Imaginary Borders

By Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

“An inspiring story that will change the way all of us think about the climate crisis – and how we can solve it.” — Van Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Green Collar Economy and Rebuild the Dream, and co-founder of Dream Corps

“A hopeful, well-argued book on climate change written in a refreshing new voice.”– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

In this personal, moving essay, environmental activist and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez uses his art and his activism to show that climate change is a human issue that can’t be ignored.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In this installment, Earth Guardians Youth Director and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez shows us how his music feeds his environmental activism and vice versa. Martinez visualizes a future that allows us to direct our anger, fear, and passion toward creating change. Because, at the end of the day, we all have a part to play.

Ages 12 and up
Paperback | 64 pages | Penguin Workshop | 2020

Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.

Earth Guardians Youth Director Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (first name pronounced “Shoe-Tez-Caht”) is a nineteen-year-old indigenous climate activist, hip-hop artist, and powerful voice on the front lines of a global youth-led environmental movement. At the early age of six, Xiuhtezcatl began speaking around the world, from the United Nations Summit in Rio de Janeiro to addressing the UN General Assembly in New York.

His work has been featured on major media platforms, such as PBS, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Vogue, The Daily Show, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, CNN, HBO, VICE, and more.

He has received significant international awards, including the 2013 United States Community Service Award from President Obama, and was the youngest of twenty-four national change-makers chosen to serve on the President’s youth council.

Xiuhtezcatl is the author of We Rise and is also reaching his generation through hip-hop. He released his first EP, Broken, and his first album, Break Free, in 2018.