For issues on climate change, prison reform, civil rights, and beyond, the world needs more intersectional activists. With her words and passion, queer, multiracial Filipina American, Isabella “Isa” Borgeson (she/they) is a beacon for intersectional activism especially for climate change and prison reform. The Oakland-based poet, activist, and community organizer uses her poetic voice as a means to educate and mobilize people on important and often uncomfortable issues.
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Following the destruction of her mother’s Phillipino hometown by super typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda in 2013, Isa became deeply involved in grassroots environmental activism and rehabilitation projects for the area. For two years, she worked in the city of Tanauan to better the situation. As a result, her poetry reflects her lived experiences of physically, mentally, and emotionally rebuilding after the natural disaster. Her ocean-centric verses, filled with both beauty and destruction, drive home the dire need for change and action.
In 2015, Isa was one of four poets in the world to speak at the United Nations Climate Change negotiations in Paris for the twenty-first Conference of Parties (COP21). She addressed global leaders with her poem “Yolanda Winds,” a story about the devastation her mother’s city faced after the typhoon uprooted families and turned childhood basketball courts into mass graves.
Her poem displayed not only the results of a terrible storm but the storm of events that led political leaders to dismiss the crisis and turn a blind eye. After all, they were not white bodies ravaged by typhoons being zipped up in body bags.
The poet, unafraid to make listeners and readers uncomfortable, paints real images of struggle. She calls for people to pay attention to the needs of others and identifies what privilege lies behind her blue passport.
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in her hometown of Oakland, Isa’s emphasis on climate change continues, but the queer activist dives into a wider range of equitable and inclusive topics.
In 2016, she co-founded The Root Slam, an “inclusive, socially-just space to promote the artistic growth of the Bay Area poetry community,” where, today, she remains an active member. The organization offers a place for people’s voices to be heard regardless of gender, race, sexuality, immigration status, and ability. It challenges artists to support one another and to pursue excellence in both their organizing and art.
Most recently, the 2018 Best New Poet fought for change in the American prison system, particularly in regard to protecting inmates from the COVID-19 pandemic. On Instagram and Twitter, she spoke out against issues like overcrowding and prison transfers, which unnecessarily put people at risk for greater exposure to the virus.
In August of 2020, a podcast from Oakland’s Ella Baker Center, entitled “Jails, Prisons, and the Pandemic,” featured Isa where she spoke on behalf of the Stop San Quentin Outbreak Coalition. She outlined how dire the situation had become and reported that by August 5, 2020, nearly two-thirds of the inmates in the San Quentin State prison tested positive for COVID-19, a consequence of the relocation of inmates from another California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) detention facility in May.
Isa’s commitment to speaking on behalf of those whose voices go unheard and her ability to use her poetry as a tool, make her an impactful community organizer. She empowers those around her to speak loudly and often and to fight for causes no matter how desperate the situation.
Instagram: @isaborgeson
Twitter: @isaborgeson
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