A white actor is suing the San Diego County Library, claiming the public library's leadership illegally discriminated against her by cancelling her one-woman show because they were "uncomfortable" with the white woman portraying two black historical female figures, including Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman.
On May 1, Annette Hubbell and her entertainment company, Annette Hubbell Productions, filed her lawsuit in San Diego federal court against the San Diego County Library, as well as the library's director, Migell Acosta.
Other defendants named in the action include San Diego County and the county's chief administrative officer, Ebony Shelton.
According to the complaint, Hubbell, a San Diego resident, works as "an author, a playwright, and an actress," operating her production company "for the purpose of providing education and entertainment services."
According to the complaint, Hubbell authored a one-woman play, called "Women Warriors," in which she portrays prominent female figures from American history.
According to the complaint, the San Diego County Library hired Hubbell to perform her play at the library. As part of that contract, Hubbell allegedly allowed library leadership to select three female characters to portray.
According to the complaint, library officials asked her to perform as Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of the historically significant anti-slavery 19th Century novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin;" Mary McLeod Bethune, a prominent educator and civil rights activist from the early 20th Century; and Tubman, an escaped slave who became a prominent conductor on the abolitionist network known as the Underground Railroad, helping other slaves escape the American South to freedom before the Civil War.
Bethune and Tubman were both black.
After months of preparation and with just weeks remaining before she would begin her performances, library officials allegedly demanded Hubbell play two white characters in place of Bethune and Tubman.
According to the complaint, Hubbell was told by the Rancho Santa Fe Library branch manager that "our administration was uncomfortable with (her) performing a black character as a white woman."
When Hubbell refused - asking library officials if "it would be wrong 'to exclude someone's story of bravery, courage, and integrity because of one's race, gender, or anything else'" - the library canceled the performance.
That decision was later affirmed by senior library and county leadership after Hubbell requested an investigation.
According to the complaint, the cancellation "left (Hubbell) feeling embarrassed, humiliated, and distressed," and also led to "diminished" professional performing activities in the community, including losing a performance opportunity through a local educational program for older adults.
The complaint includes a quote from Hubbell, who said: “In the five years of performing these characters, there has never been a hint of offense, even from anonymous surveys. And why should there be? How could we ever explore our common humanity with these kinds of restrictions?"
According to the complaint, Hubbell further worries the library's actions, if "permitted to persist ... will normalize government restrictions on actors and performers based on race, unfairly hindering artistic expression and opportunity."
Hubbell is represented by attorneys from the nonprofit constitutional rights legal advocacy organization, the Pacific Legal Foundation.
In a release announcing the filing of the suit, PLF attorney Andrew Quinio said: “San Diego County Library shut the door on Annette not because of what she performs, but because of what she looks like.
"That’s unconstitutional. The Equal Protection Clause forbids the government from denying Annette this opportunity because of her race.”
Hubbell also issued a statement, saying: “History belongs to all of us. These are American stories — stories of courage, sacrifice, and resilience — they should be told, shared, and celebrated by everyone.
“It’s heartbreaking that the library chose to silence these stories because of my race. I’ve spent years bringing these characters to life with the care, respect, and honor they deserve. Using identity politics to ignore their legacy is unconscionable. To paraphrase Dr. King, I chose them for the content of their character, and that is what matters," Hubbell said.
In her lawsuit, Hubbell has asked the court to declare San Diego County and its library system violated Hubbell's constitutional rights, as well as her civil rights under federal and California state law.
The lawsuit seeks a court order blocking the county and library "from treating individuals differently on the basis of race when approving or denying library programming."
She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the county and library.
The San Diego County and Library defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit.