Michaela Gaffke/Winonan

Educator and rapper Toki Wright traveled to Winona State University to work with local college, high school and middle school student musicians last week.

The program was part of the Mid West Music Fest’s “Sounds Like School” initiative to create engaging activities that help students connect with musicians, learn how to perform live and establish an appreciation for music.

Wright is the department chair for the hip-hop program at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. He has been creating music since he was 15 years old. Wright runs an entertainment company called Soul Tools Entertainment.

Wright spent three days with a small group of students. His time in Winona began with workshops and ended with a performance in East Hall.

He said he strives for creating deep connections with students and having real dialogue. He worked with students from Winona State University, St. Mary’s University, Cotter High School and Riverway Learning Community. The workshops and performance were part of Winona State’s theme of “Equity as a Human Right: Building Inclusive Community.”

He had students free write during the first day of the workshop, then they got into groups and each group had to create a rap with what they wrote during their free write time.

There were no qualifications for which students were able to participate.

The concert included student performances along with a performance from Wright.

The student groups that performed were Soul Sisters, Forgiveness, Styrofoam Takeout Box, Nebulous and Blastoff, with a total of 12 students.

Every performance had a theme around the question: “What is a bold statement that you can make?” which Wright asked the students in the beginning of the workshops.

Director of the Mid West Music Fest Parker Forsell commented on the workshops.

“It all starts with an idea, then collaboration, and that is what happened the last three days,” Forsell said.

Wright also held a “Casual Conversation with Toki Wright” presentation during his time here.

Wright spoke about his music being personal, and how it can be both uplifting and painful.

He also discussed living as a black man in Minnesota.

“It has come to the point that saying black makes people uncomfortable,” Wright said.

Wright asked the audience how many black people were on TV before the first black president and what roles they were playing.

He mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement, and stated that of course all lives matter, but black lives need to be treated with more respect than they currently are.

Jacob Grippen, Chair of the Mid West Music Board, the Education Board and the Human Rights Commission for Winona and Winona County attended the presentation.

Grippen asked Wright how people who are not of color could become better allies.

Wright said white people need to be more aware about what other white people say and what they do.

Wright said it is normal to walk into a store and everyone is white, but people would be alarmed if they walked into a store and everyone was black.

“It is an interesting way to live…when you are aware,” Wright said.