Erika Seay
- Interviewer
- Kaleb Seay
- Date
- November 30, 2023
- Location of the Interview
- Tuckaway Hall, Sewanee University
- Length
- 51 minutes, 1 second
- Abstract
-
I had the great chance to interview Erika Seay, but I know her as my mother. She is from
Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up on the east side of Knoxville. She graduated from Austin
East High School and continued to Nashville where she attended Tennesee State University
(TSU). When speaking with Ms. Seay about the Black Lives Matter movement she stated an
interesting point of view on the movement. She states the question asking me if we are talking in
a literal sense or when the true movement started. She continued to speak on how black lives
have always mattered as a black woman. She felt as if her voice had always been used to defy
odds within society. To her knowledge, the first place she saw the black lives matter movement
was after the shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin. She went into detail about the strengths of
social media, but also the role social media played when it comes to the “fear factor” of black
mothers across America. She talked about the black panther movement and how it became
political resulting in the movement losing its true identity. She spoke on the effect of the
LGTBQ+ community comparing their struggle with black lives matter and how the responses in
her community made her feel. Our interview closed on whether the movement has been
successful and why. The insight Erika Seay provided isn’t only respected due to her being my
mother, but because of the wisdom she gives us as listeners. Being able to have the perspective
of a person who has been in the community for generations will help us grasp an understanding
of what the Black Lives Matter movement is and where it’s going.
Part of Erika Seay