StoryCorps Chicago: ‘There’s Something In Me That’s Lost And Is Being Reclaimed’

By Bill Healy
Mike Simmons-Gessesse was interviewed by his sister, Aina Cambridge, at StoryCorps in Chicago.
Mike Simmons-Gessesse was interviewed by his sister, Aina Cambridge, at StoryCorps in Chicago.
Mike Simmons-Gessesse was interviewed by his sister, Aina Cambridge, at StoryCorps in Chicago.
Mike Simmons-Gessesse was interviewed by his sister, Aina Cambridge, at StoryCorps in Chicago.

StoryCorps Chicago: ‘There’s Something In Me That’s Lost And Is Being Reclaimed’

By Bill Healy
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Two years ago, Mike Simmons-Gessesse quit his job in the Chicago mayor’s office so he could travel by himself and learn about his family’s heritage.

Simmons-Gessesse’s mother is African-American and his father is Ethiopian. He ended up visiting a total of 21 countries throughout Africa and Eastern Europe. He recently came to the StoryCorps booth in Chicago with his younger sister, Aina Cambridge, to talk about what led him to Africa.

Bill Healy produces StoryCorps for WBEZ. Follow him @chicagoan.