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Here is this week's installment of my Stairwell Teatro. I still shake my head when I think back to this incident with Shelly, the receptionist in the office. I mentioned what had happened to the senior partner I worked with, and he insisted on speaking to HR about this. I didn't want Shelly penalized; just informed that her comments were inappropriate. I had a good relationship with Shelly, and whether she got it or not, I don't know. The issue never came up again. Several of you have emailed or called me to share your name stories, and they are so good. Thanks so much, and by all means, keep them coming. I can be reached at irmadherrera@gmail.com. I'm finally home after almost two weeks away (Nashville and San Antonio). And I'm pleased to participate in a few Zoom events in October for the last two weeks of Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month. Typically, I perform two or three short scenes from my play, followed by a panel discussion with two or three employees within the organization. These events are open to all employees, and it's genuinely heartwarming to see how folks relate to the conversation regardless of their ethnic/racial identity or gender orientation. The issue of names and how we show respect is quite engaging, and these presentations play equally well at financial services firms, research institutions, and non-profits. My next live show will be at Arizona State University (ASU) on December 10th. Please help spread the word if you know people in the Phoenix area. Tickets and more info here. If you are on social media, you can follow me by clicking on the links below: Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Facebook TikTok Mil gracias.

Had so much fun with this cuentito. People say the craziest things. Keep sending me and telling me your name stories. My goal is to publish a Stairwell Teatro Episode each Thursday, but this past Thursday I was focused on getting my show ready, so this is coming to you a wee bit later than usual. Gracias, San Antonio After two days of some rough rehearsals, where I kept messing up important lines, we produced a show that I am proud of. Thanks to the tech team Dion and Catherine and everyone at St. Mary's who made this performance possible. We had a full house and an appreciative audience. It is especially wonderful for me to perform before bilingual Tejano audiences, since a good part of my story is about growing up in South Texas and explores the history of the Chicano community. I've met so many amazing community leaders in the world of arts, politics, and civil rights while in San Antonio, thanks to all of you for your Tejas-sized hospitality. I've also had the opportunity to catch up with extended family, many of whom I've not seen in decades. I look forward to returning. Super happy to tape a Latin@ Stories podcast at Texas A&M University, San Antonio. I'll link that when available. Hasta la proxima. In October I'm participating in several corporate and non-profit Employee Resource Group (ERG) roundtable conversations as part of Hispanic Heritage Month activities. Don't need to wait for Hispanic Heritage Month, I give speeches and make presentations all year round. My next performance will be at Arizona State University (ASU) on December 10th. Please help spread the word if you know people in the Phoenix area. Tickets and more info here. If you are on social media, please follow by clicking on the links below: Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Facebook TikTok Mil gracias.

In this week's installment of my Stairwell Teatro, my friend Kathy is given a new name by her 7th-grade teacher, and she has to use it the entire school year. Although this happened decades ago, Kathy still feels the sting of the experience. I'm so grateful to all of you who generously share your name stories with me. Keep them coming. NASHVILLE Greetings from Nashville. I love this place and am so glad I was invited to present at two different venues in this great city. AllianceBernstein's Latino ERG asked me to be part of the Hispanic Heritage Month activities. I gave an excerpt of my play and had a roundtable conversation with two Alliance Bernstein staff members, Kristen Junco and Levis Padron. A diverse audience attended and shared their name stories as part of the program. We were fortunate to be in the top-floor conference room with smashing views of the Nashville skyline. And check out Nashville's famous Batman Building, the nickname of the ATT Headquarters. In the late afternoon, I was at the Nashville Public Library at TN Justice For Our Neighbors annual event, Oye Vecino, which was also being recorded for an upcoming podcast. In addition to performing some scenes from my play, Two TNJFON staff members, Aineth Murgia, Alvaro Manrique Barranchea, and I talked about the organization's work and my career in law, journalism, and now as a playwright addressing social justice issues. TNJFON represents immigrants from many different countries, the Americas, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and educates the greater Nashville community about immigrant rights. It is led by Tessa Lemos Del Pino, Executive Director. Shout out to the TNJFON staff and board for their dedication and hard work. Thank you so much, AllianceBernstein and TNJFON, such an honor to join you today, and I'll say it again, I LOVE visiting Nashville and hope to be back. Would love to return to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on some future occasion (just 'sayin). NEXT STOP - San Antonio I will be at St. Mary's University's beautiful Guadalupe Chapel at Treadaway Hall next week, on Thursday, September 28th @ 7:30 pm. The St. Mary's show is open to anyone and is a free community service -- no charge, GRATIS. I love the materials prepared by St. Mary's for my show. Chulo, verdad? If you enjoy my newsletter and the cuentitos in my Stairwell Teatro, please share with your friends and colleagues. And if you wish to follow me on social media, click below to be connected. Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Facebook TikTok Mil gracias.

Although I say my name using the Spanish, French, and Italian pronunciations, it's not the only way to say, Irma. For those who don't know any Romance languages, it sounds kinda- like Ear-ma (well close enough), rather than URma. And, it's pronounced like that in Nordic languages, too. When I first visited Denmark, I learned that the largest grocery store chain in Denmark is named Irma . . . and guess what? It's pronounced like my name. And to celebrate that, I've treated myself to all sorts of Irma store swag: a wine tote, candy and mints, and Irma mustard. If you're ever in Copenhagen, check out the Irma store. It's pretty nice, and I love that friends send me pictures of themselves in front of the store. And how do they say Irma in Russia, you wonder? One day, a blond, blue-eyed gent called out my name perfectly when his Uber pulled over to pick me up in San Francisco. In our conversation, I learned from Aleksandr (originally from St. Petersburg) that Irma is pronounced like Irina (a common Russian name), and he was baffled that anyone would have difficulty saying it the way I do. But I digress. In Episode 3 of my Stairwell Teatro, I share a story about someone using the URma pronunciation and why it amused me. It happens, and it is best not to get worked up about it in these situations. Next week, I'm heading to Nashville, where I'm the guest speaker at TN Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON) Oye Vecino Live event at the historic Nashville Library on Thursday, 9/21, at 5 pm. Tickets are still available and start at $50. Your donation supports a great cause. Click here to register. I'll perform some excerpts from my play and then participate in a discussion with Aineth Murgia and Alvaro Manrique Barrenchea, TNJFON's legal team members. I'd be so thrilled to see my Nashville friends there. From Nashville, I fly to San Antonio, where my show will be presented at St. Mary's University at the beautiful Guadalupe Chapel at Treadaway Hall. While in San Antonio, I'll be meeting with students and members of the St. Mary's community, and I'll be at Texas A&M San Antonio taping a Latin@ Stories podcast. I am also looking forward to seeing my many Tejano relatives and friends. The St. Mary's show is open to anyone and is a free community service -- no charge, GRATIS. I love the materials prepared by St. Mary's for my show. Chulo, verdad? If you enjoy my newsletter and the cuentitos in my Stairwell Teatro, please share with your friends and colleagues. Mil gracias.

Here it is, Episode 2 of my Stairwell Teatro. This episode is about a story that caught my eye several years ago. When a newly hired Latina news anchor at a Phoenix television station pronounced Spanish words correctly, some people did not like it and were quite vocal in their criticisms. This caused such a stir that the New York Times covered the controversy. It's here should you care to read it. If you have a name story you'd like to share, send it to me in an email at irmadherrera@gmail.com. I love hearing about your experiences with names. And, if you enjoy my Stairwell Teatro 2023, please share it with friends. I've got two shows coming. One later this month, on Thursday, September 28th, at 7:30 pm, I'll be at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, my alma mater, at the beautiful Guadalupe Chapel at Treadaway Hall. It's open to anyone and is a free community service -- no charge, GRATIS, so come check it out. St. Mary's is located at: One Camino Santa Maria San Antonio, Texas Treadaway Hall is Building 18 at the top of this map, by Parking Lot C. And on December 10th at 2 pm, I'll perform at Arizona State University's Kerr Cultural Center. Tickets are now on sale at this link. The yellow "Buy tickets" below isn't an actual link; the photo is a screenshot from the theater's website. I look forward to seeing my friends in Texas and Arizona soon. Thanks for your warm and supportive comments on Episode 01, the Namaste cuentito, sent via email and social media.

I am having so much fun, creating episodes of my Stairwell Teatro, and my mind is exploding with ideas. The current plan is to release a weekly episode. Hopefully, I can maintain that pace. This first episode is one of my all-time favorite stories of a conversation with a yogini at a Bikkram Studio. If you have a name story you'd like to share, send it to me in an email at irmadherrera@gmail.com. I love hearing about your experiences with names. And, if you enjoy what you see, share it with friends. I'm excited about my two live shows later this year. On Thursday, September 28th, at 7:30 pm, I'll be at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, my alma mater, at the beautiful Guadalupe Chapel at Treadaway Hall. It's open to anyone and is a free community service -- no charge, GRATIS, so come check it out. St. Mary's is located at: One Camino Santa Maria San Antonio, Texas Treadaway Hall is Building 18 at the top of this map, by Parking Lot C. And on December 10th at 2 pm, I'll perform at Arizona State University's Kerr Cultural Center. Tickets are now on sale at this link. The yellow "Buy tickets" below isn't a true link, as the photo is a screenshot from the theater's website. Aztlan, here I come, very happy to be in the Southwest.

It's been a busy spring and summer filled with travel. Lucky to have the opportunity to visit South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. We also took several Northern and Southern California road trips to visit friends. The final summer travel is a weekend trip to Seattle to celebrate our friends' wedding. I also have been recording some small vignettes to bring back my Stairwell Teatro series. I started the Stairwell Teatro in 2020 during the early part of the pandemic, but quit doing it for various reasons; Stairwell Teatro 2023 will be back very soon with two small monthly episodes -- bite-size stories about names. Stay tuned. At the end of our Africa trip in May, I caught a bug and returned with an upper respiratory infection followed by asthma which waylaid me for several weeks. Fortunately, it was not COVID, which often appears at the end of many trips, especially if a trip involves international travel. No sooner was I recovered than I broke a toe; nothing exciting, just banged my foot on a bedpost. I finally visited The Cheech -- Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, California. Cheech Marin became famous in the Cheech and Chong stoner movies. He is the foremost collector of Chicano artists, and finally, a museum was built befitting his collection. It was a thrill to visit. Check out their website. Become a member; I just did. My friend Maria from Tucson, told me she was a member of The Cheech. And until she said that it never crossed my mind that I could become a museum member of a museum that's located outside of where I live. Maria is spot-on; it's important that we support cultural institutions that reflect and celebrate our community. Another highlight was visiting Chicano Park in San Diego, with many murals underneath the massive freeway concrete structures. Among my favorites was the tribute to educators, which included a painting of our friend Gus Chavez, whom I always admired, and whose daughter cared for our son Tony, when he was in pre-school, and she was an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley. We love and admire the Chavez family and their commitment to social justice. I've also been doing some public speaking, which I enjoy and find rewarding. Thrilled to be the keynote speaker at Northern California's Princeton Prize for Race Relation Award Ceremony. This program recognizes outstanding high school students working to advance racial equity in their communities. If you know high school students working for racial equity in your community, encourage them to apply. More info on their website. In June, I traveled to Oceanside, California – my foot still in a special shoe for my broken toe. There, I gave the closing keynote speech at WomanUp! Retreat a gathering of women leaders in the real estate industry, mostly from California, and a few from other states. This annual conference attracts many industry leaders -- women of color (Latinas, African American, and Asian Americans) and white women. The presentations reflected WomanUp!'s commitment to furthering women's leadership and addressing issues of equity and social justice in the real estate sector. It was an honor to be the closing speaker, and I'm glad I could be there for two days of inspirational presentations. This past weekend I was a keynote speaker at Take Charge, the Lean In Latinas Northern California conference. It was the group's first in-person gathering in three-plus years, and the event was sold-out!! Few things are more rewarding than speaking to a gathering of Latinas. It was a day filled with learning and so many personal connections. WOW, can't wait for next year's Lean In Latinas conference. On September 21st, I'll be the featured guest at Oye Vecinos, the annual fundraising event for TN Justice for Our Neighbors, an immigrant rights organization whose offices I visited while my show was in Nashville earlier this year. I am eager to see the many wonderful folks I met on my two previous trips to Nashville. NASHVILLE PEEPS, yes, I'm talking to you: come on out to support TNJFON and say hello. I'd love to see you at Nashville's historic public library on September 21st. From Nashville, I'll go to my beloved San Antonio, where I'll present my play at St. Mary's University, my alma mater. Looking forward to seeing family and friends from South Texas who live in the San Antonio area or are willing and able to travel. I'm still thinking about the changes I'll make to the play to address the refusal to teach about the history and contributions of Mexican Americans, African Americans, and other marginalized groups, including women and our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Our stories are being excluded from lesson plans, textbooks, and all types of supplemental reading that should be available to all students. Because my play is only one-hour, I can't cover all the topics worthy of consideration: women's reproductive freedom, cruelty and abuses of immigrants, and using them as political pawns and fodder. Stay tuned. Finally, I'll perform at Arizona State University's Kerr Performing Arts Center on December 10th, a 2 pm matinée in Scottsdale, Arizona. One of my top goals this year was to perform in Arizona, and I'm so pleased to be there in December rather than now, given the record-breaking heat in Arizona. If you have friends in Nashville, San Antonio, or the Phoenix area, please tell them I'll be in these cities. Thanks for reading my newsletter. If you enjoy it, pass it along to friends. Love and peace to all y'all.

The two hours before a performance are filled with jitters. I set up my props on stage, including a pink bakery box with two Mexican pastries, un marranito y una empanada. I walk into the empty theater and check that everything looks OK from the audience's perspective. The tech running the show and I check sound levels, play the video clips and project the images on the screen. I then go backstage to the Green Room and spend the last hour warming up, doing some vocal exercises and physical movement. I dance off my nervous energy to Little Joe y La Familia, Etta James, Flaco Jimenez, and others. Last month I presented my show at TAMUK (Texas A&M Kingsville), and on the morning of the show, Vicente, the tech (theatrical technician), and I rehearsed in the Performance Hall. We have the space until noon when the University orchestra uses it for an afternoon class. I move my table and props into the Green Room, which Vicente locks. No one knows how the Green Room got its name, but having been in quite a few now, they are never green. TAMUK's Performance Hall is the most beautiful space I've ever performed in. Wow. We are allowed back into the theater at 6 pm, just one hour before the show’s 7 pm start time. I enter the Green Room, gather my props, and set them up on stage. Lighting, good: mic check, good; video and images, all good. Before heading backstage to warm up I opened the pink bakery box, and no marranito! Just one lonely empanada. By then, it was 6:15 pm, and the theater doors were to open in 15 minutes. In a panic, I called my sister to ask if she could stop by a bakery and get a marranito. What did I want? She was then driving the 28 miles from Alice (our hometown where she still lives) to Kingsville. I then called Perla, my childhood friend, who had arranged the invitation for me to perform at TAMUK. “Perla, someone took my marranito, it’s missing, gone, and I need to get one NOW. And the panaderias are probably closed?” It took a minute for her to make sense of what I was telling her. She calmed me down. “It’s OK; we’re serving pastries at the post-show reception, including marranitos.” She assures me that Adelita, who is bringing the pastries, will arrive before the start of the show. “Gracias a Dios. Please call me as soon as Adelita gets here.” The minutes are ticking away, and the doors to the theater are now open, and still no marranito. About 15 minutes before showtime, Adelita arrives. My job now is to coordinate with Vicente in the tech booth so that he can find Adelita among the 200 people in the lobby and now entering the theater. He finds her, takes several marranitos, and puts them in the pastry box on stage. The stars were aligned in my favor that evening. What became of the marranito remains a mystery, but clearly, someone in the orchestra class entered the “locked” Green Room and availed themselves of a snack. They probably wouldn’t have taken it if they’d known I’d had my hands all over the pastry the past two days at every rehearsal. A marranito and a pumpkin empanada have been props in my show since I first wrote it, and I’d been using the same items for years, eliminating any temptation to eat stale old pastries. Before heading to South Texas, I decided to trash my now almost-petrified items with the plan of replacing them there. When I arrived in Alice, Texas, on a Sunday afternoon (my show was set for Tuesday), I asked my sister if she’d go to the bakery to buy these two items. She returned and reported that the marranitos were sold out. Sold OUT? How is that possible? That was bad news as I needed my props the following morning for the tech rehearsal, where I needed to be in full performance mode. A photographer was going to be taking pictures during that rehearsal. Early the next morning, Perla, with whom I was staying, went to the panaderia in Kingsville and got my replacement marranito. All was right with the world ‘til that same marranito went missing. But thankfully, Perla and Adelita saved the day! How My Show Got to TAMUK My engagement at TAMUK was the brainchild of Perla Franco Wheeler, my classmate and dear friend, since we were both elementary school students at St. Joseph’s Parochial School in Alice, Texas. Perla and her sister, Diana, had seen an earlier version of my play at The Guadalupe Theater in San Antonio in 2017, and Perla was eager to have me as a guest speaker at TAMUK’s University Women’s Club and maybe even perform my play on campus. Then COVID happened, and no further discussion occurred. Some months back, Perla asked whether I’d come to do my show for her group. Of course, I would. As the organization was searching for space within the university, TAMUK’s administration asked if my performance could be opened to students, which it was, and they made available the best venue, The Performance Hall in the Music Building. And, as per Perla’s original wish, I was the guest speaker at the University Women’s Club Annual International Women’s Day Celebration the day after my show. Seeing friends that I’ve known since elementary school was an absolute joy. And loved seeing others I met in high school and college. I appreciated that they came from as far as Houston (240 miles), San Antonio (120 miles), the Rio Grande Valley (95+ miles), and the nearby towns of Corpus Christi, Robstown, and our very own pueblito, Alice, Texas. It was akin to a high school reunion. While my show appeals to folks from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, most of the audiences where I have performed are overwhelmingly white. The TAMUK audience was 98% Raza, and it was nothing short of thrilling to present this work to people who have lived many of the same childhood experiences I recount in my show. Knowing that almost everyone there is bilingual, I found myself using way more Spanish in this show. About TAMUK Texas A&M Kingsville, with an enrollment of 6,400 students, is located in Kingsville, Texas, a town of 25,000 people which is home to the 850,000 acres legendary King Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States. The campus reflects South Texas's population with an enrollment of almost 70% Hispanic students (principally Mexican-Americans from families like my own that have roots in that part of South Texas for generations), 15% white, and 4 % black. Internationa Students are 7% and 4% (?). I imagine Asian Americans and Indigenous Americans aren't listed separately because the number is too small. TAMUK’s President, Dr. Robert Vela, is from Alice, Texas, my hometown, as is other leadership at the University. TAMUK’s most famous graduate is Eva Longoria, a native of South Texas. A friend tracked down this picture (17-years old) in a Texas A&I yearbook (TAMUK's previous name). Although Texas A&I had many Chicano students, it was by no means 70% of the enrollment in the late 1960s and early 70s. I attended this university for two years after high school but transferred to St. Mary's University in San Antonio, fulfilling my dream of moving to a big city. The warmth and hospitality of so many people touched my heart. I especially want to thank the following folks for their role in making my play and the reception that followed a very memorable experience. Muchismias Gracias: Perla Franco Wheeler, The University Women’s Club, Vicente Barrera, Dr. Rito Silva, VP Student Affairs & Melissa Silva, Randy Hughes, TAMUK CEO, Erin McClure, Assistant Dean of Students, Belinda Hughes, Elenita Barrera, Ida Herrera, Cynthia Cantu Rangel, Norma Cano Wright, Rosalinda San Miguel, Mary Nutt, Diana Luna, Nilda Maples, Adelita Munoz, and Raul Aguirre. Mi agradecimiento especial a Belinda Silva, a fellow Alician who took many of these pictures. Thanks to each of you who helped spread the word and got an enthusiastic audience of 200+ folks to the theater. And most of all, thank you for making my time in Kingsville so special. I look forward to seeing my South Texas friends and family at future performances in the year ahead. Adelante. And sharing a few more pictures.

I left my heart in Nashville. As I write this, I can hear Tony Bennett belting out these words with reference to my beloved San Francisco. Click here and have a listen. It is such a beautiful song. I loved Nashville from the moment I set foot in the airport last September. My first trip was to meet folks from The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) and to see a one-person show in the space where I would be performing several months later. It was also an opportunity to learn about Nashville’s Latino community and to meet folks. And was I ever lucky to be connected to so many leaders in business, law, journalism, education, the non-profit sector. Everyone I met was so generous with their time and introductions. Special shout-out to Jessie Garcia Knowles, who opened so many doors for me, and whose friendship I so value. Jessie, the Executive Director of the Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce, was previously the Director of the YMCA Latino Achievers Program and served as the Assistant Dean of Students at Lipscomb University. She is also the pro bono director of the ELLA Program (Entrepreneurship Latina Leaders of America), and her energy appears boundless. I had three shows at TPAC and also participated in a sold-out pre-show preview sponsored by Vanderbilt University. This was a conversation about identity, othering and belonging, and the importance of our cultural ties, with Jermaine Soto, Director of Faculty Development, and Dr. Hilario Lomeli, Mellon Assistant Professor of Latinx Studies at Vanderbilt. All were wonderful events, with lots of audience engagement. I loved that several friends came from elsewhere (Portsmouth, VA, Lexington, KY, and Atlanta) to see my show and that relatives of Bay Area friends, and my director’s best friend from childhood, also attended. I got to connect with new Nashville resident, Theresa, whom I have known severeal decades from our days at MALDEF where we were both lawyers. She and her spouse recently moved from San Francisco to Nashville. The feedback in the post-show talkbacks is always illuminating, and I appreciate hearing from folks about how my play has touched them. I’ve received invitations from teachers to speak to their students via zoom, which will be happening soon, and I’ll be recording an episode with a Nashville podcaster who was in the audience. In addition to my shows, I had the opportunity to meet with the staff and invited guests of the Rose Immigration Law firm for a lunchtime conversation. In my meeting with law students at Vanderbilt, I heard how students of color experience microaggressions from professors and fellow students. I got a tour of Casa Azafrán, a beautiful event space and home to nonprofits that offer services in education, legal, health care, and the arts to immigrants, refugees, and the general community. There I met folks from Conexion Americas and spent a wonderful hour with the staff of Tennessee Justice For Our Neighbors (TNJFON) a legal organization. Love that Casa Azafrán’s signage is in English, Spanish, and Arabic, reflecting the communities it serves. Casa Azafrán also has a beautiful industrial kitchen for use by small food-based community businesses. Learned a lot about Nashville’s important role in the civil rights movement, and am eager to know more. I plan to return in September for TNJFON annual fundraiser, and I look forward to connecting with my new Nashville friends at that time. In closing, I’d like to share two emails I received this past week. “I deeply appreciate your stories, perspectives, and experiences (they) have given me great food for thought. What you had to say relates so much to situations we encounter almost daily in our work, and it’s so important for us to be reminded of the seemingly small things we can do to make our clients feel more valued and comfortable.” ~Emily "Your show inspires individuals to stop for a moment and soul-search their own view of the race debate (and biases, in general). I admire your commitment to shifting our conversations to one of learning rather than blaming.” ~Patricia Thanks so much, Nashvillians. Deep gratitude to TPAC’s Kiera Lytle, Danielle Allen, and the tech staff whose professionalism and skill gave me great confidence at every rehearsal and show. This was the Southern debut of my play, and I felt so very welcomed by the community. This, I am certain, is due to the various journalists (English and Spanish media) who took the time to interview me and introduced my work to Nashville. Thank you. Muchisimas gracias. Next up, I’ll be at Texas A&M University in Kingsville, Texas, 28 miles from my hometown Alice, Texas, where I still have family and lots of childhood friends. That performance is on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. One show only and it’s FREE and open to students and community members. Just show up.

My show will make its Southern debut in Nashville the weekend of February 10-12th, 2023. If you know anyone in the Nashville area, please forward this their way. This show was booked a year ago, and now it's the focus of my daily work as I've been meeting with theater staff over zoom to approve the cover of the Playbill (above picture, love how they framed it), sort travel details, set rehearsal schedules, and arrange press interviews. And then, there are revisions to the script and starting to learn the new sections. As part of my preparation, I’ve been learning about the Tennessee law to ban so-called CRT (Critical Race Theory) from public schools. There is a scene in this iteration of my play that addresses this subject. Critical Race Theory is an academic approach to examining racial bias which was developed by legal scholars over 30 years ago and which is taught at the law school and university levels. Florida, Texas, and Tennessee were the first states to pass laws last year to ban the teaching of “divisive concepts” related to race and sex in schools. In Florida, this law is popularly known as the Don’t Say Gay Bill but is much broader than issues related to the LGBT community. These laws seek to remove content from the curriculum, along with books from school libraries, that pertain to our nation’s history of discrimination based on race, national origin, or sex. As we well know, all these forms of discrimination existed for centuries under the laws of the United States, and it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Laws of the 1960s that these laws were struck down. Today, we are still passing laws at the federal and state level to address ongoing discrimination against people from these groups. It is an undeniable fact that this type of discrimination was a key component of our legal system. The laws required separate and inferior schools for Black and Mexican-American students. With the exception of a few Black colleges established as segregated institutions, there was no access to higher education for Blacks and most people of color. Women were denied the right to attend certain colleges, were barred from working in certain professions and could be fired when we became pregnant or had children. After George Floyd's murder in 2020, there was widespread support for expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Some school districts were eager to adopt material from the award-winning 1619 Project. The work of many authors (principally people of color and members of the LGBT community) about their lived experiences in this country was much sought after as part of classroom instruction and making it available as resource materials in school libraries. A ferocious backlash under the guise of banning CRT was spearheaded by Fox News and Republican elected officials. Orchestrated and well-funded efforts organized white parents around the country, and they began showing up at school board meetings demanding the banning of CRT. The Anti-CRT laws they proposed and which have been adopted in many states, are intended to shut down any classroom discussions about racism, sexism, and homophobia under the notion that to speak about our nation’s shortcomings is teaching children to hate the United States. Read more about this in an excellent article from Education Week, titled, The Evolution of the Anti-CRT Movement: A Timeline. Tennessee’s anti-CRT law (which never mentions CRT) prohibits the teaching of anything that could cause a student to feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual’s race or sex.” The first complaint filed with Tennessee's Department of Education under this law was brought by Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents group. Among the books they challenged were these four books for lower elementary grade students: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington, Ruby Bridges Goes To School, The Story of Ruby Bridges, and Separate Is Never Equal. The parents' group claimed that the books and teacher manuals "implies to second-grade children that people of color continue to be oppressed by an oppressive 'angry, vicious, scary, mean, loud, violent, [rude], and [hateful]' white population." I purchased and read (and greatly enjoyed) all four books, and nowhere does any book suggest this. Here are two sample pages from Ruby Bridges Goes to School that present positive images of Ruby and her classmates. When the court first ordered Ruby's admission into the segregated school, white parents quit sending their children to school. Ruby sat alone in the classroom with her teacher for several months. Eventually, the parents got tired of having their children at home, and the children trickled back into their classroom. There, they discovered (surprise surprise) that they all got along just fine. The Complaint against these books and other material was dismissed by Tennessee's Department of Education last month without investigation on the basis that it challenged classroom instruction that occurred the previous school year before the law was passed. You can be confident that new complaints will be forthcoming. But back to my show in Nashville. next month at TPAC. Tickets are now on sale for three shows: February 10 and 11 (Friday and Saturday) at 8 pm. The Sunday matinee at 2 pm. Click here for tickets. TPAC is a beautiful venue in Downtown Nashville, and it has three theaters within the complex. One for Symphony and Opera, another for visiting Broadway Productions, and the third smaller theater for productions such as Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) 505 Deaderick Street Nashville TN 37243 Closer to home, in fact, right in your home, you can see a snippet of my play along with that of other performers doing monologues and songs (under 5 minutes each) on YouTube this coming Sunday, January 15th at 5 pm Pacific, and it’s FREE, gratis. My selection is part of Play Café’s 25th Anniversary Celebration of New Work. Use the CR Code to link to YouTube. Hope to see you there. I wish you good health and much joy in 2023. Thanks for reading my newsletter. If you enjoy it, pass it on to a friend.

On December 21, 1837, a South Carolina Congressman proposed a gag rule to the United States Congress that any petition or discussion related to slavery must be immediately tabled without consideration. The following year this ban was adopted and remained in effect for a decade. I learned this tidbit of American history from the Equal Justice Initiative’s Calendar of Racial Justice, which comes in the form of a short daily email describing some civil rights events that occurred that day. I highly recommend subscribing to this; so important to keep learning our nation's history. Coincidentally, yesterday, December 21st, I also got around to reading about a Florida high-school English teacher seeking to ban 150 books from her school district’s libraries. This was in Popular Information, one of several newsletters I like to read. One book she seeks to ban is When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball. Wilma Rudolph excelled in track and field and was the first woman from the United States to win three gold Olympic medals at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Wilma grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee, during Jim Crow, and attended segregated schools. As a child, Wilma was struck by polio and was told she’d forever walk with a brace. The 32-page book for elementary school children is the story of a strong and determined girl who overcame great obstacles, including prejudice, to become a world-class athlete. This teacher acknowledges that it’s a true story of Rudolph’s experiences but objects to the book because it “trashes and puts down those who are not black.” She claims the book is “white-shaming” and will make white students uncomfortable, and that this “race-baiting” book is inappropriate for any student. Efforts such as these are part of a highly organized nationwide Ban CRT (Critical Race Theory) Movement advanced by Fox News and conservative political factions. And this past year, more than half the states have introduced legislation to ban CRT, which has become the bogeyman for people unwilling to acknowledge the history of racism in our country and how it continues to have an impact on our communities. Scholars and activists who discuss CRT are not arguing that white people living now are to blame for what people did in the past. They are saying that we have a moral responsibility to do something about how racism still impacts our lives today. Refusing to discuss issues of racism and prejudice does not help us create a more fair and just society. I highly recommend this article from the Brookings Institution about what CRT is and why there are efforts to prohibit teaching about the historic discrimination experienced by numerous groups in this country. It is an undisputed fact that state and federal laws assumed the inferiority of certain groups and thus denied us the rights and liberties enshrined in the United States Constitution. This contributed to the inequities we live with today, which include significant disparities in wealth, educational attainment, health status, and life expectancy. The anti-CRT movement doesn’t just want to ban books dealing with racial and ethnic group discrimination; they object to books depicting misogyny and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as books reflecting the reality of the LGBTQ community. According to a PEN America report, in the school year 2021-2022, more than 1,600 books were banned from school libraries. The bans affected 138 school districts in 32 states. PEN America is an organization founded 100 years ago and “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 literature of others. Its members are a nationwide community of more than 7,500 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." I’m grateful that such organizations exist. This same Florida school teacher is seeking to ban a book called And Tango Makes Three, which is the true story of two male Penguins, Roy and Silo, who lived in the Central Park Zoo and were inseparable. The pair build a nest together of rocks, and after the zookeeper provides them with an egg, they jointly raise the baby penguin, Tango, after it is hatched. She alleges that the book aims to indoctrinate children and promotes an LGBTQ agenda using penguins. She is relying on two Florida laws passed this year to support removing these books from the schools' libraries. This teacher claims that When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball violates The Stop WOKE Act, which prohibits instructing students with information that produces “guilt, anguish . . . because of actions, in which the person played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex." Although the Stop WOKE Act applies to classroom instruction, this teacher seeks to extend it to school libraries. The second law she offers in support of banning the penguin book is Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, popularly known as the "Don't Say Gay" law. Both laws were signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022. Texas and Florida lead the country in banning books. When I was growing up in South Texas, books were my window to the world, and I read anything and everything from the two-room Alice Public Library. Back then, there were no characters in those books that looked like me, and none of the books told the stories of my community. But I learned so much about different people and places and ways of being and living. Reading about current efforts prohibiting access to books that reflect experiences about our racial backgrounds, gender identity, and other forms of prejudices that have shaped us, on the same day as I learn of a federal law banning discussion of slavery in 1837, makes my head spin. The United States will be a better country only if we have access to information, including stories, that reflect the lived experiences of all the communities who call the United States home.

I am writing this at Mesa Refuge in Point Reyes Station in Northern California, where I am spending two weeks at a beautiful writer’s retreat center with two other writers. Each of us is provided a bedroom with private bath and a dedicated writing space. Since its founding in 1992, Mesa Refuge has hosted over 1000 writers focusing on “ideas at the edge.” People writing about nature, economic equity, and social justice. I am honored to have been selected for this two-week residency. Mesa Refuge alumni include Heather McGhee, Michael Pollan, Krista Tippett, Natalie Goldberg, Raj Patel, Daniel Ellsberg, Rebecca Solnit, Van Jones, and many other writers whose work I love and value. Click here for more info about Mesa Refuge and to see photos of this beautiful place. My fellow writers in residence are Rita Cameron Wedding and Clayton Aldern. Rita is an internationally recognized speaker and scholar on implicit bias, and a professor of Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies at Sacramento State University, where she was Chair of the Women’s Studies Department for over two decades. Learn more on Rita's website. Clayton is a writer and data scientist interested in science and society and is currently working on a book about the effects of climate change and environmental degradation on neurochemistry, behavior, decision-making, and mental and emotional health. More about Clayton here. Although our days are spent in our separate writing spaces, we prepare and share nice meals and have interesting conversations in the evening. Two quiet weeks are a fitting end to this year, as September, October, and November were especially busy. Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name? was back on stage at The Marsh Theater in Berkeley for five weeks, and well received by audiences. Thanks to all of you who attended and brought your friends, or told others about my play. I presented my show on zoom for a variety of organizations ranging from employees of the State Bar of California to folks attending the annual conference of Healing Beyond Borders. And in early October I participated in a fundraiser for a wonderful organization, Courageous Girls, in a program titled Mt. Everest Diaries. I interviewed author and Everest Summiteer Silvia Vasquez-Lavado about her memoir, In the Shadow of the Mountain, which is being made into a movie with Selena Gomez portraying her. I highly recommend the book. The evening featured various comedians including another Everest Summiteer and co-founder of Courageous Girls, Shailee Basnet. A good time was had by all at San Francisco's Sydney Goldstein Theater. I also took two quick trips in the middle of all this. The day after my show opened in Berkeley, I flew to Nashville. My one-woman show is part of a three-show Perspectives Series and I was eager to see the opening show and the space at where I will be performing at Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC). So glad I went, as I got to meet TPAC folks and several leaders in Nashville’s Latino community. My Nashville shows are February 10-12. Tickets now available here. Know anyone in Nashville? Please let them know. Two days after my last show at the Berkeley Marsh Theater, I headed to Austin where I performed live for Ascender, the annual conference for Catch the Next, Inc, celebrating its 10th Anniversary. The mission of this Texas-based organization is to “empower faculty, staff, and institutions to increase the educational attainment of Latinos and other underserved communities in order to close the achievement gap.” I love performing for groups promoting educational opportunity. Back in the Bay Area, I was invited to present at Santa Clara Law School, Golden Gate University Graduate School, the East Bay Community Foundation, and Meta. These months were as demanding as they were rewarding. I am grateful to all the folks who suggest me as a speaker to their organizations, non-profits, colleges and universitites and coporations. And on November 1st, I headed to Tokyo for a 17-day trip visiting Japan with friends, that had been postponed because of COVID and Japan’s very strict travel bans. Japan is beautiful and the fall colors were spectacular. I welcomed December at Mesa Refuge and as I ease into this year's end, I get to reflect on what I’ve done, and turn my attention to writing new stories in a place that is providing me refuge from the busyness of my life. I am grateful for this and so much more. I didn’t get to know my maternal grandmother who died shortly after I was born. Her name was Refugia.