When my grandparents came from Haiti in 1964 they lived in Miami for twenty years. My grandfather worked in construction, while my grandmother began to study to become a Jehovah witness. According to my grandmother he started listening to boxing matches in 1970, and became a fan of Muhammad Ali. It’s what they spoke about at his job. At the time my father, who was eleven, was giving a pair of boxing gloves to keep him busy. When my dad was sixteen, he and my grandfather started to have disagreements. The only time they would be in the same room was when they would listen to boxing matches. When my father was nineteen he was kicked out of the house. My father would visit his parents regularly to see his mother and his twin brothers. They were also giving a pair of boxing gloves and would spar with each other. During the winter of 1985 my father and grandparents moved to New York, and my father started to watch Mike Tyson fights along with my grandfather and his two brothers. They became fans not only because people were talking about him, but because they moved to Brooklyn and were proud to say they lived there. My father had to work a lot as a child, so boxing couldn't be his main priority. But when I was born my father gave me his gloves signed by Muhammad Ali. Although no one in my family became a boxer, it helped my family achieve a better life. They wouldn't have moved from Miami otherwise.

– Jeremy Sejour

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant