Ladies and Gentlemen of the Richland City Council, I am incredibly saddened to have to be writing this email. However, after the City Council Meeting on April 4, 2023, I feel I need to address some troubling statements as a mental health professional with

What is drag? Drag is a form of entertainment with performers dressing and acting as another gender, often in an exaggerated way. Performances may include singing, dancing, lip-syncing, or comedy. How long has drag been around? Drag has been around for hundreds of years.

1. Washington State Board Against Discrimination, Report on the City of Kennewick, July 1963, box 5, Washington State Board Against Discrimination Records, Washington State Archives, Olympia (hereafter cited as WSBAD Records). 2. Tri-City Herald (Pasco, Wash.), May 24, 1963. 3. Josh Sides, "Rethinking Black