Academy Award-winning actor and three-time Grammy recipient Common is heading to Bakersfield next week to inspire Kern County youth to be socially active by using their voices to advocate for healthy and inclusive communities.
Bakersfield is the first stop in Common’s “Imagine Justice’s Hope & Redemption Tour: Central Valley.”
“This work and this tour is deeply rooted in my love for people and my commitment to helping create a world where we all can thrive,” the hip hop artist, actor, activist, film producer and poet said. “I believe that all of us deserve the tools, access, resources and opportunities needed to navigate our lives and cultivate our best selves.”
The tour, in partnership with The California Endowment, Building Healthy Communities-Kern and the Anti Recidivism Coalition (ARC), is kicking off with a youth town hall next week in Bakersfield, where youth will talk about the challenges they face, what they’re doing to create a healthy Kern County and how they can team up with Common to create real, positive change.
South Kern Sol’s youth reporter JaNell Gore will moderate the event with Common.
After his stop in Bakersfield, Common will visit and perform inside three different prisons in three days throughout California’s Central Valley to instill hope, love and humanity in the men and women who are incarcerated.
“I’m very grateful to go on this journey again with our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated and engage youth leaders in California as we embark on ‘Imagine Justice’s Hope & Redemption Tour: Central Valley,'” Common said.
Common will also speak to youth in Fresno, Merced and Stockton. He hopes to encourage youth to transform their communities by raising their voices and voting.
Please note that this event is by invitation only. It is not open to the public.