Tariq Touré is a poet and native son of West Baltimore that has produced art reaching across hearts and continents.

 

ART
Touré's poetry and prose has been featured in award winning publications such as Muslim Matters, Salon, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, The Nation Magazine and Sapelo Square. 

Black Seeds, Toure's debut collection of poetry ranked among the top in African American Poetry and Literature releases in Black History month on Amazon and was the winner of Best Poetry Book of Baltimore in 2016 by City Paper Magazine. Touré has been a featured lecturer/performer at Howard University, Princeton University, Georgetown University, among many others. He has been regarded by legendary hip hop artist Black Thought as the Amiri Baraka of our era. Imam Omar Suleiman has identified Tariq as a vessel of the Muslim community. 

Toure is a 2020 winner of a Short Film award from the Center for Global Muslim Life for his film Dear Beloved Son.

In 2017, Toure's writing was contributed to Gordon Parks' Fellow and Times Magazine featured Photojournalist Devin Allen's book and exhibit, A Beautiful Ghetto which was nominated for an NAACP image award. Touré is the author of 2 Parts Oxygen, his sophomore collection exploring faith, family, and fatherhood. 

Executive director of the Muslim Wellness Foundation Kameelah Rashad calls 2 Parts Oxygen an "Emotional Tour de Force."

ADVOCACY
Since 2008, Touré has worked administratively for programs with at-risk populations in the Baltimore and D.C. region. Touré is the former Vice President of MEN (Male Enterprise Network) an organization created in 2013 to foster better professional relationships among male minority professionals.

Under MEN, Touré was the curator of the flagship event, MENPAS (MEN Professional Athlete Summit), developed to better position minority athletes for careers beyond physical play.  Touré holds a Master's of Social Work in Community Administration and Policy from Howard University.

ENGAGEMENT
Touré has maintained a significant online presence among millennial thinkers steering conversations and thought on critical issues amassing on average 3.5 Million impressions monthly throughout Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Touré co-facilitated with national organization Muslim ARC, the internet dialogue under the hashtag #BlackInMSA, highlighting issues of exclusion in Muslim Student Associations. Touré is also the author of hashtag #NoJusticeNoLeBron and #OlympicSitout, both used to convey the power of athletes in discourse around social issues.

AWARDS & HONORS

  • Short film Award, Center for Global Muslim Life

  • Alumni Excellence Award, Bowie State University

  • American Muslim Civic Leadership (AMCLI) Alumni

  • MPower100's Muslims fighting for Social Justice, MPower Change

  • HuffPost NUR 25, Huffington Post

  • HBCU Top 30 under 30 Alumni, HBCU Buzz

  • Best Poetry Book of the Year 2016, Baltimore City Paper

  • Black Book list must-have, Black Creatives Network

  • LaunchGooder of the Week, Launch Good

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