I have recently seen the December Op-Ed piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune  and just had to respond. In essence the Library called it inappropriate for Annette to portray women of color. My husband and I commissioned Annette to fly out to our home in Montgomery, Alabama and perform four characters at a dinner party. In the audience were a mix of races: Black, White, Asian and Hispanic. She performed her from her repertoire of historic characters, some white and some black. Everyone in the audience knew these women were being honored for the content of their character (to paraphrase Dr. King). Three standing ovations and an encore performance spoke to how well these portrayals were received. I think her biggest admirers of the evening were our African American friends. Why, because they expressed gratitude to Annette for bringing these characters to life, for honoring who they were and the many challenges they overcame. I wonder if Annette would be criticized if she portrayed and honored only white women? She did a masterful job of bringing these women to life. The County Library system should be ashamed.

Nancy Turskey
Montgomery, Alabama