Join Motus at Old Main Theater at CU for the Conference on World Affairs (CWA). Motus Theater presents JustUs Monologues: Stories of Incarceration - the Impact on Women and Children. Autobiographical monologues from Motus Theater's Boundless Truth: Women’s Stories of Freedom and Incarceration in which Black women leaders, who were formerly incarcerated, tell personal stories of the impact of the criminal legal system on women and their children. Special guests CO State Rep. Leslie Herod and Executive Director of the Colorado ACLU Deborah Richardson will stand in the shoes of a JustUs monologist by co-reading their story. Musical response from Grammy award-winning saxophonist Ernie Watts. Featured monologists include Brenda Cisse, Terri House, and Cynthia Randall.
The JustUs project was developed by Motus Theater in 2019 and premiered as a keynote at the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice Conference in front of 1,600 stakeholders. Since then, the JustUs monologues have been featured in several national and global conferences and have been read and embraced by religious, social justice, civic and law enforcement leaders across the state. The powerful monologues explore themes such as racial profiling, inequality in the bond/bail system, human rights abuses in prisons, criminalizing substance abusers, and the systemic racism and poverty that pushes people into illicit economies.
Guest Readers
Representative Leslie Herod was elected in 2016 as the first LGBTQ African American in the Colorado General Assembly. Since then, she has passed over 100 bills, addressing criminal justice reform, mental health, addiction, youth homelessness, and civil rights protections. Some of her signature work includes: Ending cash bail for minor offenses; De-felonizing drug possession; Giving every Colorado newborn a $100 college kickstarter account; Providing free menstrual hygiene products to inmates in Colorado’s prisons and jails; Passing a comprehensive police accountability bill following the highly public murder of George Floyd, and the nationwide movement that followed.
Deborah J. Richardson has more than three decades of experience in transformative non-profit executive leadership in global, national, and local organizations working to advance civil and human rights for non-dominant identity groups. Deborah is a nationally recognized expert and advocate in advancing justice for women and their families, and convening cross-cultural, community-based coalitions working to advance equitable societies. Her passion is mentoring the next generation of social justice advocates.
Monologist Bios
Brenda Cisse is a Motus Theater JustUs monologist and the Founder and Executive Director of Mary Magdalene Refuge Center for Women. She uses her own experiences of re-entry, childhood sex trauma, human trafficking/sex industry, drug addiction of 25+years to support other women with these experiences not only survive but succeed.
Terri House is a Motus Theater JustUs monologist who has dedicated her life and career to helping others overcome barriers and expand their access through education, advocacy and engagement. She has a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management, and currently serves as the Wrap Around Service Director with Launch Network and is a contract grant writer with Denver Food Rescue.
Cynthia Randall is a Motus Theater JustUs monologist, Certified Addiction Specialist, Unlicensed Psychotherapist and Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist, and a practitioner of traditional medicine. Cynthia is an extraordinary family advocate, a champion for social justice and community connector with over 19 years’ experience in restorative justice facilitation, human services, and program development.
The JustUs project is funded by Arts in Society, Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Rose Community Foundation.