HoC: Adam Martinez
Humans of Chaffey
Photo of Professor Adam Martinez
An 11-year-old Chicano boy grew up in San Bernardino, California and found himself inspired by rap music and his rooted Chicano culture. He took his inspirations and embedded them into his identity, first for music streaming platforms and later for the classroom. To his students he's known as professor Martinez, to his listeners on Spotify or Apple Music he's known as FaimKills. He is co-founder and editor of Pour Vida, a digital literary zine. 2019 Inlandia Institute Hillary Gravendyk Regional Winner Adam Daniel Martinez is a published writer, poet, rapper, musician and professor of English at Chaffey College.
Being surrounded by what felt like turmoil growing up, Martinez used music as a therapeutic escape. Unknowingly, it turned into something more than just a coping mechanism; it paved the way for personal success and fulfillment. He performed his first show as a freshly graduated alumni at the University of Riverside on Oct. 8, 2008.
From that point on, he knew that he wanted to voice his inner-child's dream of becoming a rapper. Throughout his education experience, teachers sparked what would be his new found love for poetry. Hip-hop artists who would go into the field of academia granted him the idea of being able to intertwine his passions with one another.
Teaching a poetry workshop towards the end of grad school at Chapman University was the turning point for him. He was determined to merge his love for rap with his newfound passion of becoming an educator. His journey of being an educator commenced in 2016 at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. Martinez says:
"I really fell in love with it... Performing for that decade really prepared me for being in front of a group of 30 people and trying to captivate their attention for an hour. It was a smooth transition in that way."
As an educator, he has learned the diversity within students' learning styles and ensures that content is understandable and manageable for each student. Martinez focuses on breaking down the work in a way that addresses questions that could potentially be asked, especially with online learning.
His love for rap music is his method of being able break down barriers and communicate with students who identify with rap music. Art, hip-hop and poetry are incorporated into the English curriculum by integrating voices and articles from the genre. Artists like Morrissey, Kanye West and "Slug" Atmosphere were all inspirations for his poetry and music.
However, he addresses how he felt about Morrissey, Kanye West and "Slug" Atmosphere's individual outlooks rather than just their musical personas. He describes his relationship with each individual musician as: complicated. Martinez mentions Morrissey having xenophobic views, but a large Chicano fan base. Kanye West and his proximity to ideologies that don't seem to fit human rights for all. Lastly, "Slug" Atmosphere the co-founder of Rhymesayers, an important indie rap label, that has recently had many accusations of misogyny against its male artists.
Given that, it complicated forming his own identity as he formally idolized their work and personas. Through the interview he discovered that as a musician it could be a factor why he has these viewpoints amongst his idols; he would want to be perceived as a whole, not just by his lyrics.
Martinez further explains, "I've struggled with whether or not to take down my music because now I'm a professor, but I feel like that would be falsifying my identity because you can clearly see how I've grown as a human in the music."
Martinez is a strong advocate of self-care and discussed the benefits of therapy taking a positive toll on the heart, mind and soul. Unfortunately, lower socioeconomic communities may have a different outlook on therapy. As a part of the LatinX community, Martinez knows therapy is often looked down upon and the idea of weathering the storm is the only way to get through hard work. As a first-generation college graduate, perseverance is important, but taking care of one's own mental and physical health is just as significant.
As a college student, Martinez began to understand himself not only mentally, but his selfhood as a Chicano and what that meant to him. He never thought of his identity being a major role in the ways that it would impact him until he took a Chicano studies course. In order to understand his heritage he assimilated what he was exposed to as a child.
He thinks of what he saw growing up in the '90s, the cholo culture. That often involved the influence of Motown music and low-riders. He often feels as if there were a hole in his heart and spirit by not having an interconnectedness with his roots, almost as if he's missing something. He was not taught how to speak Spanish and when he tried to learn Spanish, he was often made fun of because of his heavy American accent. Martinez states:
"I think it comes from the whole moment of assimilation. There's a certain point where parents felt this is going to be easier for you if you learn English first, people are going to be less mean to you and there's going to be more opportunities."
This semester, Martinez is teaching a LatinX literature course and asks the question of how each student identifies themselves. It is important to him to hear what students have to say about inclusion, each answer that is said allows room for discussion. He keeps in mind to understand that not everyone identifies under the same identification as him just because they share the same skin color. With that, he strongly believes in the power of language because it has the ability to alter or heighten the meaning of what is being said.
"School in general, but especially in higher education it should be a space to explore your identity and learn something about yourself. For me, as an educator, that's more important to me, definitely more important to me than grammar I'll tell you that," Martinez shares.
Martinez owes much of his personal success and growth to higher education, he values every single one of his experiences. His poetry thesis from Chapman University for his master's degree,"Remyth: A Postmodernist Ritual" will be published in February 2021. Today, he continues to instill inspiration among his students and encourages the journey of finding one's true-self. Martinez says:
"Continue to grow."