Enoch C. Laud-Darku

Enoch C. Laud-Darku was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa where he lived a very good life surrounded by family and friends. “Growing up in my country was very good. There was sunshine all the time and when it rained, it rained heavy for about an hour and then the sun would come out just like in Hawaii. Living there was very pleasant because we had everything. We were formerly a British colony, so we did and had everything that British people do. I was raised in a good family too,” said Laud-Darku. He attended school in Ghana from kindergarten to high school, until his uncle took him to ballroom dancing classes and he became a ballroom dancer at 17 years old.

On February 20, 1972, Laud-Darku decided to move to the United States to attend college. While he was studying at school, his mother passed away and he went back to Ghana for two months, which made him have to repeat his senior year. He received his bachelor’s degree in June 1977 and then transferred to Saint Mary’s to complete his master’s.

Now, at 80 years old, Laud-Darku lives a very different life than he did when he was living in Africa. “My life now in America is alright. I was told by other people that America is paradise for children, hell for middle-aged people, and a graveyard for old people. But when I became a senior, I found that things have been very easy and much cheaper for me than when I was working. So, America is alright.” When asked what his life would have been like had he stayed in Ghana his whole life, Laud-Darku said, “I think I would have been dead by now. Any time I go and visit, all of my friends I grew up with are all gone. Dead. All of my brothers and sisters are all gone. There is death every time I come. So I think if I were to have been in Africa now, I would have been dead too. People in Africa are lacking amenities and provisions, so if I went back there I would die because I am used to America. The things that I get in America I do not get over there and that would cut my life short.”

Although America is not the same as home for him, he feels as though senior citizens are taken care of very well in the United States. “It’s beautiful. Here in America there is senior housing and many different things for them, so seniors are taken care of and I think America is good.” The one thing that came to mind when asked if there was anything he did not like about America was the amount of racism he has experienced while living here. “The only thing I experienced was prejudice and racism. The police have been especially troublesome recently and I got into trouble with them sometimes when I was in college. They would stop me when I was driving and call me ‘nigger.’ The last time it happened, I was with my white wife and they pulled me over just for being black and driving with her.” Despite some difficult experiences he has had, Laud-Darku enjoys his life in the United States as a senior citizen.