Family shares journey from painful history to unity
By Peyton Furtado
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TRAVELERS REST, South Carolina (WYFF) — A CNN documentary titled “Simril(l)s: A Family in Black and White” tells the story of a multi-racial family from South Carolina, who have come together despite a painful history, now sharing their journey at Furman University.
The Simrils and Simrills have their differences, even in how they spell their names. Their story traces back to York County, South Carolina, where Spencer’s ancestor was a slave owner and Klan member, while Michael’s ancestors were former slaves who testified in federal court against the Klan. The two men discovered they were related more than a decade ago.
“Knowing that my family had this connection with slavery and the Ku Klux Klan that was unknown. That was that that was that was buried, that had manifested itself in trauma and alcoholism on both the white and the black size within to find each other, to go on this shared quest, to become friends, to become family through the process,” said Spencer Simrill.
Their stories are traced back in tragedy to Harriet, who was left alone after her family moved to Liberia and testified against the KKK in federal court. “The Ku Klux Klan entered her home. They terrorized her,” Michael Simril said.
When the two families started getting together in 2014, CNN took notice. The families chose forgiveness over forgetting, becoming one big family. “We’re better. We’re better together as one and not separated and divided,” said Michael.
The family shares their story at universities around the nation, including Furman. Michael expressed hope, saying, “You know, like it’s almost felt like if we could overcome this, then we or others could overcome. I don’t want to say anything, but a lot.”
After the lights came up and people started to file out, the big takeaways were that we’re not all that different. And things aren’t always black and white.
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