Letter to the Editor: Sumter can be a beacon for community and beyond

After nearly 50 years of having a foot out the Sumter door, 2024 and '25 coaxed it back in, and so far, 2026 is keeping it in place. I wasn't born in Sumter, and in a very real sense, the move here from a beautifully explosive multi-cultural community in the Midwest was, to say the least, culture shock - a shock because I grew up surrounded by immigrants speaking broken English. These new Americans contributed to our city in vibrant ways: working in the economy and sharing traditional foodways, music and dances with people outside of their culture group while embracing and learning the ways of America. The Southern dialect was not one I was familiar with, and to this day, a chuckle arises from an early memory.

My parents moved in 1972 for a newly developed industry. I followed in 1979. During one of my early visits and during the drive to Sumter from the airport, my father stopped at the side of the road to buy a 25-cent watermelon from a farmer. I decided to get out of the car, too. That was my first encounter with the unique rural Southern accent. Guess what? I could not understand one word. Once Sumter became my new "home", my first job was in a multi-cultural and diverse environment at Shaw Air Force Base, so the environment still felt familiar. Full immersion into Sumter's predominantly African American-white European cultural demographics didn't take place for a number of years, and because of my lack of experience and history, I had little awareness of this town's complexities.

History, up to that point, was simple: Columbus "discovered" America; patriots won "freedom" and set up a "democracy" after the Revolutionary War; the Union won "freedom" for the enslaved against the Confederacy; the country "desegregated" after the Civil Rights Movement; and the list goes on. Easy-peezy-shallow-water understanding. Eventually and thankfully, my eyes began to open, and I craved to learn and to observe more, and eventually a journey that included higher education, teaching, research, community involvement and global travel grew into a new norm. It has opened my eyes to not only Sumter's beauty as well as its dormancy, but also to that of South Carolina, America and globally. For example, I learned of the unequal distribution of government funds toward education, health, housing and infrastructure because distribution was determined by the amount the wealth or lack of within a region. Previously, I had no clue - yep, ignorance was indeed bliss.

Now, why this piece, you may ask? A few years ago a friend who is a retired Army veteran and deeply involved in voter registration and nursing education told me that no matter how involved in the community and country I was, I would still never fully understand her history. She was right, but her words didn't stop my pursuit in trying to understand. The more I read, observed and participated in this idea called America, the more I saw a pattern. As the cliché goes: two steps forward/one step back applies to Sumter's legacy, as well as the legacy of South Carolina, the United States of America and even in many parts of the world.

The two steps are steps to celebrate. Sumter seems to be committed to investing and developing areas that have historically been put on the back burner. How wonderful, too, that it is recognizing and honoring history beyond its elite. However, for as much as this is worthy of celebration, it also forces me to ponder the harder question: Why so long? When the words "by design" and "systemic" are used, they are powerful, but how many of us understand the depth of their meaning? I believe what has been "by design" and what is a "systemic" outcome has also been normalized over the decades, if not centuries.

I do not and will never understand power. As a parent, grandparent and instructor, I understand the necessity of authority. Authority is required to establish policies, with dialogue as its cornerstone. But I will never nor do I ever want to understand authoritarian power and how wealth is valued above the value of life.

If the changes I have observed over the past few years and Sumter's commitment to "retain and recruit" is motivated by considering the whole of its citizens and every level of development from the womb to the tomb, then it is evolving into a humanitarian community with humane leadership. What a beacon it can be for the community and beyond. But if "retain and recruit" is not humanity-based motivation, then it is a great disappointment for someone like me who came as an outsider but who has invested and continues to invest in her adopted community.

My hope is that our local leaders reject the status quo and continue to open themselves to the many voices within the community - generational citizens as well as outsiders. Disenfranchisement should never be normalized.

Michelle Ross lives in Sumter.