Southwest Florida, if viewed through the lens of a visitor, is a world of beaches and boats, margaritas and coconuts—which it undoubtedly is. Like many other places, though, it contains a world that perhaps only the locals could appreciate or even notice.   

Perhaps one of the most intriguing parts of that world is a nonprofit organization called Love Your Rebellion (LYR). For several years LYR has been champion and defender of marginalized communities in Southwest Florida and beyond, using the arts as its pathway to power. At least 80 percent of all artists hired by LYR identify as women, immigrants, people of color, queer and/or trans, as well as those from low-income communities and/or people with disabilities. Not at all to be underestimated, LYR is a tight ship and pushes to accomplish meaningful change for those communities.   

At the helm of that ship is the beautiful and fierce Angela Page. Page is simultaneously a helping hand to those in need and a force to be reckoned with for those who mean to oppress them. Like a modern-day punk-rock Robin Hood, she is the definition of a hero. She’s also in a rock and roll band—how could it get any cooler than that?  

“I was always a rebel,” she says when asked where the name Love Your Rebellion came from. “Rebellion became a part of who I am at a very young age, like before my teen years. Of course, being a rebel also comes with engaging in the more subversive and maybe even dangerous parts of life. So, I often found myself in situations that weren’t good for me, some of which came out of my rebellious nature… I had to look long and hard at what I wanted to do with [that] rebellious nature. Did I want to use it to fuel me, or did I want to use it to destroy me?”  

For Page this meant learning to love this quality in herself. Being a rebel is often accompanied with the feeling of being an outcast, and you have to become comfortable in that skin. “The name stems from falling in love with the rebel inside you who uses their resistance to fight the good fight, instead of letting it destroy you or your life,” she says.  

Indeed, fight the good fight, she does. In the past, LYR has worked with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers; the Southwest, Florida, chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice; and Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, just to name a few. Currently, LYR has an ongoing partnership with Abuse, Counseling, & Treatment, Inc., or ACT. Annually, 500 copies of LYR’s therapeutic and literary arts magazine, Love Your Rebellion Zine, are donated to ACT, whose clientele includes survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. ACT distributes the magazine as part of its self-care toolkit, available for those using the services at its rape crisis center.  

LYR’s Zine Library, part of an ongoing partnership with Neenie’s House, opened in November 2019. It contains a permanent collection of 150 art and writing zines created by members of various marginalized groups. A quarter of the collection is English/Spanish bilingual as well, to service the Hispanic community. The library is housed inside Neenie’s House, an arts and cultural emporium in the East Palm neighborhood of Fort Myers. 

Perhaps most celebrated of LYR’s endeavors, however, are its fundraising events, the most notable among them being Babefest, Rock for Equality, and Sonic Masquerade. Did I mention Page is also in a cool rock and roll band? Her wonderfully loud and aggressive, thrash punk/grunge band is called Except You.   

Page’s plate may be full, but Love Your Rebellion’s aim is undeniably and unapologetically clear: “Our biggest goal is always just to make a bigger and bigger impact on the communities we serve by providing more and more opportunities for employment, exposure, and assistance,” Page says. Providing more opportunities also means building LYR’s staff to include full-time and part-time positions, so the organization is seeking funding from multiple sources. 

As the adage goes, there are those who talk the talk, and those who walk the walk. It’s pretty clear which one Angela Page is. 

For more information visit loveyourrebellion.org.  

Colin Orion is an artist, musician, tattooer, and writer living in Southwest Florida.