William Samuel Slade, who is running for Carrboro alderman, is my son. Sammy’s father was Santi (James Jeremiah Slade III). Looking back at our marriage, I remember all the great things his father did and the great respect he showed to the different cultures of people who we met traveling and living in Latin America. After earning his PhD, Santi was the heart of the Latin America history and Chicano studies department at the University of Redlands, California. He was active in “Los Charros de Redlands†and other similar organizations. He asked his students to write papers on the day-to-day lives of Spanish-speaking ethnic groups in an effort to integrate some of his classes with the community of Redlands. He created a special interim class to show the student the culture of the rural area of Michoacan, Mexico and the different ways of growing things to survive, teaching the students to be better stewards of the Earth.
At our home, we used to have a big vegetable garden, chickens and raise our own meat. Santi would cook “Brazilian churrascos†outside and host events with the Charros of Redlands, his students, friends and professors to create more community between the different groups. Santi also wrote essays for the local newspaper on subjects of interest to the community. Santi passed away in 1978.
In 1982, we moved to Chapel Hill. Like his father, Sammy is very concerned about what was going on in the world politically, with the environment and the community. He is a founder of the Carrboro Community Garden and the Carrboro Greenspace. He raises chickens and grows a garden at his home. My husband and I used to buy some of the things we didn’t grow in a Coa in Redlands every Saturday. Samuel and his partner, Michal, do the same at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. I am very proud of my son, Sammy, and hope he will be elected alderman.
FITITA SLADE
Chapel Hill