CSUEB Hosts LGBTQ+ and APIMESA Speakers in April

Cal State East Bay will conclude its 2021-2022 Cultural Awareness Month speaker series by celebrating both LGBTQ+ and APIMESA month in April.

Best-selling author Julie Murphy will visit campus on April 14 as the LGBTQ+ keynote speaker. Jose Antonio Vargas — a journalist, filmmaker and theatrical producer —  is the APIMESA speaker on April 21. Both events are hybrid, allowing community members to attend in person or on Zoom, and begin at 12:15 p.m. 

Murphy is the author of “Dumplin” (now a feature film on Netflix) and its sequels “Puddin’” and “Pumpkin,” as well as other young adult novels. She draws on her own experiences as a bisexual woman in her work.

Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and theatrical producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit media and culture organization Define American, named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. His best-selling memoir, “Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen,” was published by HarperCollins in 2018. Most recently, he co-produced Heidi Schreck’s acclaimed play “What the Constitution Means to Me,” which opened on Broadway in spring 2019.

The university’s cultural awareness month series is co-sponsored by the Diversity & Inclusion Student Center and the Office of Academic Affairs. The speaker series brings attention to the plight, struggles, and effective activism of many marginalized, underrepresented and underserved communities.