African American Studies Commons^™

Lightfoot, Michelle And Lightfoot, Natasha, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewees: Natasha Lightfoot and Michelle Lightfoot

Interviewers: Brian Purnell

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Natasha and Michelle are sisters and lived in the Bronx for most of their lives. Both were born at St. Luke’s Hospital. Their parents are Jocelyn and William, both fromAntigua. Although the couple dated in Antigua, they did not marry until both had immigrated to theUnited Statesin 1970. Their maternal grandmother taught at schools and was a seamstress from the home and the maternal grandfather was a maechanic and a cab driver. Their paternal grandmother worked as a domestic and their paternal grandfather worked for a newspaper. …

Wattly, Wayne, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Wayne Wattly was born January 5, 1974 in St. Kitts in the West Indies. As a kid, his family would visit an aunt in New York almost every summer. Wayne and his sister always enjoyed their visits to New York and he says he thought of New York as a grand place that he just had to get to. In the summer of 1989 the Wattley family moved to New York permanently. They moved to the South Bronx between Castle Hill and Soundview. His parents left behind careers they had both had for over 20 years to give their children …