leading an assembly for Vashon Island School District students, ages 13 and older, to discuss “Eyes on the Prize: Hallowed Ground,” a documentary about the Black liberation movement. Cullors will be joined by a student moderator for a Q&A following the assembly.

While on Vashon, Cullors will also create an art installation on the VCA campus, and speak about her new book, “An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World.” Named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020, Cullors is one of the country’s most powerful voices in activism, working for criminal justice and prison reform, and calling for an economy of care that ensures “every human and living being has the care they need.”

Yet, on her website, patrissecullors.com, the 38-year-old describes herself simply as a mother, author, educator, artist and abolitionist, belying her long list of accomplishments as a change-maker.

Her activism began at age 18, as a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union. In 2013, she coined #BlackLivesMatter and co-founded Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

#BlackLivesMatter began as a sincere statement that grew into a decentralized social and political movement to protest police brutality and racially motivated violence. Following the murder of George Floyd, an estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in BLM protests, making it the largest civil rights movement in United States history.

It is clear that the engine behind Cullors’ vast accomplishments is her huge heart of compassion. Having grown up in an underprivileged area in Van Nuys, California, Cullors witnessed daily police harassment in her community, the severe treatment of her mentally ill brother in the Los Angeles County jails, and the trauma it created. She is dedicated to the truth that everyone is worthy of dignity.

While working towards her bachelor’s degree from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and master of fine arts (MFA) degree from Roski School of Art and Design, she led multiple Los Angeles-based organizations, including Dignity and Power Now, JusticeLA and Reform LA Jails.

Cullors’ stated mission is “to invite all of us to grow towards abolition through intergenerational healing work that centers love and collective care.” Her vision is for “a world that honors our ability to transform through modes of care and not punishment.”

In addition to her many accolades, Cullors serves as the faculty director at Arizona’s Prescott College, where she established the Social and Environmental Arts Practice MFA program, which focuses on the intersection of art, social justice and community organizing. She also creates performance art pieces, produces for TV and film, and is working with Warner Brothers on multi-platform programs showcasing the perspectives of Black culture in America.

“We must do ALL that we can to secure an abolitionist future for our families and our community. Our survival depends on it,” Cullors writes on her website. But she doesn’t leave it there. Her recently released book, “An Abolitionist’s Handbook,” tells us how we can successfully bring about much-needed reform. She outlines a framework to help “everyday” abolitionists — anyone committed to beneficial transformation — to effect change by leading with love, fierce compassion and precision.

Given her vision and voice, her activism, and her talents as an artist and abolitionist, it is no wonder that Los Angeles and California declared February 22 “Patrisse Cullors Day.”

In a speech given for receiving the Sydney, Australia, Peace Prize, Cullors said, “Abolition is a journey, and it requires all of us. That’s why I’m so passionate about inspiring others to deepen their knowledge and practice of abolition. I love sharing what I’ve learned over the last 20-plus years of movement building and being in community to collectively imagine and build the world we all deserve.”

Find out more about Patrisse Cullors’ residency at VCA and get tickets to her talk, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, in VCA’s Kay White Hall, at vashoncenterforthearts.org.