House Minority Leader Karen Camper isn’t just a politician. She’s a mother, a veteran and former teacher. For this story, WPLN News sat down with Camper to talk about her life leading up to becoming a state lawmaker.
Rep. Camper was born in Memphis, Tenn. in 1958. Shortly after, her family moved out of state.
“So, the first 10 years of my life, I lived in Chicago in the Robert Taylor Homes, if you’re familiar with them, and kind of got my foundation there,” said Camper.
Camper’s uncle passed when she was 11, and her mom decided to move back to South Memphis.
After she graduated from South Side High School, she left the city again, to attend college.
“I eventually applied for the University of Tennessee, and that’s where I majored in computer science,” Camper said.
Knoxville was a whole different world for Camper. She was no longer living in a place where the majority of people around her were Black.
“You know, out of about 30,000 students, maybe 1,500 were Black. And so, we bonded, you know, in class when we saw each other. We had that likeness, that communal,” said Camper.
Not long after getting to Knoxville, she moved again.
“I was in my second year, getting ready to go into my junior year at the time, and was recruited by the Army — then because of the computer science, the mathematics, and that to go into the Army, into military intelligence, which was another new world for me. I didn’t even know anything about that,” Camper said.
When she first joined, it was expected to be a quick four-year stint, and she’d go back to finish her degree. But instead, she ended up serving in the U.S. Army for more than two decades.
Camper spent time in Hawaii, Korea and the place she spent the most time talking about — Berlin, Germany.
“When I got there, it wasn’t very long after that that the wall came down, which was historic times,” Camper said. “It was like soon as you cross the border from Berlin and go across to the eastern portion, oh, it was like night and day.”
Camper said while she learned a lot on the job, most of what stuck with her were soft skills.
“Diplomacy, discipline, you know, integrity — these things that I carried forth with me right now,” Camper said.
And, of course, she picked up a favorite dish or two along the way.
“The wiener schnitzel,” Camper said. “It’s kind of like pork chop, if you will, but it’s so good fried. And, you know, the gravy, the palm frites — which are french fries, but they were just so good with the gravy,” Camper said.
A perhaps surprising part of what Camper got up to while in the Army was what she did for fun.
“So back then, you had a lot of lip sync competitions, especially on our bases,” said Camper.
Camper didn’t just go to these lip sync competitions, she participated and, by her account, dominated.
“Well, I’m a lip sync champion — international and national lip syncing,” said Camper.
Courtesy Karen Camper Karen Camper does a lip sync performance in this photo from her time in the U.S. Army.
Camper shared what some of her favorite songs were to perform.
“‘What’s Love Got to Do with It?’ by Tina Turner. Teena Marie — ‘Out on a Limb.’ These are the ones that I’ve actually won international trophies for,” Camper said. “And of course, Chaka Khan.”
And like in most competitions, Camper says she went all out — with outfits and all.
“I always won when I was being Youngblood. That was a song by Teena Marie where it was she had a guy on there, so I had to do both: the girl and the guy,” said Camper.
After 21 years of service, Camper came back to Memphis and started working with youth.
“I was actually substitute teaching, and we started a nonprofit together working with young people in performing arts, teaching them the business concepts and principles and things they needed to know if they want to be in the entertainment business,” said Camper.
She did that for some time, while making sure to always stay active in the community.
“So I got involved in that (with) my party, just kind of in my homeowner’s association, you know, working, just living and raising my son,” Camper said.
Eventually, Camper decided to run for city council. She ended up losing the race but, not long after, was appointed to the Tennessee House, filling the seat of her predecessor Gary Rowe, who passed in 2008.
Ever since, Camper has represented Tennessee House District 87.
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