Beth DeHart and her son, Jonah DeHart-Thompson, have dedicated their lives to serving and improving South Carolina communities. From the moment Jonah was conceived in the hearts of his two mothers, it was their intention to show him he was not only special, but that everyone was special and deserved to be loved and cared for, regardless of their background.
In 2024, Beth and Jonah joined StoryCorps to talk about Jonah’s early years, those who inspired him, and their passion to help others through their work with AmeriCorps, an agency dedicated to improving lives, strengthening communities, and fostering civic engagement through national service and volunteering.
TRANSCRIPT:
Jonah: So today we're here with StoryCorps, just kind of giving a little bit of background on who we are, how I came to be, and our current service experience.
Beth: (laughing) “How I came to be.” Not every child thinks to say that, but, yes, your story is a little bit different. I am a member of the LGBTQ community, and Jonah has two moms. We did not know any other families like ours. We didn't know any other gay or lesbian couples who had had children. When we were pregnant with you, we had a theme for your nursery, which was “Children of the World.” And that was intentional. We wanted to tell you that you were perfect and wonderful and special, but so is every child in the world. And so, we tried to build that message from the very beginning. We wanted our family to seem as normal as possible to you and whoever else might be interested. And, you know, I think when your friends came over, visited, whatever, they felt comfortable.
Jonah: I think one of my friends told me that his parents were a little weird about us at first, and they were a little hesitant, but they met you in passing at the school at some point and were like, “Okay, well, you know, we'll just give it a try.” And my friend came over. We have a great time. You know, we do whatever normal kids do. He realized that having gay parents doesn't make you a freak show. It just makes you a person.
Beth: Didn't your friends tease you about being a test tube baby?
Jonah: Yeah, that was very common. I mean, they still say that to this day. I mean, it's especially in, like, Thanksgiving season. We're, like, passing all the turkey basters out, they’re, like, “Oh, Jonah, there's your dad!” This is a very common joke in the friend group. It's a good one, too, because, I mean, I'm sure it's not that far off. I don't know.
Beth: One of the primary stories that we wanted to tell today was related to your first encounter with AmeriCorps. I went to work, very fortunately, as the deputy director of City Year Columbia, and you came with me a lot. The Corps took you in as one of their own. They even tried to find you the smallest City Year shirt they could find so that you could have a Corps shirt on just like them. And then we would go out and, you know, do service events, and--
Jonah: --and, I mean, back then, I definitely idealized these members because my mom cared a lot about it, these people cared a lot about it, and I just knew it was important, so I enjoyed going. It just really planted that initial seed of service from an early age of 5 years old.
Beth: And so not only were you at work with your mother, you were included. And you also saw how these people cared about and supported each other in addition to the work that they were doing in the community. right today.
Jonah: Right. Today, uh, shocker, I'm an AmeriCorps member. I am serving Anderson County through Clemson Engineers for Developing Communities. I just love service. I love helping those around me. I love “loving thy neighbor,” and I think AmeriCorps is an amazing domestic organization.
Beth: And I think this is very apropos to circle back to the very beginning of our conversation, which is, again, being intentional about our humanity and choosing to care about each other, choosing to help each other, choosing to love each other in the best way that we can from wherever we start.
