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Belton, Frank Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Frank Belton was raised in the Morrisania neighborhood of the South Bronx from the time that he was 9 years old. He was born in Harlem, then later his family moved around a bit before settling in a home on Chisholm Street in 1948. Although he had lived in the city when he was younger, he had his first experiences with Puerto Ricans when he moved to the South Bronx. Chisholm Street had a fairly mixed population, but his schools were mostly made up of Puerto Ricans. He says that this mixing of racial backgrounds did not affect relationships between …

Hanson, Avis Interview 2, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Avis Hanson 2^nd Interview

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison, Natasha Lightfoot, Patricia Wright

Summarized by Alice Stryker

She begins by talking about her West Indian heritage. Her mother came from Antigua and her father came from Jamaica. Her mother and father met in New York City and got married shortly there after. The family moved to the Bronx, which she discussed in the first interview. When Avis was young, her mother sent for her aunt to live with them. However, they did not have good relations with the rest of her extended family. Her father’s Jamaican family did not …

Wade, Chrystal, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Chrystal Wade moved to the Bronx from Harlem when she was five years old after moving from the Harlem River Drive projects to Detroit and back to New York. Chrystal’s mother gave birth to her at age 18, but she was adopted by her grandparents at age five, as they wanted to make sure she would have a good structured family life. Upon moving into a five-story walkup at 532 East 157^th Street and St. Ann’s avenue, her father and brother-in-law almost immediately had an altercation with the neighbors because her family was the second black family in the …

Smith, Candace, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Candace Smith was born and raised in the Bronx. From what she recalls her family lived on the top story of a two family home in the Tremont neighborhood until moving to the Patterson Houses in 1957 when she was around age 8. The home in Tremont was in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and she does not recall there being any other black families in the neighborhood. On the other hand, when they moved to the Patterson Houses, she does not recall any white families in the neighborhood there. Both of her parents had also grown up in the Bronx, …

Peterson, Robert, Mark Naison

Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP)

Interviewee: Robert Peterson

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison, Kathleen Palmer

Date of Interview: August 5, 2009

Summarized by Michael Kavanagh

Born in Brooklyn, December 18th 1926, Peterson has lived in the Bronx most of his life. His Father’s parents were first generation European immigrants from Sweden and Norway, respectively. They both settled in Yonkers, NY, where they first met and later got married. In 1895, Peterson’s father was born in Yonkers, NY. At the beginning of World War I, his father joined the United States Navy as a ship navigator. When World War I ended, his father returned home and worked …

Byron, Cyril, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Dr. Cyril O. Byron was born atLincolnHospitalin theBronxonApril 15, 1920. His parents moved fromJamaicatoNew Yorkin the early 1900s. His father, who had been chief chef on Marcus Garvey’s ship, cooked for severalNew York Cityrestaurants and hotels, and founded Byron Caterers, one of theBronx’s largest black owned catering services. His mother did housework for prominentNew York Cityfamilies. Both were politically active, and his mother was a staunch follower of Marcus Garvey. His father was also superintendent for various buildings in which the family resided in theBronx, and Byron recalls doing much custodial work in the buildings with his brother.

In his …

Tyson, Cyril Degrasse, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Cyril Degrasse Tyson was born in Harlem in the early 1930’s and frequently moved around Harlem and eventually made his way into the Bronx at an early age. He discusses his family history and when his parents first moved to New York. His parents were both born in the West Indies on the island of Nevis and moved to New York after the first World War. They moved to an area of Manhattan which was referred to as the San Juan Hills at the time. He describes it as a pocket of blacks from the south and West Indies, Puerto …

Sogrue, Jim, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Jim Sogrue was an assistant pastor at St. Augustine’s Church in Morrisania, South Bronx from September 1957 until June of 1964. He was ordained in June of 1957, traveled to Puerto Rico to study Spanish and Spanish culture and upon returning was assigned to a Spanish mission in the Archdiocese of New York. Sogrue grew up in an Irish neighborhood on Wadsworth Avenue between 173^rd and 174^th in Washington Heights. He remembers forty families living in his apartment house and only one was not an Irish family. He did not know any black, Hispanic or Latino kids growing …

Jackson, Bessie Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Bessie Jackson is the President of the Bronx branch of the Society for the Association for the study of African American Life and History, founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1915. Jackson came to the Bronx without any family relations in 1946 and finished High School. Jacksonthen returned to her home state ofAlabamato attend Alabama State College, but by 1949, she had returned to and settled in theBronx.

Jacksonwas born and raised on her family’s farm inDallas County,Alabama. She did not begin school until she was six years old, but illness also held her back in first grade. However,Jacksonalways …