NBA Champion, Stephen Curry’s mother, Sonya Alicia Curry is of mixed ethnicity including African-American and Haitian descent.
Sonya married Stephen’s father, Dell Curry who shared the same ethnicity as her father.
Despite her fair complexion from her mixed ethnicity, Sonya witnessed segregation and discrimination based on skin color since a young age.
Learning from her experiences, Sonya made every effort to raise her children with a strong sense of pride in their skin color and cultural heritage.
Moreover, Curry takes pride in her ethnic heritage and shares its significance with her family, fostering a deep appreciation for their roots.
Sonya Alicia Curry Faced Racial Discrimination During Her Upbringing
Sonya Alicia Curry was born in Radford, Virginia to Clevie and Candy Adams from whom she got her mixed ethnicity.
Her father, Clevie is African-American and her mother, Candy was born in Haiti in the 1940s and later moved to America.
Sonya grew up in a poor African-American community, where her family lived in a trailer home and faced a difficult childhood.
Her hometown was named after the Radford family, who owned about 100 slaves, and her family faced such disparities that they could only shop at black-owned stores.
Curry has also shared that white students beat up her brothers on several occasions.
Growing up, she faced disturbing experiences with the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group known for their extreme acts of terror.
Additionally, Sonya has shared that her mother told her stories of attending desegregated schools and facing racism regularly.
Furthermore, she shared how she attended segregated schools and had to excel in sports to gain acceptance from the other kids.
You had to play sports. I had to be the best to force them to play with me.
Sonya Alicia Curry Transformed Her Bitter Experiences with Racism into Valuable Lessons for Her Children.
Sonya went on to play volleyball at Virginia Tech where she met Dell and married him and raised a family.
Even after marrying an African-American, people continued to subject her to racism simply for being a fair skinned African American.
As a mother of three, Sonya wanted her children to have a different childhood than hers, so she early on taught them to embrace their ethnic roots and shared her experiences with them, saying:
I wanted them to understand that in their world that could be seen as sheltered they needed to hear stories.
Stephen Curry also publicly acknowledges his mother for teaching them and sharing stories that raised their awareness:
THe biggest thing she told us is that we grew up a little different than she did. She was always quick to remind us up on the realities around the country and to appreciate our experience.
Sonya fully understands her experiences and those of her parents, as well as how society has changed since then.
She appreciates that her children grew up in much better circumstances, but she also believes it is important for them to hear stories from the past to instill empathy and good values.
Stephen attributes his ability to speak out on social and racial issues to the support and guidance of his mother.
It is admirable that Sonya Alicia Curry transformed her bitter experiences with racism into valuable lessons for her children.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Sonya Alicia Curry was a former volleyball player and is currently the president of the Christian Montessori School of Lake Norman.
- All three of her children play sports: her eldest, Stephen Curry, plays for the Golden State Warriors; her younger son, Seth, plays for the Charlotte Hornets; and her daughter, Sydel, played volleyball at Elon University.
- In 2021, Sonya and her husband, Dell Curry, announced their divorce after 33 years of marriage.
