Philosopher and community leader Terrance Turner, also known as C.A.U.T.I.O.N., didn’t shy away from addressing his unfiltered truth during a recent appearance on The Pop-Up!: Tacoma Takeover. Hosted by Elisha Michelle at the Black Media Matter Studio, the broadcast was a platform for Turner to challenge the status quo of the Pacific Northwest’s youth advocacy systems.

Turner, the founder of Create the Space Mentoring, has long been a formidable voice in the Pierce County region. However, he drew a sharp line between his grassroots efforts and the institutionalized systems he frequently critiques.

"First of all, to be clear, I don't do nonprofit work," he said, setting the stage for an intense conversation about the commercialization of trauma.

A Trajectory Shaped by Survival

Turner’s perspective is forged from lived experience. Born and raised on the dividing line of Tacoma and Lakewood, he survived the height of 1990s gang violence. At just 13 years old, Turner and a friend were shot outside a mall arcade. Instead of receiving support as victims, they faced systemic blame from law enforcement, he said.

"I realized that I wasn't allowed as a young Black man in Tacoma to be a victim," Turner said.

This experience fueled a period of retaliatory anger and legal trouble, culminating in a juvenile life sentence at age 15. Yet, while incarcerated, Turner transformed his reality. He earned his GED, graduated high school early, and co-authored the book Through the Eyes of the Judged, which has spent over two decades as required reading at The Evergreen State College.

Upon his release at age 21, the state hired him back to speak to his peers, sparking a 25-year career spanning youth and adult prisons, halfway houses, and K-12 classrooms.

Confronting "Pain Profiteering"

When Michelle pointed to recent local scandals involving misappropriated funds and criminal activity within the nonprofit sector, Turner introduced a term that encapsulated his critique of the industry: pain profiteering.

"Essentially, it's really basic," he said. "You're just trying to profit off of somebody else's pain.”

Turner argued that the overarching issue governing modern community work is an optimization for funding rather than human outcomes. "The common denominator is money and capitalism. Period. Once people understand that there's money, a bag to be gotten, that's how they look at it," he said.

Because of the heavy bureaucracy inside traditional non-governmental organizations, Turner said he consciously operates Create the Space Mentoring as a sole proprietorship, working as a private contractor within Pierce County.

Flipping the Script on Youth Leadership

One of Turner's most poignant critiques focused on adult-led institutions that treat young people as tokens. He challenged organizations to move past performative representation and hand over real autonomy to the youth who are actively navigating modern community crises.

"Why do we as adults keep trying to create systems to help young people that we're not directly connected to?" he asked. "Why are we not taking these young leaders and building them up with the capacity, the training, and being the support that they need?”

True youth leadership, according to Turner, requires adults to check their egos. "We got to take a step not just back, but almost out of the camera lens. We got to be all the way outside to where when you walk in a space, all we see is youth and we hear their voice.”

A Call for Local Action and Boundaries

When asked for a concrete action that everyday citizens can take to improve their neighborhoods, Turner echoed a historic activist sentiment: Think global, but act local.

"Leave every space and place better than the way you found it," he said. "Don't limit your own power. Don't say, 'Oh, the problem's too big. I can't do anything.' Just take a small step towards humanity.”

Tune in to The Pop-Up! weekdays live at 7 p.m. on all Converge streaming platforms.

Terrance Turner’s Uncompromising Vision for Youth Advocacy and Community Healing

A Citywide Family Reunion: Festival Sundiata Returns to Seattle Center