My first letter to the editor, 1971

I got started early on political awareness and advocacy. In 1971 I was in the 3rd grade at Sanchez School, a few blocks from Castro St. in San Francisco. Here I am with my classmates, front row in the center.

I was among the kids being bused to Sanchez to help integrate the schools. Anti-busing protesters greeted our bus each morning that September. One of the protesters had appropriated the "war is not healthy for children and other living things" slogan for her picket sign, imitating the design and substituting the word "busing" for "war."

I can still remember seeing the sign, and getting mad when I realized what she had done. Being a good liberal child of the 1960s, living in San Francisco, I recognized the "war is not healthy" design. I didn't like that the protesters were hounding us and I really didn't like that this person was using an anti-war slogan to protest busing, which I thought was great (other than a long ride home around the hills of San Francisco, which in retrospect was rather delightful).

Here's the original and published version of the letter, which my mom, Jane Willsea, saved in my scrapbook: