|
|
|
And just who is Susan Smith Ross?
Mother (Susan) and Daughter (Taylor) I was born on June 20, 1958 (ain't no shame in my game) at Mercy Hospital (now known as Provena Covenant Medical Center) in Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois. The hospital is not very far from my house. My parents are Earl Edward Smith and Margaret Hite Pearson Smith. My father was born in a small town in East Central Illinois called Gibson City. My mother was born in Champaign. Yep . . . Black folks are actually natives of East Central Illinois! My paternal grandparents: Tishan Edwards Smith and William Yancy Smith, Jr. (known as Yancy) were both from Wesson, Mississippi. (By the way, check out the Smith Family Website!) My maternal grandmother, Helen Martha Johnson Hite was also born in Champaign. Earnest Stine Hite, my paternal grandfather, was born in DuQoin -- which is a town in Southern Illinois.
(Left) Brother Bobby at work as the Generic DJ. (Right) Niece Lucretia and husband Otis. I have one brother: Donald Robert Pearson, Sr. (known as Bobby). He has been married since 1965 to Minnie Pearl Hemphill Pearson of Greenville, Mississippi. I'll be nice and not reveal his age. He, too, was born at Mercy Hospital. Bobby and Minnie have two children: Lucretia Anne and Donald Jr. (known as Dino). Lucretia is married to Otis Williams -- who is also from Greenville, Mississippi. She has a son, Chumar LaQuinn Williams. Dino has a daughter named Brittany. Bobby is a retired electrician. He worked for the University of Illinois for many years. He now runs a very successful mobile DJ business called The Generic DJ. Minnie is a public school teacher for Unit District #4 (Dr. Howard School). I attended the following schools and universities:
I graduated from Centennial High School in 1974 at the age 15. I received a Bachelor of Science degree from SIU in 1979 at the age of 20. At SIU, I affiliated with the Alpha Angels and became a member of the PREMIER sorority founded by and for women of African descent -- ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA.
I also was an RA in Mae Smith Tower and met most of my current friends - - including the ones nearest and dearest to me -- during my FIVE long years in Carbondale:
And in 1991, at the tender age of 32, I graduated from law school. While I was not the oldest in my class, I was most definitely the oldest Black student. Our graduating class included four Black women: Janet Barnes, Carol Dison, Linda Richardson and myself (all members of AKA) and eight Black men.
I married Ronald Lamont Ross, Sr., of Chicago, Illinois, on December 29, 1990, at Bobby and Minnie's house followed by a reception at the University of Illinois' Levis Faculty Center. Our son, Ronald Jr., was born August 31, 1991, at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He died shortly after his birth. On March 9, 1994, our daughter, Taylor Paige, was born at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Taylor is currently a second grade student at Edgar Allan Poe Classical School in Chicago, a member of Group 2 of the Windy City Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. and a Brownie in Girl Scout Troop #312 at Southlawn United Methodist Church.
Edgar Allan Poe Classical School Currently, I am employed as Associate Director of Career Services and Public Service Law at DePaul University College of Law.
Most of my free time is spent doing one of five things:
|
