By Tim Klapac
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Hearing stories of immigrants all over the news can be confusing for young adults trying to navigate the modern world. However, a historic building in Baltimore is taking the first step in creating a safe space for those looking to share their thoughts with experts.
Immigration attorney Sheela Murthy was one of three people to present at the Baltimore Butterfly Session’s “Look Home” conversation at the Baltimore Center Stage in a discussion about immigration on Oct. 28. Murthy, along with Afroboricua poet Tatiana Figueroa Ramirez and musician Kamyar Arsani, told stories about immigration and the role every American should take in the immigration process.
“Part of the reason it is such a great country is because of each and every one of people just like you, who care on a deep, deep level,” Murthy said. “That want to do good, do right and help the country achieve the ideals and the reasons why it is called the greatest country on Earth.”
Immigration attorney Sheela Murthy speaks at the first Baltimore Butterfly Session at the Baltimore Center Stage on Oct. 28. Photo by Tim Klapac.
The event is the first of what Director of Artistic Partnerships and Innovation Annalisa Dias hopes to be a recurring series of civic dialogs between the Baltimore community and members of different cultures.
“It was inspired by Citizen University Civic Saturdays,” Diaz said. “This was our first attempt at what this kind of programming looks like in Baltimore and at this specific theater.”
The butterfly is an example of Dr. Lawrence Brown’s assessment of the hyper-segregated Baltimore neighborhoods. Brown described the butterfly’s wings as the black neighborhoods which fanned out to the east and west while the white neighborhoods run down the center of the city in the shape of an L.
The topic of immigration was influenced by Baltimore Center Stage’s production of “Miss You Like Hell,” a story about a mother and daughter’s journey being conflicted by the mother’s immigration status.
“Our immigration system is sort of the backdrop of that story and we were interested in continuing the conversation about immigration throughout the year,” Diaz said.
The event led off with a performance from Arsani followed by Ramirez reading a few of her poems regarding immigration. They varied from local immigrant stories to experiences outside of the U.S.
Diaz invited members of the audience up on stage to read excerpts from writings that inspired this conversation, reminding the audience members that this has been a struggle before.
Once Murthy took to the podium, she told her story of being raise in India and becoming a lawyer, despite society expecting her to become an engineer or a doctor, similar to her sisters. She continued by discussing the problems immigrants are facing due to the Trump administration.
“As recently as last Friday, the ACLU got a response back from Trump admin that an additional 1,500 children have been separated from their parents,” she said. “Right now, there’s the new Migration Protection Protocol and there’s over 51,000 waiting for their day in court.”
Murthy continued by ensuring attendees that there is reason for hope despite the aspirations of the current U.S. administration.
“Fundamentally, its’ still a democracy,” she said. “We have a constitution that is beyond amazing in every sense of the word. We have the balance of powers for almost every obnoxious thing that’s going on in violation of the U.S. Constitution.”
Despite her positive words, Murthy was asked by the audience about how immigrants should feel about the U.S. since the Trump administration has taken office. She maintained a positive outlook toward the future.
“For those who are getting dejected and depressed, think about what a great country we have,” she said. “We truly believe in people’s inherent, incredible potential.”
While the conversation was focused on immigration, Diaz hopes events like this one can help create an artistic culture that is welcoming for all members of society.
At the beginning of the event, Diaz and Artistic Director Stephanie Ybarra urged the audience to feel free taking pictures with their phones and engaging with the speakers in an open and comfortable manner. This unorthodox approach is something they hope to see implemented in future events to promote a more comfortable environment for guests.
“I think that there’s a really interesting dialog in the national theater community right now about some of the structural assumptions that we have about behavior in the theater and what’s ‘proper,’” she said. “How you should behave when you go into a theater space. ‘Sit down, shut up, turn your phone off, don’t have kids there and be proper.’”
Diaz explained that that type of atmosphere can negatively affect people who may not feel like they belong at these discussions.
“That comes with all kinds of coded language about who is allowed to be in those spaces,” she said. “There’s a huge dialog in the national theater community about what does all of that mean and who are we excluding just by having these implicit assumptions about what is or isn’t good behavior.”
The audience at the first Butterfly Session is a sign that Diaz and Ybarra are accomplishing this goal. Guests varied by age, gender and ethnic background.
Diaz was excited to see younger attendees and hopes that will continue to grow as the Butterfly Sessions return throughout the year.
“It’s part of a question that we’re all asking ourselves,” she said. “How do we open our building up and our spaces up in a way that’s welcoming and warm and inviting for people of all backgrounds and ages?”
Another Butterfly Session is already planned for today.