We moved to South Carolina in 2009, seven months after Obama took office as the first Black POTUS,and one month after Michael Jackson died. Between my excitement about Obama and my grief about Michael, I was overwhelmed emotionally, and should have listened to a friend and fellow Yoga teacher, Yogini, to stay out of South Carolina because the racism was so bad. But, having considered myself an anti-racist advocate since about the age of 7, I replied, "If that's where racism is worse in this country, then that's where I need to be!" How grandiose was my thinking.
I graduated from Rutgers University, New Brunswick in 2008 with a B.A. in American Studies. I focused on African-American history, and qualified for minors in English, philosophy, and political science. My interests were, and still are, quite broad. I met my current partner of eight years, Ruben, while handing out voter registration forms to register people for the upcoming Obama-McCain election. Although I didn't actually vote for Obama--I voted Green due to concerns about the environment that were not adequately addressed by Obama, and due to Obama's aggressive stance toward Iran--I did register people to vote, and certainly expressed my glee about America's possibility of having a Black man in the White House.
When we moved to South Carolina, I talked nearly incessantly about our Black president and our sadly missed entertainment icon, Michael Jackson. And when I placed our Obama-Biden lawn sign in the front yard, I was forewarned by some not-quite-as-racist-as-the-other-people about how people in this neighborhood felt about a Black man as president of the United States. Yogini had warned me about the billboards reading, "Defeat Evil, Defeat Obama" before moving south. However, until about the third year of living there, I really thought I could make a difference. But, not anymore, not there, anyway.
When people ask what brought me to New Mexico, I say, "South Carolina."
PS It is now July 13, and, due to covid, we are moving back to SC in 19 days! Watch what you say you will NEVER do again!
Copyright@Eileen M. Sembrot 2020
I graduated from Rutgers University, New Brunswick in 2008 with a B.A. in American Studies. I focused on African-American history, and qualified for minors in English, philosophy, and political science. My interests were, and still are, quite broad. I met my current partner of eight years, Ruben, while handing out voter registration forms to register people for the upcoming Obama-McCain election. Although I didn't actually vote for Obama--I voted Green due to concerns about the environment that were not adequately addressed by Obama, and due to Obama's aggressive stance toward Iran--I did register people to vote, and certainly expressed my glee about America's possibility of having a Black man in the White House.
When we moved to South Carolina, I talked nearly incessantly about our Black president and our sadly missed entertainment icon, Michael Jackson. And when I placed our Obama-Biden lawn sign in the front yard, I was forewarned by some not-quite-as-racist-as-the-other-people about how people in this neighborhood felt about a Black man as president of the United States. Yogini had warned me about the billboards reading, "Defeat Evil, Defeat Obama" before moving south. However, until about the third year of living there, I really thought I could make a difference. But, not anymore, not there, anyway.
When people ask what brought me to New Mexico, I say, "South Carolina."
PS It is now July 13, and, due to covid, we are moving back to SC in 19 days! Watch what you say you will NEVER do again!
Copyright@Eileen M. Sembrot 2020
