Detroit · Gaza · and Beyond
Tariq
Luthun.
Building deep, meaningful relationships and crafting powerful narratives is central to Tariq Luthun's impactful work. For over a decade, he has been a leader at the intersection of story and strategy, pairing his expertise as an insights-driven professional with his background as a decorated storyteller to keep his finger on the pulse of what clients and communities seek. His practice translates into tangible results, whether its mobilizing thousands, leading institutions through transformation, or developing cultural infrastructure that endures.
Community & Movement
Building coalitions.
Transforming institutions.
Upholding accountability.
Tariq has spent almost two decades working to build power that lasts beyond the protest. From co-founding Michigan's Palestinian Youth Movement chapter to mobilizing thousands in DC partnership with organizations like Rising Majority; from leading efforts at the United Nations to emboldening African, Indigenous, and Palestinian solidarity in Cuba — his praxis is intentional, relational, and shaped by a desire for radical transparency.
"Tell no lies, claim no easy victories."— AmÃlcar Cabral
2020 – present
Defund & End the Occupation Coalitions
Supported grassroots coalitions and orgs like Rising Majority, M4BL, ACCESS, and AROC during the reckoning around US racial injustice, and later in response to the genocide being waged on Gaza. Strengthened solidarity between Black and SWANA communities while mass community activations, from DC to Dubai. All the while, engaged in tangible organizing like fundraising events, local boycott initiatives, and supporting national political campaigns like the Uncomitted Movement.
Thousands
mobilized through unique actions across diverse spaces globally
2019 – present
Disability Justice
Co-founded the Detroit-based Collective for Disability Justice focused on accessibility infrastructure. Secured over $40k in grant funding, helped lead the Black Disabled Lives Matter protest, and worked directly with public officials on policy reform. Ongoing efforts in the space include being the Global Community Chair of his current employer's multinational employee resource group, and serving as a consultant on accessibility and inclusion in the workplace and the arts.
Informed Leadership
policy advocacy across Detroit systems
2009 – present
Palestinian Liberation
Use poetry as a vehicle for education and awareness, illustrating the realities of Palestinians to a broader audience in a consumable, narrative fashion and leveraging the speaker circuit to empower and mobilize youth across campuses. Also co-founded the Michigan chapter of PYM, and built collective leadership, organizational structure, and campaign strategy for Palestinian solidarity in Michigan and beyond.
17+ years
sustained leadership in Palestinian solidarity efforts
Dec 2025
Cuba — African, Indigenous & Palestinian Brigade
Participated in the 53rd Venceremos Brigade — the first-ever delegation to center African, Indigenous, and Palestinian solidarity. Served as speaker and consultant, building international ties between liberation movements during a moment of escalating U.S. aggression. Have since been doing local and national work on solidarity with the Cuban people.
Historic
one of the first delegations of its kind, yiedling an ongoing relationship in struggle
2023 – 2025
Kundiman: Crisis Leadership & Governance Transformation
Led accountability and restructuring campaign following catastrophic leadership failure by the board of a prestigious Asian American literary nonprofit. Secured a precedent-contributing legal settlement addressing anti-Palestinian discrimination and subsequent workplace retaliation. Facilitated decision-making protocol refinement and adoption of a new governance model.
Salvaged & Rebuilt
a literary home from the ground up while setting meaningful legal precedent
Nov 2023
United Nations — COP28
Invited as a keynote speaker participating in talks and panels highlighting the environmental impacts of what's happening in Gaza for the world at-large. Led civil society through coordinated actions including a vigil reading, visual installations, and protest march. Related Gaza, Sudan, the Congo, and Detroit to ensure that international solidarity remained central on the global climate stage, and continue to leverage my platform to this day.
Solidarity
built globally across climate justice space through tangible actions and discourse
Artistic Practice
The poem as a tool.
The stage as a vehicle.
Actions speak louder than words, but words are the genesis of all action. Poetry offers texture to the often-biased reportage we are left with. The stories and conversations we share with one another help us visualize the world we set into motion. As a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellow — one of the highest honors for early-career artists in American poetry — and a Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow, Tariq has developed an artistic practice rooted in community and tangible action. As a Detroit-born, Dearborn-raised son of immigrants from Gaza, he draws on the enduring power of local grassroots narratives he was shaped by: Black, Arab, Muslim, Immigrant, and Working Class.
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Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellow
The Poetry Foundation, 2022 — one of the highest honors in American poetry
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Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow
Kresge Foundation, 2021 — recognition of significant artistic contribution to Detroit
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Kundiman Fellow
Kundiman, 2022–2024 — national organization for Asian American literature
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Emmy Award Winner
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — Michigan chapter, 2016
Recognized for Best PSA for video poem commissioned by Mott Children's Hospital -
MFA in Poetry
Warren Wilson College Program for Writers, 2018
Recent Panels & Performances
Socialism Conference, 2025 Heaven Looks Like Us — Reading and Panel Discussion
AWP, 2025 The Personal is Always Political
Empower Youth, 2024 The Role of Youth in Times of War and Conflict
United Nations COP28, 2023 Climate Action Network Updates on the Negotiations
Interviews
NPR's Codeswitch, 2023 "Two Palestinian American Writers on Being Denied the 'Right to a Story'"
Bread & Poetry, 2023 "A Community of Breads and Writing Freedom with Tariq Luthun"
Poetry Magazine Podcast, 2022 "Su Cho and Tariq Luthun on Joy, Apocalypse, Crying, and Pokemon"
Arab American National Museum Al-Hadiqa, 2023 "Tariq Luthun — Full Oral History"
Residencies
Banff Centre for the Arts Alberta, Canada · Sept 2025
Château d'Orquevaux Orquevaux, France · Aug 2023
Vermont Studio Center Johnson, VT · May 2023
Voice & Narration
Michigan Medicine Wrote and narrated Emmy award-winning video poem for Mott Children's Hospital
UNRWA Narrated donation campaign for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
The Glia Project Tutorial narration for open-source medical device project
"Actions may speak louder than words,
but words are the genesis of all action."
Debut Chapbook — Available Now
How The Water
Holds Me
Bull City Press · Durham, NC · 2020
Editors' Selection — Frost Place Poetry Prize
Selected from thousands of entrants. A collection navigating diaspora, memory, and the weight of carrying a people inside your body.
Featured In
(National Public Radio)
(National Basketball Association)
Poetry Foundation
Strategic & Corporate Leadership
Data-informed.
Narrative-driven.
Systems built to last.
As a Data Architecture Manager, Tariq leads a cross-functional coalition of skill teams ranging from 20-30 colleagues of different leadership levels across a prominent multinational automaker* as he works to modernize and automate the Finance data landscape to a cloud-first architecture yielding highly relevant data products providing actionable insights and millions in cost savings. Prior to that, he held roles as a Data Engineering Lead and Data Strategist, working to distill the needs of his clients internally and externally into tangible deliverables and execute.
Before joining his current employer, as Senior Data Consultant at OneMagnify, Luthun worked with Ford Motor Company in their Third-Party Data team. In that role, he facilitated the relationship between the Global Data, Insights, and Analytics division and third party entities, working to research, acquire, and ingest third-party data for internal product development. Prior to that, he worked at Doner Advertising Agency, where he wove data analysis with creative storytelling to develop strategy for 20+ global brands — measuring the precise point where story meets return on investment, and communicating that in a digestible format for stakeholders.
Data Architecture Manager — Finance Data
Multinational Automaker* · Metro Detroit, MI
Senior Data Consultant
OneMagnify · Detroit, MI
Data Strategist
Doner Advertising Agency · Southfield, MI
30+
Colleagues Led
From engineers to internal clients, his leadership, consultation, and product designs span a wide range of stakeholders and collaborators
$ Millions
Efficiency Impact
Supported multiple workstreams across Supply Chain and Finance, driving significant cost savings annually
100+
Data Products
Managed and delivered enterprise-wide
20+
Global Brands
Analyzed and strategized for across industries
Education
MS, Business Analytics
University of Michigan–Dearborn · Dean's List
BA, Psychology · Minor: Political Economy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Honoree
Ford 30 Under 30 Finalist
Recognized among Ford's top emerging talent despite not being a direct employee
DEI Strategy & Leadership
Standing Up DEI Functions
Co-founded the first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion councils at two consecutive employers — Doner Advertising and then OneMagnify — shaping culture, programming, business strategy, and recruitment at each organization from the ground up.
Accessibility & Gov. Affairs
Inclusion & Access
Currently consulting current employer on government affairs pertaining to accessibility — bridging disability justice expertise with corporate policy to ensure compliance, equity, and meaningful inclusion across organizational practices.
* Current employer is hidden in order to maintain personal safety.
Please inquire for detailed resume.
Events & Cultural Infrastructure
Built rooms
that didn't exist.
Then filled them.
The institutions and events Tariq has created are not hobbies, but a natural extension of his commitment to the architecture of cultural power itself. From directing the Rustbelt Poetry Festival to co-founding multiple reading series, leading literary boards, and representing his community at international convenings, he builds immersive experiences that function as narrative platforms and relationship infrastructure. Through his work as an artist and a facilitator, he has had the honor of sharing stages with some of the most influential cultural and political figures of our time such as Kehlani, Cornell West, Rahma Zein, Omar Offendum, Rashida Tlaib, Omar Suleiman, Theaster Gates, and more.
Ongoing
Universities · Conferences · Media
Featured at countless universities. Panelist at AWP, COP28, Socialism Conference, and EMPOWER Youth Conference in Doha, Qatar. NPR, Poetry Magazine Podcast, and mainstream media coverage.
2018–2026
The Offing Literary Magazine
Served as Vice President and Treasurer after a stint as an editor. Shaped strategic direction and financial stewardship of an internationally recognized literary publication. Devised the "Refuse" series for re-platforming work when original venues were misaligned with artists' values.
2023–Present
Kundiman Fellows Council
Elected member leading governance transformation and worked to facilitate building a new membership structure at a national literary organization — after leading its accountability and crisis recovery.
2017–2018 · Detroit, MI
Rustbelt Poetry Festival
Director of weekend-long festival bringing 500+ patrons and 100 poets to Detroit. Venues: MOCAD and Cass Corridor Commons. Programming included slams, workshops, and a book fair. Built community cultural and economic infrastructure.
2013–2015 · Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor Poetry
Director of the second-longest tenured poetry slam in the country. Managed two years of programming and workshops and spearheaded a rebrand into a broader literary offering. Coached teams and individuals to national competition, while facilitating hundreds of workshops and open mics.
2016–2018 · Ann Arbor, MI
FRUIT Reading Series
Co-founded the first-ever reading series by and for writers of color in Ann Arbor. Three-year track record featuring National Book Award winners alongside emerging local voices.
Let's Talk
The work
continues.
Whether you're building a cultural program, a grassroots campaign, planning a convening, or looking for a voice that speak the langauges of data and poetry, Tariq brings a singular integration of strategy, narrative, and community to every room he enters.