Lucius Young: A Glimpse into Southern Identity
About Lucius Young
Lucius Young is a black American who grew up in Louisiana. He comes from a big family and knows a lot about fun. He has three children and a wife. Although he has to work he still has fun and is ready for anything. You will find him in the streets of Switzerland jogging that mile and giving everything he has for his family. This is Lucius Young growing up as a black American in the south.
What part of America are you from?
I am originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
What was it like growing up in Louisiana?
I come from a big family and all of my family is… from Louisiana so I grew up down a lane with cousins, aunts and uncles and my grandmother so I remember a close knit family growing up.
Do you have any powerful memories about Louisiana to share ( food you ate activities you did)?
Well I remember as a child growing up like I said, my grandmother was right down the street, we would have big gatherings down at her [house] on Sundays or on holidays or special events and I remember a lot of people there eating really good food, playing sports with my cousins and just enjoying our time together. … I like seafood, I like crawfish. I am not sure if a lot of people know what that is but crawfish I love, jambalaya, shrimp creol… one of the big things in the states and definentally in Louisiana is college football… and you can’t catch that on a Saturday here. Another thing is Mardi Gras, I do not know if you know what it is but it is a huge celebration all over Louisiana, especially New Orleans, and it is a big big festival with parades and beads and all of those things.
What was it like for you being a black person in Louisiana? Did you feel as though it was a big part of your identity as a child or was it something that became important to you later in life?
It has always been a part of my identity. I have always known that I was black and Louisiana is located in the deep south in America. And for those who know the history of slavery, rascism and segregation and things of that nature. When I grew up the 80’s we were past things like Jim Crow and those hard core discrimination errors the effect of that was there. I have personally experienced certain things related to racism whether [it was] in school or other places or other interactions I had. I was very aware of my race and had to deal with certain things.
“ I am very thankful for the experiences I had in school and the opportunities that I had at work that connect directly to my race or any of that in my identity of course.”
-Lucius Young
How do you think it affects you today?
… I am very thankful for the experiences I had in school and the opportunities that I had at work that connect directly to my race or any of that in my identity of course. [And] I do good in everything that I do and give it my best. My motto is whatever you do, you do it with high quality. So I think that is really fundamental to my identity.
Now that you are in Switzerland, what do you miss about Louisiana the most?
I definitely miss the family environment and being close enough to [my] family. I miss the food. I can’t get some of the ingredients that we typically would use to cook with. [We cooked] with spices and different things like that … Some of my favorite things I like to make are jambalaya and I can’t fix that here because I don’t have some of those ingredients. So I think that those would be the things… but I also like the fact that Switzerland is not like a twenty four seven place, but I do miss going to the store on a Sunday night and getting the things that I love.
