tokiMid West Music Fest, in partnership with the WSU Equity Theme, will host Sounds Like School, a Hip-Hop and Spoken Word performance featuring local high school and college students, at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the East Hall of Kryzsko Commons. The performance is free and open to the public.

Students from Cotter, Winona Senior High School, Saint Mary’s University, WSU and Riverway Learning Community, will participate in a workshop with Toki Wright Oct. 21-22 to prepare for the performance.

Wright is the Department Chair for the Hip-Hop program at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minn. Wright was raised in a Buddhist household and immersed himself in Black History, world culture and community work. His awareness of the diverse world is translated through his content driven music, and his performance credits include Soundfest, Coachella, CMJ, Bumbershoot, Paid Dues, Scribble Jam and SXSW. Wright is a thoughtful and important voice prepared to educate and challenge as well as entertain.

The visit is in collaboration with WSU’s theme of equity and is cosponsored by WSU Music Business Club, the WSU Student Senate, KQAL, Winona Human Rights Commission, SMU Student Activities, KSMR, FORTITUDE, Cotter High School, Riverway Learning Community, Winona National Bank, and Horton, Inc.

This event is part of WSU’s 2015-16 University Theme, Equity as a Human Right: Building Inclusive Community. Equity as a Human Right is about upholding people’s rights, valuing diversity, challenging intolerance, and making institutional change around issues of social justice. For WSU and its communities, partnering around a university theme has proven to be an effective strategy for bringing faculty, staff, students, and community members to the engagement table. The year-long focus will enable students, faculty, staff, and members of the wider Winona and Rochester communities to explore the intersections of identities, cultures, and abilities.

For more information contact Jacob Grippen at Jacob@midwestmusicfest.org.