Revolutionary Love
- Columbus, Ohio
1971
Photos of Umi as Audrey with college boyfriend, Jeff.
Notes: Umi was in a relationship with Jeff from about 1970-1973. They were both attending Ohio State University (OSU) and met, I learned from Jeff, at the Black Student Union office while in a “group discussion about numerous grievances that Black students had with the OSU administration.” Growing up, I never met Jeff, but Umi always spoke fondly of him, maybe even wistfully at times. After her passing, I knew I wanted to talk to him and so I searched and found him. He's a great person and has been so generous with me with his memories, a bit of which I share here:
“We were both political, but to different extents. I had co-founded our on-campus, Black student newspaper, Our Choking Times and was serving as its City Editor and Arts Editor. Your mom was involved in Black Art/African culture (especially theater and dance) and campus politics...Looking back, I have come to recognize that your mother and I fell in love during a great time; a time of increasing Black consciousness, national and international political activism, Black expression, and spiritual awareness shaped our love and us each as individuals. The revolution of the early 1970s was the backdrop for our love. We were fortunate enough to experience it together and feel its wind in our sails. For a while, that wind pushed us together and our paths ran parallel.”
Like Umi, Jeff loved again and has his own family now. Also like Umi, he thinks of her fondly: “I know that she had a profound impact on my life and that I am a better person for having known and loved her.”