WEST HOLLYWOOD — West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng will host a panel discussion and literary salon for “Celebrating Civil Rights Heroes” on Saturday, Jan. 20, from 1 to 6 p.m. in the Plummer Park Community Center, Rooms 5 and 6, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.
This event is free to attend, but RSVPs are requested at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-civil-rightsheroes-with-poet-laureate-jen-cheng-tickets-776502619237.
As California’s first Asian American lesbian poet laureate and West Hollywood’s first BIPOC poet laureate, Cheng says, “With my background in social justice, I felt it was important to bring together well-respected community leaders to discuss coalition-building. It is the first time these five leaders from diverse communities have gotten together in one room – Miya Iwataki, Martha Gonzalez, Shonda Buchanan, Rudy Ortega Jr., and Ronna Magy.
“This event will be an experience to inspire people of different backgrounds to connect with one another, get to know their neighbors, and talk to people we don’t normally talk to, so that we can connect beyond our silos. I am especially delighted that
Miya Iwataki agreed to be part of this panel since she has such an admirable life experience as a writer and Asian American community leader. Her presence will help us create a vibrant discussion and learn about coalition-building.”
The panel discussion, which takes place from 1:30 to 3 p.m., will feature:
• Miya Iwataki, a Japanese American community leader who worked with the Third World solidarity of the 1970s and as a current leader with Little Tokyo Historical Society and other groups. She will talk about Japanese Americans and coalitions.
• Martha Gonzalez, a Grammy Award-winning Chicana musician, composer and feminist music scholar most known for her work with the Chicano rock band Quetzal. She will share about music and social justice.
• Shonda Buchanan, an author, educator, and literary activist, will share poetry about Nina Simone and discuss her contributions to the civil rights movement.
• Rudy Ortega Jr., tribal president of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, will discuss tribal coalitions.
• Ronna Magy, poet and LGBTQ community organizer, will share her experience with the student and women’s movements from her years at UC Berkeley in the 1970s to current organizing in the LGBTQ community.
As the curator and host of this event, Cheng continues, “As poets seek to better understand humanity, I hope people attending the event can enjoy the beauty in connecting with new people so that we build bridges and make hopeful memories together. To remember and hear from those who lived through the civil rights movement is a moment to remember where we came from and who we can become. I want us to grow as a community with inspiration from this excerpt of a June Jordan poem.”
I am a stranger
learning to worship the strangers
around me
whoever you are
whoever I may become.
There is a reception before and after the panel, with coffee and Mexican hot chocolate from new West Hollywood queer-owned and Latinx business Fan Girl Cafe. The panel is followed by an edition of Palabras Literary Salon at 3:30 p.m. featuring poet Sean Hill, with guest readings by BIPOC poets and writers on the theme “Visionaries.”
A few art vendors will be in attendance, including art by West Hollywood resident and two-spirited Lipan Apache artisan Andrew Pacheco, aka Native Image LA.
Cheng has provided local outreach with community members at the West Hollywood Plummer Park Farmers Market and West Hollywood Library, with West Hollywood city commissioners, and other grassroots efforts to encourage new audiences to engage with poetry. All are welcome to attend any part of these two sister events for this afternoon of intergenerational and intercultural connection.
Special thanks to the City of West Hollywood for the sponsorship of the City Poet Laureate Program and this event.
For more information, visit Cheng’s webpage: https://jencvoice.com/civil-rights-heroes