Father and daughter discuss racism, books and unstoppable love

To help Minnesota Public Radio celebrate its 50th anniversary, the StoryCorps Airstream trailer is collecting stories now in the Twin Cities.

That includes the story of Lou and Sarah Bellamy.

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Lou, who is 73 now, created St. Paul's Penumbra Theater in 1976 to give African-Americans a forum in the local theater community.

Sarah, his daughter, has taken over for Lou as Penumbra's artistic director. During their conversation recorded by StoryCorps, Sarah asked her father to recall some of his memories about growing up in St. Paul.

So, Lou told the story of how his grandmother would keep him warm during the harsh Minnesota winters.

"What she used to do is she would take my hands and — she had big bosoms, just big — and she'd take my hands and put them under her armpits right by her breasts and say 'Come on, put your hands under the wing,' and she'd warm me up," Lou said.

His grandmother used the same tactic to protect Lou from more than just the cold.

"I remember those same bosoms when they burned that cross in front of her house," he said. "And I kept trying to turn around to look at it, cause it happened at night, and she kept moving my head back around and putting my head in her bosoms."

Later in life, Lou tried to prepare his daughter for the racism she would be forced to witness by giving her books that tackled the subject.

"And you were just, 'Not everything is about race. Why do you think everything is about race?'" Lou imitated Sarah, who laughed in response. "And then I hear you now, talking about the same stuff."

Sarah then asked him what it was like dating and marrying her mother, who is white.

"Falling in love wasn't intentional," Lou said, but being in a long-term relationship was well planned.

Knowing there would be challenges, Lou and a friend of his, who was also dating a white woman, made a pros and cons list for their respective romances.

"I mean, it was intellectual," he said.

At the end of their experiment the cons of an interracial relationship far outweighed the pros on the blackboard.

"But love, you know, you just can't control it."

Their entire conversation will be archived at the Library of Congress in Washington. StoryCorps will be in St. Paul through Oct. 6.

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Correction (Sept. 18, 2017): An earlier version of this story included incorrect information on NPR's affiliation with StoryCorps. StoryCorps is an independent organization. The story has been updated.