Mic Crenshaw often fantasizes about how humans would be in a world where everyone’s biological needs were met and if they had the time to simply exist — not just working to survive.
As a long-time community activist, educator, artist and father, Crenshaw wonders how people would think and behave if humans were allowed to be fully present — this is where his activism stems from. He’s spent decades working from this vantage point, but more recently, he’s reflecting on this concept even more due to the worsening economic crisis and inflation.
“Activism is a response and a reaction to the pressure of the dehumanization of ourselves as human beings trying to survive,” Crenshaw said. “Would there be less mental illness if we were able to approach life in a way that didn’t strip us of our humanity?”
Crenshaw said he recognized injustices surrounding him as he was growing up in Chicago and Minneapolis, which greatly influenced his desire to make a positive impact.
He felt a disconnect when adults, including role models, told him to follow in their footsteps, do well in school, get a degree and a career when they appeared to be unhappy themselves, he said.
“I would be like, ‘Y’all want me to be like you? Is that what y’all are working so hard for? To be unhappy and stressed out?’” Crenshaw said. “That developed a sense of need to rebel against that.”
Hardcore punk music became a big part of how he expressed himself growing up as a result of this need to rebel.
“When I was able to see that there were subcultures that empowered young people to speak to that contradiction, whether it was through hip-hop music or hardcore punk music, and the associated political and social movements that seemed to reflect what people were saying in their art and in their music — that became something that I became drawn to and incorporated into my identity and it’s just been part of who I am ever since,” Crenshaw said.
As a teenager, he was one of the founding members of the group the Baldies, which evolved into Anti-Racist Action. The mission of this nationwide group was to take direct action against violent neo-Nazis who were physically assaulting marginalized people. This marked the beginning of his journey in activism.
Crenshaw moved to Portland in the early 1990s. He became a well-known hip-hop artist using his lyrics as a platform for his thoughts on problems facing humanity, particularly on issues relating to racial injustice.
One of the songs from Crenshaw’s most recent musical project, titled ‘Free Em All,’ features Opium Sabbah, a San Francisco-based activist and hip-hop artist.
Sabbah traveled to Portland for a weekend to film the music video after doing most of the work virtually. The song was a tribute to the Jericho Movement, an organization that supports incarcerated people they deem political prisoners. Sabbah is involved with the organization.
It was Sabbah and Crenshaw’s first time working together. Sabbah said it was refreshing.
“I really enjoyed the energy and vibe we were all exchanging in the studio,” Sabbah said. “In terms of recording and creative energy, it just flowed really easy. It almost felt like I had worked with him before but I hadn’t.
“He’s a really good artist. I can tell he’s been in the game for a long time and he knows what he’s doing.”
Adam Carpinelli is also a local musician, educator and community organizer, who has collaborated with and worked closely with Crenshaw on various creative projects including the recently released album. He also has ties with the Jericho Movement in Oregon as the national secretary, Northwest regional organizer and Oregon Jericho chapter coordinator.
He admires what Crenshaw has done for the community.
“Mic is always thoughtful, he’s always open to new ideas,” Carpinelli said. “I also like that he is prolific and always trying to take his art to the next level. He tries to get everybody uplifted. He’s done a lot of amazing things in his life and he continues to.”
More recently, among one of Crenshaw’s many projects is an autobiographical memoir. This led to another project of his, the podcast titled, “It Did Happen Here,” which “documents the fight against racist white skinheads in the 1980s and (1990s), dating back to his youth.” The skinheads were originally an anti-racist group before the racist skinhead movement emerged and gained attention in the media.
An aspect underlying most of his work is his anti-racist activism. This is not only important because of his experience as a Black man, but because white supremacy is the root of many issues today, he says. After the racial uprising in 2020, people became more conscious of racial injustices and less avoidant of the topic, but Crenshaw says Black people continue to be killed as victims of white supremacy.
“Unfortunately because of the social conditions, I don’t see the killings stopping,” Crenshaw said. “I am curious about what we as a people can do in the face of continued injustice. There’s a distinct form of racial discrimination and racial oppression in white supremacy that has shaped limitations around our lives and that is the birth of our struggle for liberation.”
Burnout
Crenshaw is engaged in these projects while also working full-time in Portland as a student success advocate, educating and working on creative projects with youth. Part of the reason he accepted this job is so that he could afford health care for himself and his daughter.
His busy schedule leaves little time for creative expression which he says is crucial for every human, especially in today’s world.
“The mental health that’s associated with being a creative and producing artistic work and the expression that’s involved is synonymous with self-care,” Crenshaw said. “I notice that when I’m able to create and focus on my art, I am generally more at peace with myself.”
However, Crenshaw feels anxious about declining any work, he says, because of the uncertainty of the future that many people are feeling today. This has resulted in 16-hour workdays.
“I’m constantly trying to create more time to work on my creative work in addition to hustling for the financial aspects,” he said. “I am a professional artist, but the creative work in and of itself doesn’t cover all of the financial bases. I have to be immersed in terms of all the different ways that I bring revenue in.”
Crenshaw tries to look at the bigger picture to understand and communicate daily issues many people are facing, including himself. The pandemic heightened issues that have been present for decades.
“So many of us are doing so much more for so much less. So many of us have been thrust out of the economy,” Crenshaw said. “We see the rise in houselessness and all the related problems — people being destitute, to addiction and mental illness — all the crises are converging.”
Despite this, he’s working toward creating peace and finding a balance for himself.
“On the one hand, the injustice continues,” Crenshaw said. On the other hand, I believe a lot of us are facing burnout and fatigue because rage is not really a sustainable state of being. At the end of the day, I ask myself, ‘was it worth it, is it worth it?’ It is as long as I have energy to keep fighting and the more weary I get, through days, months, decades, the more I need others to fight with me, because the forces aligned against us all are wearing me down. They’re wearing us all down.”
In Crenshaw’s newest project, ‘Take the Power Back,’ he blends folk music and hip-hop for the first time in his musical career. The album was made in collaboration with controversial folk artist David Rovics.
Rovics, a figure in leftist music for decades, has been accused of antisemitism due to support for controversial jazz musician and author Gilad Atzmon. Rovics also interviewed Matthew Heimbach, co-founder of a neo-Nazi group found guilty of civil conspiracy by a jury for aiding in the organizing of the deadly 2017 Unite the Right white nationalist event in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rovics denies accusations of antisemitism and addressed his ties to both men on multiple occasions, including an apology for interviewing Heimbach, though he maintains his support for Atzmon's work as a writer and musician. Crenshaw said he doesn’t agree with accusations that Rovics is an antisemite or Holocaust denier, but also said it’s not his job to defend Rovics or explain his actions. Crenshaw said his choice to work with Rovics is based on his personal experience.
“He told me he (interviewed Heimbach) because he wanted to use his platform to understand what the ‘other side’ was thinking,” Crenshaw told Street Roots in a statement. “David stated to me that he felt that, if there was ever to be a successful, revolutionary, mass movement for social change in this society, that people were going to have to come together based on what they have in common and overcome divisions based on demographic differences. I agree with this, by the way.
“David has been a friend, colleague and comrade for close to 20 years, but he is not me.” (Read the full statement here)
Crenshaw’s experimentation with blending folk music and hip-hop is yet another example of a musical catalog fueled by varied influences and eclectic taste.
Crenshaw’s creative drive and prolific artistic output don’t show any signs of slowing, nor does his involvement in activism and education. While balancing daily life struggles and creativity, Crenshaw continues to fight against the injustices he sees and is positioning himself to be part of a better world for himself and those around him.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify a sentence regarding David Rovics' support of Gilad Atzmon's work as a writer and musician. This story has been updated to correct where Opium Sabbah is from. The previous version said he was from Oakland.