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The Politics of Renaming and Domination On the first day of Donald Trump’s Presidency, he renamed the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America , via Executive Order.  While a seemingly ridiculous move, it is a test of domination and an attempt to humiliate neighboring countries. It makes clear his intention to create a new era of empire and colonization. The more recent move to make English the official language of the United States aims to promote disdain and mistreatment of those of us who dare to speak Spanish outside our homes. Please do not doubt that down the road he will demand we re-name cities in the United States. Will San Francisco become St. Francis and San Antonio, St. Anthony? I suppose that Tornillo, Texas will be christened, Screw, TX, although the Texas Governor may not look favorably on that name change. Will he demand that the state of New Mexico be called New America?  When Donald Trump first suggested he would alter the Gulf’s name and before he issued the Executive Order, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum showed a world map from 1607 that labeled North America as AMERICA MEXICANA and identified the Gulf of Mexico as such—169 years before the United States was founded.  Acceding to Donald Trump’s renaming of the Gulf, both Google and Apple Maps now label the body of water as the Gulf of America. Mexico is threatening Google with legal action. In a playful yet serious moment, signaling that they would not be intimidated, MapQuest rolled out a “Name Your Own Gulf” site, leading to creative maps shared widely on social media. This body of water has been known as the Gulf of Mexico since the mid-16th century. It first appeared on a world map in 1550 and in a historical account in 1552. The name reflects the gulf's geographical location adjacent to land mass known as Mexico, which was colonized and claimed by Spain beginning in the early 1500s. The name Mexico originates from the Nahuatl word Mexica, the name of the indigenous people of the Aztec Empire, which was well established and flourishing before the Spanish arrived.  Before the Spanish colonization, the various coastal tribes native to parts of what is now Florida, Louisiana, and Texas had their own names for this body of water. According to legend, it was also known as Chalchiuhtlicue, the deity in Aztec mythology associated with lakes, rivers, and other freshwater bodies. You can learn more about it, including its pronunciation here. The Associated Press (AP) refusal to call it the Gulf of America, the name assigned to it by the President’s Order, has resulted in AP being denied access to White House Press conferences or onto Air Force One, with the pool of reporters that cover the President. AP’s lawsuit against the Trump Administration is pending. The bombastic bully has also told the world he wants to claim Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal as part of the Trump empire. Although his Executive Orders have been overwhelmingly unsuccessful, with courts putting the brakes on his unconstitutional actions, they continue breaking the laws and disrupting the lives of millions of people. The main reason he's still issuing Executive Orders (knowing most will be blocked) is to telegraph to his base that he’s leading the charge to dehumanize Latinos, Blacks, Muslims, gays, transgender folks, and anyone who opposes his vision of what the United States should be. Millions of us are NOT in line with their vision and what the Administration is doing. We must not stay silent. This is what has led to mass atrocities around the world. Speak up, take to the streets, and raise holy hell. Make good trouble. It’s up to us, We the People, to save our country from the autocratic billionaires who will continue to loot the US Treasury, giving themselves tax benefits while drastically cutting programs we support with our tax dollars, like Medicare, health research, Medicaid, public safety, and so much more that benefits ALL Americans not just the wealthy.   The playbook of autocrats is to bully anyone who opposes them. And they are threatening judges, activists, and the press. Speak up, and don’t be an accomplice in these injustices.   Trump is all about domination, submission, and humiliation.

This is my second time back since graduating from the  University of Notre Dame Law School  four-plus decades ago. Recently, I attended the first-ever Affinity Alumni Reunion Weekend sponsored by the three student organizations: Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA), Black Law Student Association (BLSA) and Hispanic Law Student Association (HLSA) , which in our day was known as La Raza Law Students. BLSA and La Raza shared an office in the law school's lower level, where Black and Chicano students often hung out between classes. There was no APALSA during my time at ND Law because my class had only one Asian student, Dr. Trai Le, a whip-smart, middle-aged woman from Vietnam who had come to the United States with her spouse and young children as a refugee. Dr. Le had already been a law professor and Dean of the law school in Hue, a city that was heavily bombed during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. Dr. Le went on to become a Law Professor at Notre Dame. These organizations, whose very existence the Trump Administration seeks to eliminate, claiming their existence is "divisive," continue to play an essential role in the lives of students and alumni. Special thanks to Ava Moreno, President of HLSA, the HSLA community, and ND Law School's Director of Dignity, Solidarity & Subsidiarity, Max Gaston. A Notre Dame Law graduate, Max previously worked as a civil rights attorney with the ACLU in Florida and in other roles advancing justice. The hard work of APALSA, BLSA, and HLSA is reflected in the successful programs presented and the connections made across groups and generations. Irma with Hon. Martha Vazquez and Vicky Mendoza I had the privilege of serving as one of the lunchtime speakers during Affinity Alumni Weekend at an event sponsored by HLSA. Three Chicanas were in my class, and I convinced them to come for the weekend. Vicky Mendoza is the Executive Director of VARN (Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans) and Hon. Martha Vazquez, the first woman appointed to the federal bench in New Mexico. We were joined by classmate and dear friend Patricia Dunn, whom I anointed as Hispanic-adjacent since we had been housemates during law school. Although I’ve seen these four friends numerous times over the decades, it was our first time together since graduating in the late 1970s. Each of us had the opportunity to connect with students and share our experiences of surviving law school and the challenges in our lives and legal careers.  I presented a small excerpt of my one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? as part of the HLSA lunchtime program. The short scene I selected was set at Notre Dame. This was followed by a Fireside Chat about my career as a civil rights lawyer, journalist, and playwright/performer. While all the weekend activities were informative, the Saturday morning brunch titled Stronger Together: A Conversation Between APALSA, BLSA, and HLSA Alumni was especially illuminating. Panelists broadly represented positions held by lawyers at major law firms, in-house, social justice advocacy, criminal defense, and philanthropy. There were several overriding messages: hard work is key, especially because Black and Latino lawyers still encounter skepticism about our intelligence and abilities (just 'sayin). Asian lawyers contend with other sterotypes although they are not viewed as less capable. Lawyers from all these ethnic and racial groups still find that, all too often, we are the only ones who look like us in the room. Another overarching theme was the importance of mentorship and networking and paying it forward by supporting students with financial support when possible and by introductions that can lead to job opportunities and other experiences that provide growth and advancement. I attended Notre Dame Law School thanks to a diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) program called affirmative action back then. That I was admitted with lower LSAT scores than other classmates didn’t make me unqualified or not merit admission. By taking a broader look, including past academic accomplishments and life experiences, the admissions committee assumed I could complete law school and successfully join the legal profession.  I strongly advocate for all programs in schools and employment that look beyond standardized test scores and grades in determining who is "qualified" and "merits" admission or a chance at a job or promotion. As these DEI programs are attacked and dismantled, those yelling the loudest about merit are among the least qualified persons to have reached the high positions they hold. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, claims we must have “the best and brightest in every position possible, color blind and merit-based.” As a result of the Signalgate Scandal, we can see firsthand that those currently holding these posts to keep our nation safe are, in fact, extraordinarily poorly qualified for their positions. Can anyone doubt that they received these appointments as rewards for their blind loyalty to Donald Trump and for their willingness to abide by and amplify his lies no matter how bold and nonsensical? The highest-level officials of the Trump Administration responsible for national security. This is why DEI was created, as captured so clearly in the cartoon below. When you compare the experiences and credentials of cabinet officers who previously held these posts in both Republican and Democratic Administrations, the differences speak volumes. While an Executive Order declared DEI dead, many schools, law firms, and corporations remain committed to programs that expand opportunities. They recognize the importance of developing leaders who serve communities and a diverse base of customers and constituents. They reject the belief that the default for competence, the so-called "merit," is being white and well-connected to people in power.   Notre Dame’s campus is as beautiful as ever and has many more buildings than my last visit over a decade ago. My early morning walk around the two lakes was invigorating; at slightly below 40 degrees with a light wind, it was a tad bit colder than the milder Bay Area mornings I'm used to. I enjoyed meeting students and other alumni, and students expressed great appreciation for the candid conversations about the challenges of studying and practicing law. Graciela “Grace” Olivárez, ND Law's First Woman Graduate The first woman to graduate from Notre Dame Law School (1970) was Graciela “Grace” Olivárez, a lifelong advocate for the Hispanic community and those in poverty. Grace Olivárez first met Notre Dame's President, Father Ted Hesburgh, when Father Hesburgh was Chair of the US Commission on Civil Rights. Olivárez testified numerous times before the Commission, often chastizing them for not doing enough to address Mexican-American civil rights concerns. Grace, a self-educated advocate who had not graduated high school, impressed Father Hesburgh with her intelligence and knowledge, and he encouraged her to consider becoming a lawyer. He arranged her admission to Notre Dame Law School. After graduation, she continued advancing civil rights and economic access in her various appointed posts and as a law professor. One of the weekend activities was the annual HLSA Graciela Olivárez Banquet, which we attended.   As educational opportunities expanded in this country, thanks to affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, folks like me and my Chicana classmates became lawyers. A law degree equipped me to join with others in the community to challenge systems of oppression that relegated us to second-class status. This is why DEI programs are targeted. Our ancestors have endured this and much worse, so keep faith and remember: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." ~Dr. ML King.

I spent the last week cleaning my office, mostly sorting through papers, including personal letters. Remember when we would write letters to family and friends by hand or sometimes used a typewriter?  Among the most moving was a letter from my friend, José Antonio Burciaga, and tucked in there was a small hand-drawn whimsical caricature of himself on the back of an index card. I wish I’d taken a picture I could share with you today, but I didn’t. But the drawing is currently at a framing shop, where it is being matted and framed. I will think of him every time I look at it. I first met Tony when we were seated next to each other at a MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) fundraising event in San Francisco and we became fast friends. At that time, I was a young lawyer who had just moved to San Francisco to work for MALDEF. He was already well-known, but I was unfamiliar with his work. He was the most versatile artist I’ve ever known. Originally an illustrator and graphic artist, he was equally gifted as a poet, essayist, satirist, and muralist. For several years, he was part of the original comedy troupe Culture Clash, so he was also a comedian. Tony Burciaga's Undocumented Love, American Book Award for Poetry, 1992 In 1992, his book of poetry, Undocumented Love,  won the American Book Award, and in 1995, he was bestowed the Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature. Sadly, Tony died of cancer the following year. I still miss him. El pinche cancer. Click here to learn more about Tony's life and work. If you haven't read any of his books, I highly recommend you do so. They address issues that continue to be central to our political discourse.     In this letter, Tony was encouraging me to write. I had recently left law to become a freelance journalist. I am reminded that friendship is the dearest gift anyone can bestow upon us. As I close out the year, I give thanks to dear friends and family, near and far, whose support has encouraged and sustained me.   Another item I found in my office closet was a beautiful small print I bought in Cuba on New Year’s Eve in 2017. That was the year that I spent several weeks in Cuba. I had completely forgotten that I had purchased this print, which is also quite memorable. Along with Tony’s caricature, this is also at the framing shop. I will share both Tony's drawing and the framed print in a future blog. I came upon a foot-long tube, tightly rolled in old newspaper. As I unrolled it I was taken aback when I read the crumpled headline: Irma sobre Cuba Front page of September 2017 issue of Juventud rebelde What? No, the story wasn’t about me; it was about the impending hurricane expected to hit the island. The publication was Juventud rebelde,  the Cuban newspaper of the Young Communist League. Although Cuba is no stranger to hurricanes, the story in the September issue explained the measures being taken by the government in anticipation of Irma’s arrival. Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 7,  2017, and its 165 mph winds caused extensive damage to the island. It was the strongest hurricane (Category 5) to hit Cuba since 1925.   I was sorry that I didn’t have the entire newspaper, as there were other stories related to the hurricane. One was about the potential damage it could cause in Havana, especially to the beautiful old buildings along the Malecon. Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage to Havana and other parts of the island. During our time in Cuba, people often pointed to buildings and areas the hurricane had harmed. Note the date: September 8, 2017. The monthly newspaper had gone to print before Hurricane Irma had made landfall. An opinion piece on the second page was intact (if wrinkled), where the writer reflected on the concerns of everyday people awaiting an unknown but potentially devastating natural disaster – a reminder that we have no control over Mother Nature. In times like these, she says, (I’m summarizing) our thoughts turn to family, friends, and community near and far. Those at one end of the island worry about those at the other; people living inland worry about those along the water and about Havana, a city that has lived through so much history.   Cubans worried about their relatives in the United States, who were also on Hurricane Irma's path. The writer noted that we cling to that inexplicable "theory of the soul" that nothing protects us more than being with our loved ones. She closes with this thought: the piece's text provided in Spanish, followed by my own (hopefully good enough) translation.   “Por ahora, el deseo más fuerte es uno solo: que Irma no haga estragos entre los dos mares que amenaza. Lo más importante, lo que no podemos negar es que -- no importa lo que diga Meteorología -- nunca hay categoría más poderosa que la que alcanza el huracán del amor.”   “For now, the strongest wish is only one: that Irma does not wreak havoc between the two threatening seas. The most important thing, what we cannot deny is that - no matter what the Meteorologists say - there is no category more powerful than the reach of the hurricane of love.”   Sending love and good wishes to you and yours as we turn the page to a New Year.

One More Show. You probably know that uno más means one more. The two Bay Area presentations of my updated solo show (9/28 and 10/6) BOTH sold out. Thanks so much for spreading the word and creating these full houses. As many folks could not get tickets, we’ve added one more show on Sunday, October 20th @ 2 pm. Hopefully, the heat wave will be over, and we won’t be roasting in the theater. Here's the scoop for those of you who are NOT in the Bay Area. We had a record-breaking heat wave, and many of us live in homes with no AC. The word insufferable comes to mind. The climate here is relatively temperate year-round, and we have a handful of hotter-than-average days. But this has been a different experience, with the temperature hovering near 100 for days. We are not used to this. Even though Central Stage is airconditioned, it was uncomfortably hot at yesterday’s show. Grateful no one left, and no one fainted. Well, enough of our weather woes. This October 20th show REALLY will be my last Bay Area performance this year, as my calendar is full between now and the end of the year. I am so grateful for the positive reception of my new material. “I love the changes you made to the show. And sad that you’ll always have new material to add,” said a friend’s text. In these politically charged few weeks before the Presidential election – immigrants, LGBTQ+ folks, and women have been at the receiving end of so many lies that incite hate and create the potential for heightened violence. Yes, it is sad and angering that we must fight so hard to be treated with respect and dignity and to protect our rights. Sharing another comment from an email: “Really enjoyed the performance yesterday! Am so happy you offered one close to home. :-) Many thought-provoking moments. Your discussion of "Anglo" reminded me that until my family moved to Arizona from suburban Washington, D.C., in January, 1963, I had never heard the term. But then I found myself going to school with Navajo, Hopi, and a few Hispanic kids (Navajo being the majority); that's when I learned I was Anglo. ;-).” During my childhood, my world had Mexican-Americans and Anglo. I had no concept that white people (Anglos) had any ethnic affiliations. One day at the University of Notre Dame, I said to a friend, “well someone who’s Anglo like you.“ “Anglo? I’m not Anglo, I’m Irish!” We don’t know what we don’t know. At Notre Dame, I learned about the strong ethnic pride of the Irish, Italians, and Poles of the Midwest and East Coasts. It wasn’t until I lived away from South Texas that I began to understand that white folks were not a monolith. When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, I learned that Latinos came from many different places: Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Puerto Rica, Cuba, and more. It is a wonderful thing when we are open to learning and accepting the ways in which we are similar and different. I am keeping this short to put these two things onto your radar screen. 1. FINAL (yes, really the last) Bay Area Performance, October 20, 2024, @ 2 p.m. Don’t wait until the last minute to get your tickets. If the past is a predictor, this show will, too, sell out. Ticket prices are very affordable: $25 for regular admission and $15 discounted (for students and others who need to avail themselves of a lower price). Click here for tickets. 2. I will perform in San Antonio at Trinity University on Wednesday, November 13, at 6:30 pm. I’ll need to make changes to this show based on the election results the previous week. I shudder to think what we might be experiencing in the days after the Presidential Election. Please note that it is FREE and open to the public. Gratis. As soon as I have the ticketing information, I will share it. In the meantime, tell your San Antonio friends and relatives about this show. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and supporting me in various ways: sharing my blog, attending shows, and telling friends about my work. Muy agradecida.

I love this James Baldwin quote because it captures so beautifully my experience with storytelling, both as someone who tells stories and as someone who reads, watches, and listens to the stories of others. I tell stories because it brings me great joy to write and perform them and because folks tell me my words help them see and understand a different perspective. Even if you know James Baldwin’s works, I highly recommend you pick one of his books or essays and reread it. So insightful and wise. There’s a podcast, The Baldwin 100, totally devoted to the work and life of James Baldwin. Santuario Storytelling Award   Last month, I was honored by The East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) with the Inaugural Santuario Storytelling Award. The plaque says “In grateful appreciation of your storytelling and performance artistry to bring visibility, healing, and empathy for the refugee and immigrant experience.” Thank you EBSC.   The organization was founded in 1982 in response to civil wars in Central America, and was an early participant in the Sanctuary Movement in the this country. Today, EBSC is one of the largest affirmative-asylum programs in the country. One of the things that most moved me at their annual celebration, was meeting people who had volunteered as students (decades earlier), while as undergraduates or in law school, and who continue to work on behalf of immigrant communities. Others were individuals who had received services from EBSC, and value their continued work. Paying it forward on all fronts. Their loyalties to EBSC run so deep.   In recent years, EBSC has been using storytelling to empower its clients and to broaden our community's knowledge about immigrant rights. Their clients have been sharing moving personal stories at theaters and other public gatherings. My own experience with storytelling is that writing and speaking our truths bring healing. Stories can be acts of resistance and weapons to counter oppression and violence, shed light on injustice, and touch people’s hearts and minds. And this is why we see an uptick in book bans. This is very much on my mind as last week was Banned Books Week. According to PEN America, “Books are under profound attack in the United States. Since the fall of 2021, PEN America has counted more than 10,000 book bans in public schools. And everywhere, it is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history. PEN America pushes back against censorship and the intolerance and exclusion that undergird it.” Learn more about PEN America here.   Who is PEN America? Here’s how they describe themselves.   PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.   Founded in 1922, PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 centers worldwide that make up the PEN International network. PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others. Our strength is our Membership—a nationwide community of more than 4,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals, as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission.    PEN America’s programs defend writers, artists, and journalists and protect free expression worldwide. This work includes research and reports on topical issues; advocacy on free expression challenges; campaigns on policy issues and on behalf of individual writers and journalists under threat; year-round festivals and events; literary awards; fellowships; and more. My one-woman show incorporates the topic of banned books. Even the most innocuous books, including these 2nd-grade books, have come under attack as being anti-white and anti-American. These books tell true stories about our nation’s history, and our children deserve to learn what happened. Separate is Never Equal , written by Duncan Tonatiuh, is about the segregation of Mexican American children in Southern California, a practice that existed throughout the Southwest. The Mendez family tried to enroll their children in the school nearest to their home. Their request was denied, and they were told they had to attend the "Mexican school." They sued, and the federal court ruled that segregating children based on their ethnicity violated the United States Constitution. Shortly after that, in 1947, the California Legislature (the first in the country) passed a law prohibiting school segregation. Earl Warren was then the Governor of California. Some years later, Earl Warren resigned his post as California Governor to become the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The Warren Court is famous for expanding civil rights, starting with the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education requiring the desegregation of public education, finding that separate is never equal. Although Mendez v. Westminster School District helped lay the groundwork for the Brown decision, few people have heard of this case. Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law that California schools include the Mendez case as part of the curriculum to teach students its importance to civil rights history.   Thanks to all who attended last week’s sold-out performance at Central Stage. I look forward to seeing some of you at Sunday’s show, 10/6, which is also sold out. But even if you can’t get a ticket online, drop by anyway, as there are always a few places available; the theater leaves a few empty seats for walk-ins, and some ticketed folks are no-shows. Plans change; it happens.   San Antonio HERE I come -- Trinity University I’m so excited to return to my beloved San Antonio to participate in Trinity University's Festival of the Arts . All these events are free and open to the public. I don’t know the process for getting tickets or if you show up on the performance day. I will surely let you know. And if you are in the San Antonio area, tell your friends and make an evening of it. Even if you’ve seen it before, there is always new material. I look forward to seeing my many friends and family members at the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall. Please check this  webpage  periodically for updates. PS: In response to getting my blog, Rafael Jesús González, sent me this graphic, which he created. Rafael was the first Poet Laureate of Berkeley and is a fantastic artist: poet, writer, painter, designer. Gracias, Rafael.

"I hear you are a playwright. Are you famous?" John, the Camp Manager at a High Sierra Camp in Yosemite, asked me this question when I walked into the mess hall to claim the bag lunch for my hike. The previous night, while most folks retreated to their tents, a handful of us sat around the campfire, which Tony, another High Sierra Camp employee, was kind enough to build at my request. It was cold, as the temperature quickly dropped into the 30s at 9,000 feet at night. Tony was the other Chicano/Latino among the 20+ people at the camp, and naturally, I was drawn into a conversation with him. He told me his family had come from Mexico to do farm labor in rural California. I shared with him that I had been a legal aid lawyer representing farmworkers in Eastern Washington. This led to what I’ve done since and what I’m doing now. Tony, whose name is Antonio, just like our son, told me he loves to travel, nature, and to protect the environment. "For now," he said, "this work suits me fine." Tony told John that I was a playwright and a lawyer. I responded to John's question about whether I was famous: "No, I’m just a teeny fish in a small pond in the world of solo performance. I wouldn’t call that famous. But occasionally,” I added, “someone recognizes me on the street.” I asked John to tell me about himself and what he did when he wasn’t managing a High Sierra Camp (these are open only a couple of months during the year). He’d been a corporate guy but left that behind and was now writing screenplays, but he was getting feedback that he needed to do additional refining of his work. Keep on keeping on, I told him, we learn as we go and we do get better the longer we work at it. I shared that one person whose opinion I value considerably is a producer who told me I wasn’t quite ready for prime time when I first approached him about doing a short excerpt at the solo performer series that he ran. (Bruce, here’s looking at you). Eventually, I got onto his series, and he has given me great feedback as I developed my theater career. So don’t take it personally when someone tells you you aren’t quite there yet. On the second night at this High Sierra camp, my friend and I sat at a table with five new people and introduced ourselves. When I gave my name to Alexis, she looked at me and asked, “What’s your last name?” When I told her, she said, “I saw your one-woman show in Berkeley a couple of years ago.” After dinner, I shared this with John: " Well, I guess I am a teeny bit famous.”   If you’ve never been to Yosemite, make a plan to go. It is such a majestic place. I’ve been fortunate to visit this national park several times, but this was my first time at a High Sierra Camp that you can reach only by hiking there. Thanks to my friend, Nina, for securing a much-coveted reservation to stay in these camps. I carried my 25# backpack (most of the weight was water) just two and a half miles.  We originally planned to hike first to May Lake for one night, then to a different camp some eight miles away the second day. But we scuttled that for various reasons and opted for day hikes from May Lake with much lighter loads. Sharing a few pictures of that adventure to entice you to visit Yosemite if you've never been. And check out this video clip to get a sense of the awesomeness of nature. Fast-forward a week, and I’m sitting in the chair at my ophthalmologist's office in Oakland. Dr. Jane walks in and greets me with, “Well, where are you performing next?” Always ready with promotional material, I give her one of the promo postcards for the local shows I’ll be doing in late September and early October. “It’s so cool to have a famous patient. I’m gonna show this to my girls.” She has two daughters in elementary school. I repeated the lines about being a teeny fish in a small pond. It is fun to be recognized by people who have seen my show. Several months ago, I was at the Oakland Museum, and a woman said hello, and I greeted her back. She said, “You’re the lady with the one-woman show, right? I’ve seen it.” She then gathered her four relatives, and we introduced each other and chatted for a few minutes. Final “fame” story. Several years back, I was at the Oakland West BART station waiting to catch a train to San Francisco, where I was meeting a friend to have dinner and see a (wait for it) solo show at The Marsh Theater. I noticed a young customed couple, the man, dressed as a nun, had a veil that said “Nun of Your Business.” I smiled at them and said, “Isn’t Halloween Weekend so much fun in the Bay Area?” His response was, “Hey, we saw your one-woman show a few months ago.” We took a picture together, and then we all hopped on the train to San Francisco. If you haven’t seen my show or want to see the latest update since I performed at The Marsh in Berkeley in October 2022, please come to one of my shows in Richmond, California, on Saturday, September 28th, at 7:30 pm or Sunday, October 6th, at 2 pm. Please share with your friends. Tickets are available at this link . Join me on September 21st in Berkeley at the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) annual dinner, where I am the Emcee. The organization is also honoring me with its first Storytelling Award. EBSC has been using storytelling for several years to empower its clients and broaden our community's knowledge about immigrant rights. Their clients have been sharing moving personal stories at theaters and other public gatherings. Join me in supporting this vital organization, which provides much-needed services. Learn more about EBSC and get tickets here . Muchas gracias for taking the time to read my blog. If you enjoy it pass it on to your friends and family. The power of AI . . . Grammarly suggested this change below for the previous sentence. Seems that it prefers I not code switch from Spanish to English and that I address you, dear readers, more politely.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can see a sneak preview of my new show, Class Migrant: de Aquí y de Allá, this coming weekend on August 9th and 10th. The Marsh Theater is celebrating its 35th Anniversary by hosting the In Front of Your Eyes Festival throughout August with shows in its San Francisco and Berkeley venues. It is a Women’s Festival of New Performances, and some performers, like me, are showcasing brand-new plays in the development stage.  I’ll be performing a 15-minute excerpt. My performance on Friday night, August 9th, will be followed by Shubhra Prakash’s Fontwalla, an hour-long show that I am eager to see. This will be Shubrah’s closing night. Tickets are available here . Two shows for the price of one. On Saturday night, August 10, my performance will be followed by an hour-long show, The Breakup! A Latina Queer Torch Song presented by Tina D’Elia. I’ve not seen this show either, but I am familiar with Tina’s work, having attended her other shows. Tickets are available here.  Two shows for the price of one. In Class Migrant, I explore the great American myth of meritocracy. Class migrants, especially people of color, are held up as examples of what anyone could achieve if they only work hard enough. Of course, we know that the path to success is greased for children with well-educated parents, who have access to good schools, and who are surrounded by people with social capital who open doors for them. So many smart, talented children in low-income communities have little opportunity to develop their talents and skills, with many obstacles before they even make it to the starting line. While some praise class migrants for our success, others see us as unworthy DEI recipients who presumably achieved only because of (rather than despite) our race or gender. We are seeing all this play out on the national political stage every day. I tackle this topic in my new show. Next Friday, August 9, will be a very long day as I attend the Take Charge 2024 Annual Latina Lean-In Conference in Silicon Valley. Last year, I was one of several keynote speakers and, throughout the day, participated in a fun and engaging program with women leaders, already well established in their careers, and many young women who are bursting with talent and eager for the opportunity to thrive in their respective careers in tech, law, medicine, the non-profit sector, and many other fields. I just learned it's sold out, but if you are interested, get on the waiting list. Registration link here.  I will perform Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?   in the East Bay, Richmond, California, at Central Stage on Saturday, September 26th, at 7:30 pm and the following Sunday, October 6, at 2 pm. Tickets will go on sale this coming week, and you can order them through my website. Finally, I will be the Emcee at the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant’s Annual Fundraising Event on Saturday, September 21st, in Berkeley. Tickets are available here . Do join us if you live in the Bay Area at any or all of these events. Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletter.

Every time I watch or hear the news (I limit myself to one hour per day), it makes my head spin. No matter what goes on in Washington, at the political conventions, or on the campaign trail, I remind myself that the most important thing I can do on an ongoing basis is to be kind and considerate of everyone, even if we don’t agree on politics and what our nation should look like. We must educate ourselves about the differences in the candidates' political agendas and get out the vote. I wanted to share a bit about my goings-on over the next few weeks. I’m writing a new play; its working title is Class Migrant: De Aquí y De Allá . In this new solo show, I share some of my experiences and observations about socio-economic mobility and how race affects opportunities in the United States. Among the strongly perpetuated myths about our country is that we are a meritocracy and a post-racist society. But we know better than that. For generations, upward mobility was very much available to white ethnics in this country, but it was not the case for black and brown folks. Today, it is way more difficult for poor folks, whether white or persons of color, to get a foothold toward the middle and upper-income rungs of American society. This is one of the reasons for the widespread discontent among MAGA supporters. But rather than examine the erosion of good working-class jobs that allowed factory workers and service workers to earn decent wages, the blame is pointed toward advances made by people of color and immigrants rather than the oligarchs who are acquiring extreme wealth at the expense of everyone else in this country. Well, enough on that for now. I’ll be doing my first public performance of Class Migrant  at the Marsh Theater’s In Front of Your Eyes Festival in San Francisco. The festival is aptly named as it will feature work that is in development. So, you get to see in front of your eyes, the exciting process of how plays evolve. I was invited to present a 15-minute excerpt as an “opening act” on August 9th and 10th. I am paired up with different performers, each presenting hour-long shows.They are Shubhra Prakash (8/9) and Tina D'Elia  (8/10). Click on their names to learn more about their plays. I am pleased to be teamed up with them and eager to see their shows. Bay Area Friends, be among the first to get a peek at this new show. In September, I will be both the Emcee and an Honoree at the annual event hosted by the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC). EBSC provides legal services, community organizing, and transformative education to support low-income immigrants and people fleeing violence and persecution. EBSC works in partnership with many faith-based organizations and civil rights groups and has done so for decades. It was founded in 1982 in response to civil wars in Central America and was an early participant in the Sanctuary Movement in the United States. Today, EBSC is one of the largest affirmative-asylum programs in the country. To learn more about its celebrated annual event, which features great good, music and a moving program, click here . Finally, I’ll be performing Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?  locally in on Saturday, September 28th, and on Sunday, October 6th at Central Stage. in Richmond, California. Tickets will go on sale in August, and I’ll post about it when they do. If you haven’t yet seen this show, come check it out. I’m always adding new material, and with the political goings-on, who knows what I’ll include in this latest iteration? I am always happy to see my friends there and am even happier when they bring other folks and introduce them to my work. On the personal news front, I'm headed to Oaxaca for a week and will spend a few days after that visiting family and friends in San Antonio and Alice, Texas, the pueblito where I grew up. I've never been to Oaxaca and am super excited to see and learn more about this beautiful city, rich in Indigenous history and culture and well-known for its great food and colorful festivals. Thanks so much for reading my newsletter.

Hurricane Season in the Atlantic seaboard started June 1st and runs through November 30th, and forecasters are predicting above-normal activity this year. Growing up in South Texas, I witnessed several scary and destructive hurricanes. We lived 40 miles from Corpus Christi, which is on the Gulf of Mexico. These experiences and the story of how hurricanes get named sparked my interest in this topic. I’ve written about hurricanes previously; check out this blog from four years ago. It's here! Tropical storm Alberto was just named: it’s Alberto, not Albert. An International Committee of the World Meteorological Association created and maintains six lists of 21 predetermined hurricane names (in alphabetical order), which are rotated every six years. Since names starting with Q, U, X, Y, or Z aren’t very common, no hurricane names start with these letters. The six name lists rotate, and unless the name Alberto (or any of the 21 storms listed this year) is retired, these names will be used again in 2030. When Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the Atlantic seaboard in 2017, she had the English name pronunciation (UR-ma) rather than the Romance Language version. It bothered some friends who called or texted to say it was upsetting to hear my name mispronounced in the news. It's cool, I told them; URma is an angry white woman, aptly named, so it's not MY name they are mispronouncing. Since Irma was retired as a hurricane name, we won’t be hearing from her again. Hurricane Naming History Hurricanes are given short, distinctive names to facilitate communication with the general public about oncoming storms and their potential danger. Sometimes, there is more than one storm in a region, making it even more important to have recognizable names so that people may keep track of them. Not all storms are given names. When a developing Atlantic cyclone reaches sustained winds of least 39 mph it is designated a tropical storm and named. Once sustained winds of that tropical storm reach 74 mph, it becomes a hurricane. Hurricanes are categorized as levels 1-5 based on wind speed. The higher the number, the stronger the winds. Hurricanes Katrina, Irma, and Maria, designated as Category 5 were among the most destructive hurricanes with sustained winds exceeding 175 miles per hour. The naming of storms and hurricanes has varied widely over the centuries. For a time, storms were named after the Saint’s Day, on which they made landfall. As many of the islands in the Atlantic were once colonies of Spain and France (and overwhelmingly Catholic), the residents of these areas were familiar with Saints’ Days. A hurricane making landfall on September 13, el Día de San Felipe, would be named the San Felipe Hurricane. As chance would have it, Puerto Rico experienced two major hurricanes on September 13 -- San Felipe the First in 1876 and San Felipe the Second in 1928. Hurricanes have also been named after their landfall locations, such as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Early meteorologists used coordinates such as "the 25°N 80°W Hurricane," but this proved useless in informing the general public about the severe winds, rains, and other damage that were headed their way, and this system was quickly abandoned. During World War II, military meteorologists and naval officers began informally giving typhoons and storms the names of their wives and girlfriends. This practice made it easier to communicate about the storms and inspired the idea of creating some systemic way of naming hurricanes. In the 1950s, the US Weather Bureau began using the phonetic alphabet from World War II, such as Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, but this practice was also abandoned. In 1953, the U.S. Weather Bureau, the precursor to the National Hurricane Service, formally adopted female names for Atlantic Ocean storms. The descriptions of these storms and hurricanes capitalized on stereotypes about women, and feminists began demanding that storms be named after both women and men. One of the champions who pushed for a stop to this practice was Roxcy Bolton (pictured above), described in her NYT obituary as a “pioneering and tempestuous (even there they couldn’t the stereotype) Florida feminist who was credited with founding the nation’s first rape treatment center and who helped persuade national weather forecaster not to name tropical storms after only women.” Roxcy Bolton did so much more than that to advance women’s equality, so take a minute to read her obituary. In 1969, the National Organization for Women (NOW) passed a resolution demanding that the National Hurricane Center stop naming storms exclusively after women. Roxy and NOW won that fight, and in 1979, Hurricane Bob was the first Atlantic tropical cyclone with a male name. As storms go, Bob was one of the smaller storms of the 1979 Hurricane Season. Since then, storms and hurricanes have been assigned male and female names. This growing awareness of addressing bias and being more inclusive extended beyond gender and led to the use of names that reflected the languages widely spoken by the populations in the Atlantic region: English, Spanish, and French. Thus, names like Alberto, Virginie (vir-JIN-ee), Henri (ahn-REE), and Idalia are on the Hurricane names lists. What happens if there are MORE than 21 storms or hurricanes? The year that Hurricane Katrina devasted New Orleans and many other Gulf Coast/Atlantic regions was record-breaking in many respects. In 2005, Hurricanes Rita and Wilma also caused extraordinary damage. That year, there were 27 named storms/hurricanes, thus exhausting the 21 names on the official list by late October. The six subsequent storms were named after letters of the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta. In 2020, the most active Atlantic storm season ever on record, there were 30 named storms, breaking the 27-storm record set in 2005. This was the second and final time the Greek Alphabet naming system was used. We added to our knowledge of the Greek Alphabet with Eta, Theta, and Iota (we'd learned the earlier letters of the Greek Alphabet in 2005 with Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta.) The World Meteorological Association adopted a new list of Supplemental Hurricane Names in 2021. The storm names below will be used when any of the 21 names on that year’s list are exhausted. So, any hurricanes in 2024 after William will get names from this Supplemental Storm Name List. Retired Hurricane Names When a major hurricane causes significant damage, including deaths, that hurricane name can be retired at the request of the countries affected by those hurricanes. The name Katrina, perhaps the best-known hurricane in our lifetime, will never be used again. A new name, starting with the letter K, Katia, has taken Katrina’s place. In 2017, four destructive hurricane names – Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate – were retired and replaced with Harold, Idalia, Margot, and Nigel, and these will be used again in 2029. El Niño, La Niña, heat domes, droughts, derechos, hailstorms, tornadoes, and rising sea levels are the extreme climate changes we witness yearly. If the National Hurricane Center’s early forecast, released May 23, is right, the North Atlantic could see 17 to 25 named storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes by the end of November. This year, it is predicted that we will experience the highest number of named storms in any NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) preseason forecast. So be prepared. Check out these articles to learn more about hurricanes, the history of their naming, and what we might expect this hurricane season. And when you go to the polls to vote for your elected representatives, keep the environment in mind. If we don't take more action to address climate change, extreme weather events will increase in their destructiveness. https://www.counton2.com/weather/hurricane/how-to-pronounce-this-years-hurricane-names/ https://earthsky.org/earth/how-do-hurricanes-get-their-names/ https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2024-atlantic-hurricane-season Personal Update I was honored to be one of several Ramey Gender Justice Awardees at Equal Rights Advocates' 50th Anniversary Gala last month. I shared this honor with other women, including ERA co-founders Nancy Davis and Wendy Williams, pictured below, with Noreen Farrell, ERA's Executive Director. On September 21st, I'll serve as Emcee and receive the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant's Storyteller Award. The event will be in Berkeley, California, and you can support this storied immigrant rights organization by attending or making a contribution to their work in the community. I'd love to see you there if you live in the Bay Area. More info and tickets are here. And finally . . . I'll perform my one-woman show later this year in Richmond, CA. If you haven't seen my show's updated version, come check it out. It's my ONLY Bay Area performance in 2024. Tickets are not yet on sale, but they will be in a few weeks. Stay tuned. Thanks so much for reading my blog. If you enjoy it, share it with friends and family. Muy agradecida.

I'm inviting all my NYC-area/NJ friends to the Princeton Campus to see my one-woman show on Saturday, April 6. It's a MATINEE, so hop in your car, bus, or on the train, and you'll be back in time for dinner. Use the QR Code to RSVP. There is no charge, but registration is required. Please share with your NJ/NYC networks. I'm tooting my own horn by sharing comments/reviews about my play. Money-back guarantee that you'll be thinking about what you've seen weeks after the lights go dark. “At a time in which the very definition of a real American is hotly contested, Irma Herrera brings intelligence, humor, and grace to the race debate. Many people will see bits of their own experience in her struggle not just to belong but to thrive in a society that is so often ambivalent about including her. A must-see for anyone who wonders what it will take for us to all get along.” ~ Rinku Sen, Former Editor, Colorlines “As I sat in the audience, I couldn't help but feel that Irma had looked into my life -- a brown child traipsing through the finest universities and forging a professional life. In one hour, she conveys the joys and pains of living a bicultural/bilingual life, particularly in today's political climate. Gracias, Irma Herrera for telling our stories.” ~Ernestina (Facebook Post) “At a time when civil rights and many communities are under siege, Irma Herrera provides sharp insights into the history and politics that drive these attacks.  She sees the humor and irony in the battles to save lives, democracy, and to promote justice. You don't want to miss her show!” ~Bill Tamayo, Civil Rights Attorney, San Francisco Hoping to bring my play to a city near you.

Next week, I’ll enjoy one of my favorite dishes while visiting Beijing. I know we'll have Peking Duck when we celebrate my spouse’s milestone birthday on our trip to China. Using both Peking and Beijing reminds me of my interest in cities and countries whose names have changed. Have you ever wondered why and how that happens? This interesting article explains some of these changes, and a quick online search of any number of cities and countries will yield a history and geography lesson. Beijing - Peking If you speak Mandarin, nothing about the name of China’s capital changed for you. The spelling and pronunciation in this language stayed the same. After establishing the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the government adopted the pinyin transliteration method using the Latin (also known as the Roman) alphabet, which we use asEnglish speakers. This altered how some proper names, including places, are now written.  Although the official change to Beijing occurred more than half a century ago, it wasn’t until the 1980s that China began enforcing its official name on flights, sea routes, and official documents. Beijing's International Airport Code remains PEK. Kinshasa - Leopoldville Kinshasa, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was founded in 1881, and named Leopoldville in honor of King Leopold II of Belgium. King Leopold claimed the Congo Free State as his personal property and extracted a fortune by taking ivory and rubber. His use of forced labor, torture, and murder to meet his quotas was viewed as a crime against humanity as early as 1890. As African countries liberated themselves from the shackles of colonialism, many chose to Africanize the names of their cities and countries. Good riddance to brutal King Leopold’s name. Kinshasa gained global attention in 1974 for hosting the iconic Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Zimbabwe and Zambia - Rhodesia Zimbabwe and Zambia were once part of Rhodesia, and the new names were adopted after gaining independence. These changes symbolized the shifting towards a new national identity and distancing from the British colonial past. The name Zimbabwe originates from Shona, which refers to great stone houses, highlighting historical significance and trade connections with neighboring African kingdoms. Zambia gets its name from the Great Zambezi River. St. Petersburg – Leningrad – Petrograd Throughout history, cities in Russia and neighboring countries have been renamed and rebranded after political conflicts and changes in leadership. Most famously, St. Peterburg, also known as Petrograd (1914-1924) and then Leningrad (1924-1991), was renamed St. Petersburg in 1991. Peter the Great, the Czar and later the first Emperor of Russia in the late 1600s and early 1700s, named the city he founded after St. Peter. It was once the capital of Russia and one of its grand cities, best known as a center for learning, science, and the arts. It has grand architecture and is home to the first Russian ballet school and Conservatory of Music. St. Petersburg's ostentatious splendor and wealth were legendary. During World War I, it adopted the Russian version of its name, Petrograd, to distance itself from Europe and Germany. After Russia's civil war ended and following the death of Vladamir Lenin, it was named Leningrad. When the communist regime in the USSR fell, it reverted to St. Petersburg. Who knows whether President Vladimir Putin will change the name of St. Petersburg. Putingrad? Kolkata – Calcutta Calcutta changed its name to Kolkata in 2001, adopting its original Bengali pronunciation. The move was part of a broader trend in India to shed colonial names and embrace indigenous ones. While some cities faced resistance to name changes, Kolkata transitioned smoothly, maintaining its dual identity for many residents. Kyiv – Kiev The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv, and that spelling is a transliteration of the Ukrainian Київ. The Russian version of this name is Kiev from the Russian Cyrillic Киев. Most of us are familiar with the Russian spelling because of Chicken Kiev, a dish that was quite popular in upscale restaurants in the 1970s. As noted previously, some languages have alphabets and or spelling systems that differ from the one we use (Latin/Roman alphabet). Thus, names must be transliterated to approximate the sounds in other languages. Given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the efforts to terminate its independence, Ukrainians very much want the world to use the Ukrainian spelling and pronunciation of their besieged capital city. Here’s an article with a short video that explains this more fully. Names matter whether it’s what we call ourselves or what we call our cities and nations.

Eight years ago, on March 11, 2016, I walked on stage at Ross Valley Players Theater to perform my one-woman show, Tell Me Your Name; I had no idea I was embarking on a new career. This picture is from that first show. Since then, I've been using theater to address issues of fairness and justice. After three-plus decades as a lawyer (and some years as a journalist), I took a break from law to focus on writing. I had started a novel several years earlier and planned to continue with that project. But something about that work in progress wasn’t working. My friend Diane invited me to join her for a series of Saturday classes at The Marsh Theater titled Telling Our Stories with David Ford, an enormously gifted teacher and director of solo plays. I fell in love with oral storytelling in that 10-week workshop. The culmination of these classes was a group show after the 10-week sessions, with each student performing for 15 minutes on stage. My friends and colleagues repeatedly showed up, seeing my new material and providing wonderful feedback and support. Often asking, “When is your next stand-up show?” It pleased me that they thought of my work as standup comedy. While it isn't standup, it does have lots of laugh-out-loud humor. After enrolling in David Ford’s class for three consecutive sessions, he encouraged me to develop the material into a full-length (hour-long) show weaving history and comedic insights into stories about names. While writing this show, I was accepted into an intensive eight-day workshop in San Francisco with the award-winning playwright and solo performer Anna Deavere Smith and her production team -- dramaturge, dialect designer, and movement coach. The knowledge and confidence I gained from this experience convinced me I could get my show into a theater. Shortly after that workshop, I was at a friend’s birthday party, where I met another guest and learned we both loved theater. She shared that she was on the board of a community theater interested in producing new work by California playwrights. I told her about my play, and she asked me to send her a copy of the script. A few weeks later, the theater told me they wanted to produce my show the following spring. David Ford, a great collaborator whose insights and direction had helped me develop the material, served as the show's first director. Have you ever heard this saying? “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Sometimes, it’s also phrased as “fortune favors the well-prepared.” I sure was lucky to have made this random connection, and by then, I had spent a couple of years diligently researching, writing, and studying the art and craft of solo performance. In this show, I portray 20+ characters, including me at various ages, my parents, teachers -- a parochial school Filipina nun and a University of Notre Dame Law School professor – as well as classmates, colleagues, opposing counsel, and others I have encountered throughout my career. Collectively, these characters show us that names can be minefields of misplaced notions, comical, sad, demeaning -- that speak volumes about where we are as a diverse nation. I was thrilled that my play was included in the Nuevo Teatro: Festival of New Plays at The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Theater in San Antonio. Performing the show in South Texas, where I was born and raised and where many of these stories are set, has been especially meaningful. Fortunately, in the last year, I have been able to return to my home state with updated versions of my show. I code-switch between English, Spanish, and Spanglish much more frequently with overwhelmingly Latino audiences. Shortly before taking my play to The Guadalupe in San Antonio in 2017, I began working with another talented director, Rebecca Fisher. I also changed the play's name to Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?  Bruce, a friend and colleague who produces solo shows, shared with me that the show's title, Tell Me Your Name, gave no clue about its content and how it addressed identity and belonging. Was I open to changing the title? "I'll think about it," I told him. As I was leaving, I told Bruce, "Here's the deal: I have no control over whether people care about or try to say my name correctly, but why would I mispronounce my own name?" "That," Bruce said, would be a good title." And so the name changed. In the Fall of 2018, I had a six-week run at the San Francisco Marsh Theaters, a premier venue for solo shows. It was extended twice and, in 2019, moved to the Berkeley venue of The Marsh. My show was selected for the Best of SF Solo Series, which played in San Rafael and San Leandro, California. My last show was on March 8, 2020, and already, people were staying away from venues like theaters. Two weeks later, COVID shut down our entire country. Hard to believe this was four years ago. During COVID, my play was selected to be part of Re-Encuento 2021, the National Latino/a/x Theater Festival (virtual) sponsored by the Los Angeles Latino Theater Company. Audiences across the US, Europe, and South America watched it. I also had the opportunity to perform my show on Zoom for schools, non-profits, law firms, and corporations. Following these shows, the virtual audiences engaged in productive group discussions about creating more equitable schools, workspaces, and organizations. Since the reopening of theaters, I've performed my show in San Francisco, Berkeley, Nashville, San Antonio, Kingsville, Texas, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Beyond theaters, I've taken my show to colleges and universities and will be at Princeton next month and at Trinity University in San Antonio later this year. What keeps me deeply engaged with the work is researching efforts nationwide to roll back civil rights gains and tailoring stories to connect the dots to the history of the places where I perform. The script changes to address the culture wars raging in our country, and there is no shortage of material, from the dehumanizing and scapegoating of groups, the rise in targeted hate crimes, gun violence, the anti-CRT movement, and the concerted effort to ban books in schools and public libraries, especially those by writers of color and the LGBTQ+ community. The persistent attack on women's rights, especially to bodily autonomy, is front and center of everyone's mind. All these topics are at the heart of the work and the post-show talkbacks with audiences. My goal with each production is to bring fresh perspectives to long-standing problems and encourage everyone to examine their biases and prejudices (all of us have them). Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Justice is Indivisible. Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere." I seek to give life to his words. See something, say something. All of us can be champions for justice and fairness. You can watch this 2-minute video about my theater-making adventure. Thanks to everyone who has seen and encouraged others to see my show. Please come again when it is at a theater near you.