Essmaa Litim is a multi-faceted artist and activist. She is a poet, author, and community organizer who has been promoting change and raising awareness on societal issues like disparities within the autistic community, racial equity, and gentrification through her writing for many years. Essmaa released her first book in 2021, Speechless, in an effort to raise awareness on the topics of immigration, Autism, and the intersectionality of adversity between the two. She has since collaborated with organizations like AANE, Ivy Street School, and Tasium to bring the annual event Art in Autism at the Bruce C. Bolling Center which debuted last Summer. As a first-generation American, Essmaa continues to work hard to help build the community that helped build her through believing it, speaking it, and being it. 

"In order to grow, we must water ourselves. In order for change, we must water each other." - E.L