2008 Woodie Awards
Rising Up: Dr. Clarence Robertson
Jeremy Steinberger
Issue date: 2/15/05 Section: Features
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Sounds like a story one might encounter while reading a work of literature for an English class. And an interesting story too. But what if the story is not in the book? Imagine that story is being told by the person who teaches the class itself, the teacher of other books.
The personal history of Professor Clarence Robertson, a new adjunct lecturer for the Department of English at Yeshiva, is as intriguing, interesting, and exciting as many of the works of literature he teaches. Already respected by his students for his pedagogic qualities, he is also admired for his triumph over great personal adversity.
Robertson does not have the personal history one would expect from most academics. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee to parents who were both drug dealers and spent most of their time in prison. When his mom was out of jail, a rare luxury, Robertson stayed with her in Memphis and flourished in an all-black school, both academically and socially. Most of his childhood years, however, were spent in Mississippi in an "integrated" school, where his grades were always good, but his conduct was sometimes problematic.
When Robertson was eight years old, his father was killed in a drug-related incident, and his mother was sent to jail to serve a four-year sentence, leaving Robertson alone in Mississippi. During these years, he flourished in school and developed good relationships with his teachers.
A tumultuous event occurred, however, when his mom returned from jail. Robertson vividly recalls the events surrounding the incident. "I had my Achievement Tests in school, so I decided to get a good night's sleep the night before and went to bed early. My mother was in the process of a drug deal and had some guests over at the house, including her current boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend," explains Robertson. Unsavory characters searching for her ex-boyfriend had tracked him down to the Robertson household. They broke in and Robertson recalls, "From my room I heard screams and banging on doors, and they came in and knocked my mother out right away." Robertson's mother's ex-boyfriend barricaded himself in the living room with another woman and tried unsuccessfully to escape through the window. Robertson grabbed a machete and an unloaded gun that his mother kept. One of the intruders then shot Robertson in the arm. Luckily, the bullet that continued on through the wall missed all bones and crucial blood vessels. "The man then grabbed me and banged my head on the door and put a gun to my head, leaving a burn on my head." They broke down the door and the ex-boyfriend was shot and "they unloaded on him," riddling his body with bullets. "I still remember seeing his body bouncing on the ground." The intruders then took off. Following this incident, his mother was sent to prison and Robertson returned to Mississippi. "This was never a good environment for me and I wanted to leave."