Naima Shalhoub is a Lebanese American vocalist, songwriter, and educator for social justice. A former educator in the public school system, Naima spent a year facilitating weekly “Music and Freedom with incarcerated women in San Francisco County Jail, ultimately recording her first album, Live in San Francisco County Jail. Many of the women participated in recording the album and shared their poetry and stories in hopes that this project could join the movement toward Prison Abolition. For Naima, music and song can be used to uplift and illuminate the search for freedom, dignity, and personal healing, while working alongside social movements toward liberation and transformation.
“There are millions of people behind bars that need us to remember them and to do our work to break cycles of isolation, confinement and injustice. I believe music is a powerful tool to enable healing, bridge-building, and to remember what collective freedom could feel like.” – Naima Shalhoub