Fault Lines Voices: Using poetry and music to avoid violence

16-year-old Akeila Tolson is one of the Youth UpRising contributors to the Fault Lines Project. She is a thoughtful and creative young poet and rapper, who learned to love music from her older brother. She tells us about her experience looking up to him as she grew up in East Oakland, and how he inspired her to take charge of her future, and avoid the violence around her.

Go to the Fault Lines Project page to hear the reports in our series, other voices from the fault lines, to read blogs from our reporters, and to participate in online discussions around these important issues.