DIANE GUERRERO RESONATES WITH STUDENTS IN A CANDID

DISCUSSION ABOUT HER BOOK, IMMIGRATION, AND WHAT

IT MEANS TO BE AN ACTRESS OF COLOR.

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided Author Diane Guerrero and Assistant Professor for Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Ruth María López captivated the audience in a stimulating chat and book signing to promote the Provost Summer Read Program.

Provost Paula Myrick Short welcomed Diane Guerrero to speak to a packed UH Hilton Conrad Room on April 24, 2019. “There are individuals all around us who affect change without our knowledge, and it is up to us to seek out and recognize the hard work of these talented people in our lives” said Short. “I hope Diane Guerrero’s presence with us this evening inspires you to consider In the Country We Love: My Family Divided within your own lives.”

Kicking off the fifth year of the Provost Summer Read Program, In the Country We Love: My Family Divided tells the story of a moving, heartbreaking story of one woman's extraordinary resilience in the face of the nightmarish struggles of undocumented residents in this country.

Guerrero sat down with Ruth María López to discuss topics ranging from immigration reform to challenges Latinx face as a community. Lopez asked Guerrero about her experiences growing up with undocumented parents who lived in constant fear of being deported and how those events affected her past and present mindset.  Lopez faced similar challenging growing up with parents who were undocumented. “The beginning years of my life, I was part of a mixed-status family since my parents were undocumented and my siblings and I were born in the United States” says Lopez. Lopez adds that the book “humanized and added complexity to the undocumented and mixed-status family experience in a way that I had not seen before.” Born in the US, Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family.

Diane Guerrero is an actress on the hit shows Orange is the New Black, Jane the Virgin, and the new DC series, Doom Patrol. She volunteers with the nonprofit Immigrant Legal Resource Center, as well as with Mi Familia Vota, an organization that promotes civic involvement. She has been named an Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization by the White House. 

After sharing about her personal experiences with her parents deportation and the obstacles she faces on a regular bases because of the tragedy, Guerrero then transitioned into answering student questions about their own experiences and seeking guidance and advise and finished with an exciting booking signing.

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by: Ricardo Hernandez Jr.