Today we’d like to introduce you to Arielle Martinez Cohen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Arielle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been singing ever since I can remember. When I was nine years old, I joined the West Los Angeles Children’s choir and with them, I was able to sing background vocals for artists like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Foster the People, Linda Perry, Frank Ocean, and Imagine Dragons, and I also appeared on shows like the Conan O’Brien Show, the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and The Talk.
When I was 13, I started writing my own songs and I attended a few songwriting camps and workshops with the Grammy Foundation. As I was learning more about songwriting, I found it challenging to find topics to write about. I was 13! I didn’t know what love was, so I couldn’t write meaningful love songs. I ended up writing about the things I witnessed or learned about in the world. I would write about an article I saw in the news or a memory from childhood.
Then, in 2016, Donald Trump got elected president and the whole dynamic of our country changed. And in 2018, the Parkland shooting happened and I saw other people my age taking action against gun violence. At first, I didn’t know how to get involved. I had never organized an event before and didn’t think I could contribute. But, after seeing the Parkland shooting on TV and writing a song about it called “Why,” I figured that I would just contribute how I knew best: with music. I reached out to some of the organizers of the March in Los Angeles and ended up performing my song at the March for our Lives March. I also made some great friends along the way and learned a lot more about organizing.
Since then, I’ve continued to write songs about topics that I care about. When I heard about the Doomsday Clock put on by an organization called the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, founded by Albert Einstein, I wrote a song called “Two Minutes to Midnight.” I donated the song to The Bulletin and volunteered as their social media intern for a few months. When climate change-induced drought in California caused Fires to threaten my home in Los Angeles, I wrote a song called, “The Fire,” about it. When Greta Thunberg started striking for the climate every Friday, I organized the first major climate strike in Los Angeles on March 15th, 2019, and performed an original song called “We Rise.”
Now, I’m the Director of a Music Team at Zero Hour, a youth-led organization for climate justice. Our Music Team is dedicated to writing music to inspire people to join the climate justice movement and take action!
But, at the end of the day, it’s not about me, the work I do, or the songs I write. The only thing that’s really important is the impact that my actions make.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
During quarantine, a lot of things have gotten a lot harder in regards to activism and organizing. For one, public demonstrations are really dangerous due to COVID-19. Specifically, within the climate justice movement, we have had to change a lot of the tactics we use to create change. Instead of organizing global strikes like we used to, we ended up organizing a 3-day virtual livestream for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020 instead.
It has also been both physically and emotionally challenging to organize online. We are now sitting on Zoom calls all day trying to talk about new campaigns and coordinate logistics for events. It is also harder to connect with other activists online. It can be frustrating and draining to be an activist at times, as we are constantly hearing bad news in the media and we are not always successful in the work that we do. Currently, it is harder to connect with other activists in a meaningful way on video calls.
More generally speaking, another challenge I’ve faced throughout my time as a musician and activist is burnout. As I said before, being an activist can be frustrating and draining. But, it’s hard for me to remember to take a day off when I need to because it can feel selfish to take breaks. Recently, I’ve been struggling with mental health, but I am slowly learning how to better care for myself. I realize that it is not selfish to practice self-care, but instead, it is a practice that will allow me to contribute more to the social movements I am working for. And, as the amazing Audre Lorde has said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” When we all realize that self-care is actually productive and necessary, we’ll be able to build more sustainable social movements.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I describe myself as a creative activist, a term which was coined by a Malibu-based organization called Creative Visions. My goal is essentially to use music to both document events and social movements and to inspire people to take action. Currently, I work as the Music Director of Zero Hour to write songs about climate justice. I am also starting an internship at Folkways Recordings, a not-for-profit record label at the Smithsonian. Also, I’m excited about new projects coming up, including a virtual concert in Fall 2020, put on by Zero Hour to encourage young people to become civically engaged!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Although organizing has thrown some major curve balls my way, it has also allowed me to do and experience some incredible things.
I have never been more proud and inspired than when I sang in front of the 200,000 marchers at the March For Our Lives in Los Angeles. I don’t even know how to describe it. I guess the only thing I can think to compare it to is a music concert. There’s something so powerful, heartbreaking, and invigorating in singing with thousands of other people who all believe in the same thing you do. All of the bad news in the world; all of the people and organizations fighting against your right to survive; all of it just melts away and you’re left with this awesome energy but also lightness, like a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders, even if only for a couple of hours. That day, I realized the true power of music to change the world.
I felt that same inspiration and power during the first major climate strike in Los Angeles, which took place in front of the steps at City Hall. There was one moment in particular that I will never forget. The rally had just started, and only about a hundred people were there, and all of a sudden, a huge wave of students, parents, and teachers came marching and chanting and everyone cheered. It was beautiful.
Contact Info:
- Website: ariellemartinezcohen.com
- Phone: 310-208-9678
- Email: ariellemartinezcohen@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Glenn Zucman
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