African American Studies Commons^™

Rivieccio, Anthony, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Born in 1960, Anthony Rivieccio moved to the Morris Heights section of the Bronx after his parents divorce with his mother and two sisters at twelve years old. Rivieccio recalls the racial tensions that developed in the South Bronx as the demographics changed leading to gangs. Rivieccio himself joined the gang The Devil’s Disciples. During the time he lived in the Bronx, Rivieccio remembers Fordham Road as an area of entertainment including arcades and movie houses, as well as a department store he would reluctantly visit with his mother on Saturday mornings.

As the fires moved closer to his location …

Morgan, Joan, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Joan Morgan is the author of “When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost’, activist, and doctoral student. She is of Jamaican descent. Her parents came to the United States and settled in the Bronx near Crotona Park. Her father was one of the founding members of the Jamaican Labor party; she calls the Bustamante's her “godparents.” He was also a member of the Jamaica Freedom League while in the Bronx.

While living on Fulton Avenue, Joan used to frequently go to Crotona Park because of the community center right by it, the Clermont Center. Her mother was an active member of …

Hayes, Christopher, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Christopher Hayes was born in February of 1789. He is a journalist whose work deals with those living in the Bronx and the economic challenges that face them. Hayes grew up in the Bronx to a Jesuit father and a first generation Italian mother. His father traveled and worked in Peru and at the University of Detroit before settling down at Fordham. His father was also a community organizer. His mother grew up in the Bronx, near the Fordham rose hill campus. She attended Lehman College. It is here where his mother and father met one another, sparked a friendship …