Race in the Real World - Healing Through Hip-Hop with Tomás Alvarez III

CNN Hero and US Ashoka Fellow, Tomás Alvarez, is a champion for a new mental health paradigm that focuses on wellbeing and empowers youth to become change makers in their community and beyond. For the last 12 years he has been using Hip-Hop Therapy to promote positive mental health outcomes among marginalized and underserved youth. As a clinically trained social worker he developed one of the first Hip-Hop Therapy programs in 2004 and served as the founding CEO of the Oakland-based nonprofit Beats, Rhymes and Life, Incorporated. Tomás' work has inspired individuals and groups around the world to adopt (and adapt) Hip-Hop Therapy as a tool to cultivate mental health among youth. Through his new social venture, the Hip-Hop Therapy Global Institute (HHTGI), Tomás is developing an open-action platform (www.hiphoptherapy.org) to empower a new generation of leaders to inspire wellbeing through Hip-Hop.