Elisia Parham, on slam poetry, Black Lives Matter, allyship, confronting her own biases, activism out of love, and having difficult conversations

In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Elisia Parham, poet, activist and social worker.

Elisia is a poet who grew up in unconventional circumstances. She and Adam talk about how those circumstances helped her to develop resilience and her voice, which she has used not only as a performing slam poet but as an activist.

Adam talks with Elisia about her path from being an activist out of righteous anger to being an activist out of love, and one who recently earned her Master’s degree and is starting a career as a social worker.

__________

The We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with the Chaffee County Departments of Public Health and Housing, and is supported by the Colorado Public Health & Environment: Office of Health Disparities. 

You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast (and related storytelling initiatives) at wearechaffee.org, and on Instagram and Facebook @wearechaffee.

We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast.

Credits

Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator; and Heather Gorby, graphic and web design.