Maxine Waters
- Born August 15th, 1938
- Congresswoman of the 43rd District - Democrat (was Congresswoman of the 29th District in 1992)
- Oldest of 12 Black women in Congress today
- Former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
- 77 years old currently; was 54 in 1992
- described LA riot violence as a "spontaneous reaction to injustice."
- "economic, social, cultural, and political" factors responsible
- thought "riots" should be called a "rebellion" or "insurrection."
- Clearly enunciated speech
- Matter-of-fact speaking; slow but not too slow, almost like explaining something to a child
- Steady, weary way of saying things - lots of "um"s and pauses
- "hwhat", not "what"
- ends of sentences sound like questions
- lots of adjusting of glasses - pushing them up and down the bridge of her nose
- voice gets rocky when passionate - speaks mostly quietly, but can get into loud registers very quickly
- grounded when standing, feet apart, power stance
Usually, taking notes on people is for historical purposes. Having to actually look up videos of someone, and adopting their mannerisms, is certainly a unique experience. I'm reminded of something Mr. Graham told us last year: "Becoming a character, as it were, actually has nothing to do with becoming that character. It's about finding all the parts of that character in yourself." I wonder if that applies no matter what - no matter how different the character is from yourself.
-Keerthi
