Finally, the South Carolina legislature called a special session--they don't usually meet from July through December--and voted to remove the confederate flag from the state capitol in Columbia. The symbol of hatred of the "Other" will no longer fly over the state building of the South Carolina capitol. What a shame it's taken such a horrible tragedy to knock some sense into so many of the congressional members, as well as the governor, Nikki Haley, whom, up until the Charleston shootings, continually reiterated the subject about the flag's removal was closed.
My boyfriend and I moved to South Carolina from New Jersey in 2009, and the extent of racism in the society down here is much more palpable and virulent than up North. The first night we moved here, a white man came to the house we had rented under the pretense of making sure we were the legitimate renters--he said, "We have some problems down here with the n------, so I wanted to make sure you were who you say you are." As this was said, our half-Black and half-Puerto Rican nephew sat on the couch and just looked on. I was already sleeping, so fortunately, I missed the rebel welcome. The following day, I asked my nephew how he kept quiet during the visit, and he replied that he immediately knew that if he said anything, he could end up dead and floating in the lake down the street from us and nothing would likely come of the investigation--if there even was an investigation. I wish I had taken that incident as an omen and left the state the same day we moved in!
But, we stayed. And from that time forward, we've had many more unpleasant, sometimes downright dangerous experiences. But, we're stuck here now, and I plan to do what I came here to do in the first place--fight against racism by continually broaching the topic with white people, probably through the Showing Up for Racial Justice organization and in partnership with the Black Lives Matter organization, and through my writing on this blog and other mediums. So stay tuned!
Copyright@ Eileen M. Sembrot 2020
My boyfriend and I moved to South Carolina from New Jersey in 2009, and the extent of racism in the society down here is much more palpable and virulent than up North. The first night we moved here, a white man came to the house we had rented under the pretense of making sure we were the legitimate renters--he said, "We have some problems down here with the n------, so I wanted to make sure you were who you say you are." As this was said, our half-Black and half-Puerto Rican nephew sat on the couch and just looked on. I was already sleeping, so fortunately, I missed the rebel welcome. The following day, I asked my nephew how he kept quiet during the visit, and he replied that he immediately knew that if he said anything, he could end up dead and floating in the lake down the street from us and nothing would likely come of the investigation--if there even was an investigation. I wish I had taken that incident as an omen and left the state the same day we moved in!
But, we stayed. And from that time forward, we've had many more unpleasant, sometimes downright dangerous experiences. But, we're stuck here now, and I plan to do what I came here to do in the first place--fight against racism by continually broaching the topic with white people, probably through the Showing Up for Racial Justice organization and in partnership with the Black Lives Matter organization, and through my writing on this blog and other mediums. So stay tuned!
Copyright@ Eileen M. Sembrot 2020
