Name: Pat Washington

Age: 52

Self-definition: Black, lesbian, grandmother, scholar and activist

Where were you at 9 a.m. last Sunday morning?

I was home with my partner and a dear friend from Encinitas.

What person has influenced you more than any other, and how?

I am the most influential person in my life. I am [the] one who best determines how to respond to adversity, how to celebrate my strengths, the one who best understands the importance of appreciating every single blessing of my life, and I am the one who gets to determine how to pursue social justice in any arena necessary.

When do you feel unequal?

When I fall prey to measuring myself against someone’s “black test” or “lesbian test” or “woman test” or any of those tests where someone else is trying to decide if I am good enough to belong.

Where were you last Wednesday at noon?

I was home working on several projects for various organizations I am involved in.

When was the last time you felt proud?

Saturday, April 14, from 1 p.m. to midnight

If there was a defining moment in your life, what was it?

My birth. I was born on May 17, 1954, the official date that Brown v. Board of Education was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court. I am destined to fight for educational equity, among other things.

Where were you at 10 p.m. last Friday night?

At home, working out last-minute details for a fund-raiser event the next day

What is your most immediate goal?

Measurable success in my personal and professional life

When do you feel total joy?

With every breath