Nikkita Oliver, a powerhouse Seattle educator, artist, attorney, boxer, musician, mentor and organizer, will speak and perform twice on Vashon next week — once for youth and once for a general audience.

At both appearances, accompanied by two musicians, she’ll tell stories and talk about the transformative power of storytelling, as well as perform passages from her book of poetry, “Pebbles in my Shoes.”

Her first stop, at 1 p.m. Friday, June 7, at Vashon Center for the Arts, will be a presentation called “The Power of Story.” Her audience will be made up of students from Vashon’s Harbor School and McMurray Middle School. A talk-back session will allow the students to have a dialogue with Oliver. Home-schooled youth are also encouraged to attend and may do so by reserving a seat at info@vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Oliver’s presentation for a general audience will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, June 7, in the Fellowship Hall of the Vashon Presbyterian Church, and will be more focused on the content of “Pebbles in my Shoes.” Admission for the evening performance is $15 for adults and $5 for youth, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Advance tickets are available at nikkitaoliver.brownpapertickets.com.

Oliver became a household name in 2017, with her bid for Seattle mayor as the first political candidate of the Seattle People’s Party. Her campaign narrowly missed the general election by approximately 1,100 votes, coming in third of 21 candidates.

But Oliver has long been acclaimed in Seattle for her creative and impactful work in the intersections of the arts, law, education and community organizing.

After the mayoral race, Oliver stayed in the spotlight with her activism opposing a new youth jail in Seattle. She is a case manager for Creative Justice, an arts program aimed at transforming the criminal legal system and at providing space for young people to be self-empowered and self-determined. She is also the co-creator, with Nikki Etienne and Dj Rise, of the Ringside, a monthly poetry slam and artist showcase. She has opened for Cornel West and Chuck D of Public Enemy, performed on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert and has been featured on The Breakfast Club and KUOW’s “The Week in Review.” Her writing and poetry have been widely published, and she has won multiple championships in the Seattle Poetry Slam. She is also the recipient of the Seattle Office of Civil Rights Artist Human Rights Leader Award.

Reached by phone, Oliver said that the message at both of her Vashon appearances will be the same.

“Art has the capacity to bridge people’s hearts,” Oliver said. “Cultural work helps us shift cultures [and] policies.”

Hosted by the coalition that produced Vashon’s January’s Martin Luther King celebration (Harbor School Race Equity Committee, Vashon Artist in Schools and Vashon-Maury Showing Up for Racial Justice), Oliver comes to Vashon with material that addresses not only Black lives, but also how art can illuminate the impacts of oppression in general. She has worked with youth in a wide range of educational settings and is eager to share her experiences and insights with teens on Vashon.

“All young people are dealing with oppression,” she said, “some from being oppressed and some from realizing they’re the oppressors.”

Her goal, she said, is to empower youth to explore their creative gifts and discover their personal power to build the world they most need to see.

“Young people are more willing to engage with new ideas,” she said. “Change is a choice.”

In her evening performance, Oliver said she will expose her audience to her experience, which is not one of white privilege.

“Their stories will be my stories — the effects of white supremacy and white classism,” she said.

Leah Mann, an islander on the Harbor School Race Equity Committee who has also been instrumental in founding a spoken word club, “Just Speak,” for local teens, said she was moved to bring Oliver to Seattle after hearing her speak in Seattle.

“During her talk, [Oliver] said “justice is what love looks like, and justice is just us,” Mann said. “I wanted to bring that energy to Vashon.”

— Susan McCabe contributed to this story.