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Lewis, Doreen, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Doreen Lewis

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Both of Doreen’s parents came from the south, her mother from Virginia and her father from North Carolina. Her father is Cherokee Indian and met her mother in Virginia. When he returned from WWII, her parents moved to the Bronx. She discusses the way her father identified himself, whether it was as a Native American or as a light-skinned black. She claims his identity shifted from one to the other as he got older. Her father worked for Swift and Company, who were involved with the meat business.

Although her …