Sandra Foot, March 16th, 2006

Sandra Foot, March 16th, 2006

In this interview, Sandra Foote talks about moving to Detroit at the age of five. While adjusting to the cultural differences, Foote also reflects on her memories of previously living in New Orleans.

Detroit Historical Society

Detroit Historical Society

en-US

Sandra Foote

Sandra Foote was born in 1941 and lived in New Orleans until the age of five. She recalls splitting her time between Detroit and New Orleans as she grew up.

Crystal Yvonne

Detroit, MI

3/13/2006

1:00:38

Crystal Yvonne: It is Monday, March 13th, 2006. And I Crystal Yvonne am interviewing my mother Sandra Foote for Psychology 436 at McGill College. I have an interview agreement here, but asked if both you and I accept the conditions of this interview, and we are both aware that this interview could be used by Manzo College. Do you accept the terms of the agreement?

Sandra Foote: Yes, I do. That's okay. That's okay.

Crystal Yvonne: Please sign.

Sandra Foote: Okay, I'll sign. Okay. All right. That's fine.

Unidentified Hmm. All right.

Crystal Yvonne: All right. First of all, I just wanted to know, says please tell me where and when you were born.

Sandra Foote: Well, I was born in 1941, January 2nd. Actually, it was about between 80 or 90 miles from New Orleans. It was out in the country, out in the middle of nowhere, you might say. But my home was actually New Orleans. I happened to been born at that time. Because my mother wanted to grow up in the country where she was more comfortable because she lived or she grew up up in the country, away from New Orleans. She chose to go up there where she felt comfortable to have her baby. So that happened to be why I was born there. At my grandparents home. My mother's parent's home. And. As I recall, my mom told me that I was born there and my grandparents home. I don't believe I was born in a hospital. I believe they must have had. A doctor? Yes, A doctor did come to the home. When she was going to deliver. I was born. At my grandparents home. My mom's parents home. And then after that, she went back to New Orleans, which was my mom and dad's home and my father. That was his home, as well as my grandparents on my dad's side and my great grandparents. They were all from in the New Orleans area or Jefferson Parish area. Baton Rouge. That was my beginning.

Crystal Yvonne: Why weren't you born in a hospital?

Sandra Foote: Well, that's a good question. I I'm not sure because certainly. Many of my relatives in that area where my mom took me up in the country were born in France. But for some reason, maybe she couldn't make it to the hospital. I'm really not sure. But she did tell me, as I recall that. She had her. Her choice was my grandparents. Maybe it also was because my grandmother, my mom's mom had often helped, as I guess you could sorta think of her as being helpful in the way of a midwife.

Crystal Yvonne: You said, Who was a midwife?

Sandra Foote: My. My grandmother. My mom's mom. And I don't think she was really a midwife. But she was. And. She was very helpful in that way. She was an old indigenous woman who had. Helped. And that was part of her experience and her past. I don't think so. I don't know really, except that my mother had great, great going to her mom.

Crystal Yvonne: So what What is indigestion? And this is mean.

Sandra Foote: Oh, well, that refers to the Native American side of my heritage, which my grandmother happens to be. You know Choctaw Excuse me. Which is one of the groups of people that are, you know, found in that area, the Choctaws and the Chickasaw.

Crystal Yvonne: Yes. Okay. Then she. Moved. She moved back down to New Orleans. So what would she do when she got back down in New Orleans? Okay. You were born. All right.

Sandra Foote: Well, as I recall, my mom and dad at that time lived. I forget what street they lived on, but the they they're a young married couple at that time. And they probably first lived with my uncle and aunt who were my godparents. They might have lived very close to them for a while. I don't know if they lived in their home, but I know they lived close by. And my dad at that time probably was working on around the French market. Uh, he worked on the docks. He was a stevedore at one time. Well, you work off the ships that New Orleans being a very busy port. We had the shrimp boats. We had we had a lot of all kinds of fruit and produce brought into the that particular port area. And it was brought into the French market, a lot of it. And the weekends, like on Saturdays were spent at the market. A great deal of time there. And there were a lot of men that I can remember as a young child, relatives were who worked on the docks at some time or other, or they drove trucks or they worked on the ships in some capacity. So that was that was something that is part of New Orleans, past the French markets and the time that, you know, I can remember spending there all day long on a Saturday was quite a lot of fun as a young child.

Crystal Yvonne: So I was. Some of your earliest memories.

Sandra Foote: Yes, that was that was a lot of fun on the weekends, being able to spend up and down, going up and down the area where the markets where people had their stalls and so forth. It was. It was a lot of fun because my folks spent a lot of time haggling over prices. I would go with my godfather, for example, and he might haggle for quite a few minutes over just the price of a little watermelon or shrimp or crawfish or anything. It was you just didn't accept the first price. He just stood there and sort of in a friendly sort of conversation, haggling back and forth.

Crystal Yvonne: That was Uncle Lewis. Lewis?

Sandra Foote: Yes. Oh, yeah. We had a lot of fun. And of course, then we would take the the crawfish or whatever he had. Of course, everything we got there was fresh and the crawfish was still alive. Or the crabs also for the gumbo was alive and we'd take it home with them. I can remember standing on a stool. Excuse me. That was my phone dropping. I can remember at the end of that day, you know, the haggling and everything. And then when they gather up what they purchased at the French market and we go home and they would have the the fresh crab still, you know, it's light and you'd have the boiling pot of water that my grandmother would have. And she would I would stand there watching her as she dumped the crab. Or crawfish or both ends of the pot. And oh, boy, I feel so sorry for those. Oh, really? But, you know, I got over that because I used to love to eat. You know, the food when I was prepared. It was a great time.

Crystal Yvonne: Mm hmm. So did you experience any prejudice while you were down there before you left?

Sandra Foote: Well, I didn't really know enough at that time. I was too young to really know because. But my parents wouldn't tell me a. Any kind of prejudice or. They didn't explain anything like that to me at that time because I was quite young. And then I. I think too, we lived in close knit, protective type of environment, if you will, or communities where. My folks as well as my other friends. And well, that I played with their parents probably did the same thing, protected them. Problem. Any kind of. Hurtful type of situations because. We we really kind of. Stay close together and communities.

Crystal Yvonne: And our community is that you will knit community, Community.

Sandra Foote: Well, we're speaking of the Afro-American communities, but they're broken up into little groups, if you will. Me, the older community that I'm familiar with is the Creole community. And we had rather isolated kind of views at that time. I suppose we sort of clung together. And groups and communities where you really didn't venture too far to really be exposed to any kind of. Discriminatory practices. You knew. To stay close together.

Crystal Yvonne: But you were too young.

Sandra Foote: But I was too young to really give you real. Objective time for.

Unidentified You of that. Okay.

Crystal Yvonne: Well, that's fine then. So what? What? How old were you when you moved to Detroit then?

Sandra Foote: Actually, I was five years old. Well. I was just about five years old. We came here to Detroit, actually after my parents were divorced in New Orleans. My mom. Was entering. I don't know if she just entered college, but I know that she was taking classes. At that time. When my parents were divorced and we didn't come immediately to Detroit. We first. Went. To her parents home again where I stayed. For just a short period of time. I imagine it was like over the summer. And she was in summer school classes there at Jackson State, I believe. Mm hmm. And then. She. Move to Detroit, actually with me. So that she could enter Wayne State University. Her goal was to better herself for better job opportunities, for herself, for a better job.

Crystal Yvonne: That's why she moved.

Sandra Foote: Yes, because around New Orleans, which was really our home, there weren't that many opportunities. Not much. For her to to really take advantage of at that time. And that was early to. You know, because that was around 19, I suppose, 1945, 46. So she. Decided to go where there were more opportunities. And she had an older brother. And sister who were here in Detroit. And I'm sure if she had heard that there were more opportunities here.

Crystal Yvonne: So for blacks.

Sandra Foote: Yes. So she decided to come this way and enter Wayne State. Which she later on did. She had to work when she came here. She worked in. Oh, gosh. I think she worked in a convalescent home. What they called was what they called at that time. I think that's what she called it. But it was a nursing home. That's what I think of. You know.

Crystal Yvonne: Did. Did she ever think about or hear you talking about? Not a lot of opportunities down there for blacks and it would be more opportunities up here. Did she ever think about or any of her brothers and sister sisters think about trying to pass?

Sandra Foote: Well, they some of them did, but they didn't intentionally, intentionally do that. But it happened, though.

Crystal Yvonne: For jobs.

Sandra Foote: I don't know. Did they ever at Wayne State, I noticed on her I.D. they were Caucasian and she didn't tell them that she didn't know. In the south, in the small community where we were. We all knew who we were. And it hadn't occurred to her, even for me as a small child, to really. To really speak up to that, to know to do that. To to to say, well. She she really didn't know. She thought everybody knew who she was.

Crystal Yvonne: Are you sure?

Sandra Foote: I don't know. Well, obviously, one, when we were here in Detroit, I found out early because I found out that that was not true. Mm hmm. And when I entered school, people didn't know. They thought I was Asian. They thought my mother. I don't know what they thought she was.

Crystal Yvonne: So why? Because of the war was going on at the time?

Sandra Foote: Yes. They thought I was a war baby. I when I entered school. So I you know, I knew nothing about the Second World War I. You know, that that was to be learned later in my education. But certainly when I entered kindergarten, I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know why.

Crystal Yvonne: So what did they think that grandma went over to?

Sandra Foote: I think.

Crystal Yvonne: Japan and.

Sandra Foote: I just don't know. I was totally confused because I didn't know. I didn't know what to do. In some cases.

Crystal Yvonne: that thought you the Rosie riveters.

Sandra Foote: I maybe so I was just I just didn't know. I didn't understand why sometimes. Children sometimes pointed at me or. Or whispered something. I didn't really know what was going on.

Crystal Yvonne: Hmm. How'd that make you feel when they would point at you?

Sandra Foote: I, I was confused because I was just used to. My family and the close knit little community of folks that I was used to who to me look like a little bit of everybody. But I was quite comfortable being Afro-American, but I didn't know what Afro-American or Asian are or. Caucasian. I really didn't know, by definition what those men. I just knew that. There were. I'm sorry about that.

Crystal Yvonne: So you just didn't use words and you're in a bubble? Yeah. Around most Creole people. So when you got here, you. You felt like a fish out of water or something?

Sandra Foote: Sort of. I really loved to. Being down there. And I didn't realize that we spoke and dialect songs and people didn't understand. Maybe when I was talking that much because we were kind of isolated, unfortunately, even though. New Orleans is definitely. Well known and what have you there. There are a, you know, groups of people who are used to their their. Traditions, you know. And we spoke a little dialect and I learned to be a little ashamed of it.

Crystal Yvonne: Now you are saying that being Creole with a dialect?

Sandra Foote: Yeah. Because I thought, well, this isn't proper. This. This is not getting me anywhere. So there happened to be. A lady in that store. Oh, I. Well, it was a family next door. That was very nice. They were from the northern part of Mississippi.

Crystal Yvonne: Is this here in Detroit or back down?

Sandra Foote: Oh, yes. This is in Detroit. I'm sorry. We had come, you know, to try. My mother was working part time, going to school and all of that. And she actually lived with her older sister, older sister. And she actually purchased a home together. And we lived next door to a family that was from northern Mississippi. And the elder on and that family. Was a tremendous help to me because she used to take me after school. And tutor me and help me with my language problem. And she would really. She she really did help me to speak like people here speak.

Crystal Yvonne: How did you speak before? What was the dialect?

Sandra Foote: Well, it was a Creole dialect. We spoke English and we spoke a little French. And. And some of us know very little Spanish.

Crystal Yvonne: So that was all jumbled together.

Sandra Foote: Yeah.

Crystal Yvonne: So how did that affect you? In school. How were you treated in school when you first got here?

Sandra Foote: Well, when I first got here, they just sort of the teachers were nice. I mean. They they didn't show any. Well, they didn't show any prejudice. Signs of prejudice. But the children, I could tell, were they often. On the playground, you know, they would make little gestures with their eyes, you know. Just so there. Their eyes would be squinting and they would look at me and sometimes laughingly, they'd say, Can you see? Me? And can you see out of your eyes or what have you? And I didn't know what to make of that. I don't know what's going on. So along with not speaking clearly, that didn't help.

Crystal Yvonne: So that's what I meant. Like, how did the teachers react to you? What did they do with you in school in terms of how you spoke?

Sandra Foote: Well, they they just made the corrections. They would correct me.

Crystal Yvonne: And you didn't have any troubles with the teachers. They were just you know.

Sandra Foote: I didn't. But I learned quickly that I. I wanted to fit in and I did not want to look differently. I didn't want to sound differently. So I guess I tried really hard then. And I think at that period of time, for many Afro-Americans, no matter what our varied backgrounds, bringing in to that situation. We were we were told that we needed to excel from our home. From our backgrounds, we would. We were determined that we had to be better. As I'm sure many people, minorities are told that in order to succeed here, you've got to be better than your peers. So I was no exception. I felt some of the same thing.

Crystal Yvonne: So being from a Creole background, can you just give a brief, you know, explain briefly what that means, the Creole culture. What what is that background? Just can you briefly just explain that?

Sandra Foote: Yes, that's. Well, I goes back to the the French and the African and the indigenous background. Those three things.

Crystal Yvonne: We have.

Sandra Foote: American, Native American.

Crystal Yvonne: We are I mean, when you say indigenous, you really mean.

Sandra Foote: When I say indigenous, I'm referring to Native American. And southern Louisiana. And southern Mississippi. The. We are thought to be African, French and Native American. And our culture. Let me see if I can explain that. And all of the better. Yes. And let's say we were thought to be African, French, Native American and Spanish. I'm sorry. I forgot what I said. Indeed. And we we brought those those groups in to the. To our background. My mother had and. As a matter of fact, some Spanish roots she has as well as the Choctaw. The African. The Irish. And. Let me see. I think that's I think of remember that might not have, but she has quite a a mixed background. My father is primarily the French, The Spanish. The African. The Native American. I think I covered when he was the Choctaw. The Spanish. The French.

Crystal Yvonne: Mm hmm. And so what does that mean to you? You know? Is that important to you? How did you express that?

Sandra Foote: Well, I just thought everybody was I mean, you know, from where I was, my little. Community down there, that's that's what what it was. And I just thought it had nothing to do, by the way, with the complexion. Mm hmm. And that meant nothing to me, because there could be dark, light medium. That didn't mean anything to me. Because those people. Culture. Yes. Mm hmm. So however my friends, my little friends, they spoke Creole. And I tend to as a matter of fact, once we got lost, my little friend, my best friend friends in New Orleans, because we went back, I should say, during we only spent the school year part of the year in Michigan, then we went back home. Well, and one of those occasions I was, I don't know, probably around seven years old, 6 or 7, I don't know. We got lost. My best friend and I and a policeman found us and asked us where we where we lived. And my friend was speaking and he couldn't understand her at all because he was not, you know, he was regular, he was Caucasian background. So he didn't know what in the world we were saying. So we led him back to our home. He just followed us. We kept walking till we got there. So. It's it's it's. To answer your question, what does that mean to me?

Crystal Yvonne: Was that important to you? You. You didn't know?

Sandra Foote: No, I didn't know. It was just a way of life.

Crystal Yvonne: And when you got up here to Detroit, why did it become important?

Sandra Foote: Well, it centered.

Crystal Yvonne: Or did you just want to?

Sandra Foote: When I got up here, we located and. I suppose you could say the first location we came to was where people were speaking Spanish. And. Um, I don't know what else, but it. It was close to southwest Detroit. Really? Oh, we were down there, uh, close to downtown. Oh, okay.

Crystal Yvonne: So you live. Whose name is Jerry?

Sandra Foote: Oh, gosh, I don't remember the name of the street, but. There were Native Americans. There were people of Mexican descent. And, um. Various. Backgrounds that were maybe similar and there afro . People that, you know, spoke some of the Spanish.

Crystal Yvonne: So you felt you, you you felt like you fit right on in where you where you were living.

Sandra Foote: Right. Because oh goodness, I can remember. Oh, we had. My good little buddies. And this is going back for me. Gosh, I'm trying to think. Have I? I'm trying to think of my best pals. The. There were the, um. Hmm. I wish I could think of their names right this minute, but Puerto Rican. Um, Mexican. Well, there were pockets of Puerto Ricans and. Native American. And there was a mixed bag in that community where we were. But many of them were speaking Spanish. And they just it just sort of seemed like we came from a group that was sort of that way up here to another group that was sort of that way, too, because Detroit was not really that open as a city at that time for minorities such as us. Oh, there were pockets of the city where I suppose we knew to gravitate toward. So that was the obvious place for us. Right. Rodriguez. Oh, gosh, I can't think of everybody, but. But they were, you know, part of what I was used to, I guess you could say, was part of what you were used to or. Right? Mm hmm. Right.

Crystal Yvonne: So you did feel at home.just as if you were in New Orleans.

Sandra Foote: Right? Because Detroit was just not really that open. The whole city was not open to us. We knew. I'm sure my folks knew when it came to certain areas of the city where they were more welcome.

Crystal Yvonne: But I didn't get this before. Who all moved when you moved to Detroit? It was just you and grandma. So it was.

Sandra Foote: At that.

Crystal Yvonne: Time? Yes.

Sandra Foote: My uncle Tommy, he was already here. I don't know if they knew where he was employed at first. What his background was because of the nature of his job, I'm really not sure. Oh.

Crystal Yvonne: Okay.

Sandra Foote: So my Uncle Tommy and I, Connie. They were here already.

Crystal Yvonne: What's your earliest memory of living here in Detroit?

Sandra Foote: Well, living down there where where I just mentioned with the people who, you know, were not speaking English all the time and and that that area close downtown. I don't know exactly. We weren't in one place. We weren't really settled in that. And. Where we lived. There was probably he was probably rooming. They used to have rooming houses, you know.

Crystal Yvonne: So.

Sandra Foote: Mm hmm. Now, what was that question? I'm sorry.

Crystal Yvonne: I guess the earliest memory, like, Oh, coming here, getting here. Oh, what do you what was the first thing you remember? Was anything that stuck out in your mind?

Sandra Foote: Yes. Yes. Um. Going downtown. I can remember there were street cars here. And. There were mounted police, policemen. You know, that was interesting. And I remember. Hudson's department store.

Crystal Yvonne: Mm hmm.

Sandra Foote: Going there when I was, you know, when we first arrived. And there was a doorman who stood at the door. As you entered the department store, Hudson's departments. And. I thought that was interesting. He was an interesting looking, dignified looking. I remember distinctly he was an interesting, dignified looking black man in some sort of uniform, looking rather stately, standing there at the door. Wow. He's. He was so tall and everything. Hoo hoo. And I just. I was just. I just thought, this is the big city. While New Orleans, to me, it was home and it was big city to me. But this was different. It was cold up here. I remember that.

Crystal Yvonne: And you didn't like the cold?

Sandra Foote: No, I couldn't stand that. But I just remembered seeing this man. He was dressed in this uniform, and he looked so dignified standing at the door. And so entered Hudson's department store. And it was. That to me, was a big deal.

Crystal Yvonne: How old were you? And about then?

Sandra Foote: Oh, that was my first trip here. That was when I must have been around five years old then.

Crystal Yvonne: Oh, well, then you. And what do you think about. Did you have any feelings about seeing the black man other than you thought he was dignified? Did you feel like that was different than how you saw blacks down in New Orleans?

Sandra Foote: Well. I didn't see any buddy standing. I don't recall seeing anybody standing. You know, as a doorman, although that might be just because I just didn't see that much. I was down there earlier because I was very young. Yeah. But it might not have been any different. I can't say that it was. But I was just impressed, I think, because I was in a different place. It was very cold and the people were not as friendly to I thought. But it was still interesting that I missed being at home because I never did like the cold kind of the cold weather and not as friendly kind of community.

Crystal Yvonne: Yeah.

Sandra Foote: That I was accustomed to in the South and around New Orleans and anywhere around the southern Deep South like that. Although they say this was integrated up here, I didn't really know what integration. All I know was that the people were not as warm. And up front as people are down there.

Crystal Yvonne: So you were so and is being integrated you that means you were able to get on wherever you wanted to on the bus and this, that and other like that you weren't able to do in the South.

Sandra Foote: Well, you know, I'm sure that's true. But when I was so young in the South. I didn't know anything about that, although that that was going on. But when I went back on subsequent visits, I did indeed encounter that, to know the difference. As we got on a bus in New Orleans on one occasion when I was a child, my mom looked at me and I sat down where I wanted to sit down. When you were.

Crystal Yvonne: There, When you were here.

Sandra Foote: That was in New Orleans nobody said anything.

Crystal Yvonne: Now, why do you think that was? Do you think that was because she looked white or do you think.

Sandra Foote: Well, they probably thought I just didn't know any better. And they they probably just passed. Just passed it. Just let it go. Because I can remember going to a waterfall and she said, oh, no, that's one because I didn't know I was back and forth between here and Michigan to know New Orleans and thereabouts. So that was kind of confusing going back and forth. I thought I could just go and drink water down there in a fountain. And she said, Wait a minute. And on one occasion and I thought, Well, what's wrong? But then my mother, she didn't tell me not to drink water. She just let me do it. She hesitated at first, but then she didn't say, Don't do it. She just said she just said nothing after that. And she just let me go ahead and do it. And nobody reprimanded me. And that was a thought the way she operated. She didn't really want to enforce whatever the the law was. She didn't help it. In other words, she didn't help to promote it at all. And when we come back here, on the other hand, she had people to babysit me while she was working, going to school. Sometimes it was a black person. Sometime it was a white person who she who she was friends with because she had both white and black. Friends, I guess you would say, at that time. And there was a white lady who did babysit me at one time. And another time there was a black lady babysat. So that you. Yeah. That was going on up here.

Crystal Yvonne: So when you were drinking that water and she let you drink the water, you didn't understand why. You never understood why you couldn't at that time.

Sandra Foote: Now she does.

Crystal Yvonne: So she lets you play. So she so she had pride. She. And she wanted she didn't want you to feel any negative feelings or.

Sandra Foote: I'm sure that's what it was. She didn't want to instill that kind of. Feeling a need to hesitate or to feel less than someone else. She always wanted to. Instill. A different type of value system, not based on anybody's. Well, not based on that practice of the day of segregation. She she didn't try to enforce that. And that was a little bit scary sometimes, I'm sure you know, in that regard.

Crystal Yvonne: So is that part of the reason why she moved? That was part of the reason why she moved up here also.

Sandra Foote: That's possible because she wasn't the type that. Would accept it. She definitely didn't. And she had an uncle who who had probably encouraged her to to to leave and go elsewhere, go to school. He wanted to help her with her education because he was a physician and he wasn't in the South at that time. So he he didn't want, you know, to encourage that. So he probably that type of, you know, feeling of having to stay in the south. So we we didn't mind moving about.

Crystal Yvonne: Mm hmm.

Sandra Foote: Moving away from there. And what? She didn't mind? I had no choice.

Crystal Yvonne: Did you like living here, or would you rather stay in New Orleans?

Sandra Foote: Well, as a little child, I loved being in New Orleans, so I always wanted to go back home. Oh, well. But she didn't because she understood. I didn't understand the at that time what segregation was and what have you. So I didn't really get it. But I'm sure she had the reasons that that was part of her reasoning. She had more opportunities, and when people went see us all together, they'd see a group of people who look who looked all kind of different ways. And even when we were traveling at a car, going, trying to take a motor trip back down there, we were sometimes stopped by. Policemen going over different going through different southern states. They would say they might be standing directing traffic. I don't know what they were doing. But anyway, they would sometimes stop us and and look to see who's in the car. And they would sometimes hesitate to say something. They didn't always know what to say because they thought that we were a group of people of different races and they just didn't know what to say sometimes.

Crystal Yvonne: And that would scare you?

Sandra Foote: Well, it didn't make me feel comfortable because I was getting a little bit bigger, older at that time.

Crystal Yvonne: Who I would be in the car.

Sandra Foote: Well, remember, uncle, we we shortened his name and call it Wentworth. He would be there. And Tommy. Either one of them and their wives and my mother and myself. And we're all different looking folks to them. I suppose the people who or the policemen, they just didn't know.

Crystal Yvonne: So did you feel like you stuck out with even with with them, maybe not in your community, but did you feel like at some point growing up, did you. Stick out knowing your family.

Sandra Foote: Sometimes, unfortunately, when I was young and elementary level. Mm hmm. Sometimes I didn't want them to come to school because I didn't want. People to ask me a lot of questions about my background. Or to treat me maybe differently. I just wanted to be part of the group and that they saw my film. They might not treat me as a part of the group.

Crystal Yvonne: So.

Sandra Foote: A lot of times I thought that. My afro-American. As you will. Friends, brothers, sisters. I thought they were so nice looking, and I just wanted to look more like them.

Crystal Yvonne: Why?

Sandra Foote: Because I thought maybe I wouldn't stand out. I didn't want to stand out looking different. If, you know, in school, if there was a group of friends. And I was playing with them. Then here comes. Maybe it might have been some kind of parent teacher thing, you know, meetings or something if my uncle or my mom showed up. And then my friends look at them and stare. I thought they were. They wouldn't treat me maybe the same.

Crystal Yvonne: Because they were they the way they look now, how do they look now? What's so different.

Sandra Foote: They might make fun of of our group. In other words, they make fun of our family group or something. And that kind of hurts, you know.

Crystal Yvonne: So, you know Rainbow Coalition.

Sandra Foote: Yes. I just sometimes didn't want them.

Crystal Yvonne: So you were ashamed. You didn't like the fact that she looked white. She had blue eyes.

Sandra Foote: And they all had blue eyes. And there's. Well, just all looked different. And that's just something that's part of the math. I think that's part of the Afro American. Part of the fabric of being Afro-American too. That should be accepted in the US that we don't all look alike and we don't all have the same culture culture. Just every little part of that puzzle doesn't just always have to fit with the same cultural background. No.

Crystal Yvonne: So do you think that moving here bettered you? You're in in Grandma?

Sandra Foote: Well, I think it exposed me. Moving here. Exposed me to. Different types of people. And I believe that it is a good thing to be exposed to different types of people, whether the Caucasian, Afro, Asian. Native American. Whatever. You know, whether it's, you know, community or whatever you should. I think we should be exposed to different types of people so that we can have a better understanding.

Crystal Yvonne: So that so moving here helped you to you think it helped because it expose you to different cultures? That's right. And you think that that's important?

Sandra Foote: Yes, I definitely think that's.

Crystal Yvonne: So it's staying. Looking back now, do you think staying in New Orleans, okay, pre Hurricane Katrina, but do you think staying in New Orleans or living here or moving here was a better bet for you, for the family.

Sandra Foote: At that time? I think it probably was wise to move. Mm hmm. Because the opportunities in New Orleans. Are or were at that time even less than they are now. And there needs to be more opportunities now for. The. Afro-Americans, Americans and any part of the population there. There needs to be more industry, more. More job opportunities available. But then definitely it was probably wise for us to move so that my mom could. Can that affect? Going to the university here, getting the job that she eventually ended up with.

Crystal Yvonne: In that job was.

Sandra Foote: She was a supervisor and. Harper Hospital. And she was also a supervisor at other hospitals and. As well.

Crystal Yvonne: So overall, this has been a positive experience for you overall?

Sandra Foote: Yes, it has. And, you know, you take the good and the bad. I mean, I miss home. Although I went back there every summer, we went home. It was like going to school here. Just. Just waiting to get over with the school year and running back home. That was our routine. But it benefited us in the long run. Coming here.

Crystal Yvonne: Too, how did it benefit you? It benefits you with school and work differently.

Sandra Foote: Yes, I was able to. Do things that maybe I would not have done in New Orleans. I don't know. But I was able to go to the university of my choice. I would prefer that able to participate more and see viable programs.

Crystal Yvonne: And I was that.

Sandra Foote: Oh Catholic youth organization you know who we coming out of New Orleans you know, we're a large Catholic community down there and we just moved right along here. And that was the best part of my coming here. I love to see my old programs. When I was little, I swam all the time and participated in a lot of activities. The CIO head all. And that part was great. And part of the spiritual part of that and just just having a great time as a little child in that program for.

Crystal Yvonne: So it's good that you were able to.

Sandra Foote: Go to school or other things like the art programs, you know, taking art classes at the museum and said, Oh, taking music lessons. I had the oh, my goodness, she would if she had me with the music lessons on Saturday. And then I had the art lessons and then I had swimming all during the week. So we were we were really going for what was offered here. We we went gung ho.

Crystal Yvonne: So you took on a lot, right? And that was for your betterment?

Sandra Foote: Yes. Yes. We took advantage of everything for it.

Crystal Yvonne: That's okay. So I said overall, this had been has been a good experience for your take.

Sandra Foote: And yes, it was.

Crystal Yvonne: Thank you for your time. Thank you for letting me interview you, mommy and daddy. And I guess that concludes this interview. Thank you.

Sandra Foote: You're welcome.