Recording | Coffee with Crossroads: Creation as Sustenance & Resistance - A conversation with writer Nina Sanchez

What began as a pandemic gathering has grown into something bigger. Coffee with Crossroads is a live conversation series featuring change-makers, thinkers, and practitioners reimagining what's possible—people whose work pushes us to think, act, and organise differently.

Across nearly every workshop and conversation this year, one theme keeps surfacing: this political moment has people overwhelmed, discouraged, drained, and angry — and rightly so. Which is exactly why grounding ourselves and cultivating our imaginations isn't a luxury in difficult times; it's a necessity for resistance. Imagination is one of our most powerful tools.

So this fall, Crossroads Transitional Executive Director Jessica Vazquez Torres will sit down with artists, musicians, writers, painters, and creatives of all kinds for honest, informal conversations over coffee — live for the Crossroads network. With her guests, Jessica will explore creativity as a source of sustenance and fuel for resistance. Each session will have three outcomes:

• Hear the guest's story and creative journey
• Explore how creativity awakens their imagination
• Talk about why imagination is essential to the work of justice

These aren't polished presentations.  They're real conversations about what it takes to imagine — and fight for — a more just world.

As a reminder, Crossroads offers these sessions for free because transformation happens through learning together, not alone. Whether you're just starting out or you've been doing this work for years — pull up a chair. There's room at the table.

SEPTEMBER 11TH: WHAT IF?

What if imagination isn't the "soft" work — but the thing that keeps justice work from just recreating the same systems in different clothes? In this episode, author and bookshop founder Nina Sanchez sits down with Crossroads Transitional Executive Director, Jessica Vazquez Torres, to trace her path from a 12-year-old writer in Pilsen (Chicago) to building anti-oppressive grantmaking models and bilingual children's books that are "a love letter to Latine kids." They dig into the "y si sí" — the and what if — as a discipline, why narrative-rewriting can be a tool for institutional healing, and how something as small as a paint-and-sip class can crack open imagination that capitalism has chiseled away. Plus: Nina's case for reorganizing as a political action committee when the rules are rigged to make you lose.

Resources Referenced

• Jessica referenced Norma Wong's concept of far horizon. Read about it in her book, When No Thing Works and take a minute to learn about Norma's work.
• Jessica referenced Eduardo Galeano's book Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World
• Jessica referenced Juan Gonzalez's book Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
• You can learn about Nina's work here and at her website: !Viva los Libros!
• Find Nina here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-d-sanchez/
• Nina referenced the song "I have been here forever" by Agustin Lira y Alma

THE AUDIENCE

Everyone and Anyone committed to and working for a just nation and just institutions—whether you're leading change in your institution, exploring these questions personally, working in your community, or simply curious to learn more.

THE LOGISTICS

• Watching the conversation requires registration.
• Once registered, the link to the conversation recording will be sent in the confirmation email.

THE COMMITMENT 

At Crossroads, we believe meaningful dialogue should be open to everyone. That's why Coffee with Crossroads is free — a gift to our friends, partners, collaborators, and the broader public. If these conversations and the voices we're amplifying mean something to you, consider chipping in. We suggest $20, but every contribution — big or small — helps. Your support keeps this space open, accessible, and thriving. It's how we keep bringing you thoughtful, inclusive conversations that spark change and build community. To donate: select "Donation" at checkout and enter your amount.