Marisol Martinez is an 18-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. She is a writer, musician/lyricist, teaching artist and award-winning spoken word poet. She teaches and runs the Spoken Word Club at MSD, currently the number one competitive team in Florida, and is individually ranked second in the state. Playing the bass guitar and rapping, Marisol worked as a core lyricist on Operation Respect’s Parkland Project, Wake Up America. Her musical inspirations include Queen, Mitski, Andre 3000 and David Bowie, as well as the poets Shane Koyczan and Sappho. Marisol lost two dear friends in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and feels strongly that she is bound by a “sense of responsibility to make the world better in a way they would have, had they not been taken so soon.” She believes a cultural shift is imperative when it comes to conflict resolution and violence prevention in the country, and that legislative action alone is not enough to effectively combat the issue. In her words, “If we want to fix these issues, people need to understand them. Music and art are common languages for all of us, and can be used to bridge divides between all peoples.” Marisol believes there is no room for complacency or hesitancy; the time is now for us all to take an active stand. In addition to speaking out against gun-violence, Marisol cares deeply for issues of LGBT+ rights, racial justice and mental health awareness.
