Seitu was born Arthur Sanders III in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He spent his childhood and young adult years in Detroit, and moved to New York City with his boyfriend, Kemit Amenophis, in 1978. They spent only a few months in NY, before moving to San Francisco in October 1978.
He started losing weight in the mid 1980s, and in 1985 he found out that he was HIV positive. He had a bubbly personality and a laugh that was contagious. He changed his name to Seitu because it means “artist” in one of the African languages.
His friend (and fellow alum, Aaron Levi) had this to say about him: “I ran into him by Davies Hospital, and we had our last conversation. I remember he still had that smile, but he was looking pretty ill, and I remember him saying that he was at peace with what was happening. At first, I didn't quite get what he was talking about, but then he explained that his time was coming, but he was okay with it. I remember thinking how incredible his attitude was. We hugged and said goodbye, and that was the last time I saw him.”