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Full-Text Articles in African American Studies
Calderon, Nicholas Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project
Calderon, Nicholas Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
INTERVIEWER: Mark Naison, Noel Wolfe, Dawn Russell
INTERVIEWEE: Nicholas Calderon
SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell
Nicholas Calderon (b. 5/12/1986) is a rapper from the South Bronx. He is also the founder and owner of Take Money Records. He was born in the Taft Houses in East Harlem to a Puerto Rican father and an African-American mother. Because his mother was a crack addict and his father was a heroin addict, he began living with his grandmother at the age of two. He was raised in the Beekman Housing Project in the South Bronx, near St. Mary’s Park. Calderon was …
Mckay, Stephanie, Bronx African American History Project
Mckay, Stephanie, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Stephanie McKay is a successful, well-known soul singer and songwriter based in the Bronx. She was born on June 2, 1967 in East Harlem. When she was two years old her parents moved to Co-op City in the Bronx because it promised a better, more secure way of life. Both of Stephanie’s parents were from Norfolk, VA, and they moved to Harlem when they were about 20 years old. Her mother worked as a legal secretary and her father worked as a taxi driver before becoming a labor organizer. Stephanie attended elementary school in Co-Op City. At the age of …
Khoule, Manadou, Bronx African American History Project
Khoule, Manadou, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
INTERVIEWER: Karima Zerrou, Mark Naison
INTERVIEWEE: Manadou Khoule (aka DJ Khoule)
SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell
Note: This interview was originally conducted in French and translated into English.
Born in Dakar, Senegal, Manadou Khoule (aka DJ Khoule) came to the United States in 2000, when he was 20 years old. At the time that he emigrated, he was the best DJ in Senegal. Most of his influences were Western hip-hop, especially the work of Tupac Shakur. He got his first set of turntables when he was 15 years old—they were given to him by a local community center. He does not …
Armstrong, Gregory, Bronx African American History Project
Armstrong, Gregory, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
INTERVIEWERS: Mark Naison, Oneka LaBennett, Christina Grath
INTERVIEWEE: Gregory Armstrong
SUMMARY BY: Andrew O’Connell
Gregory Armstrong, born on September 18, 1970 in the Bronx, spent his most formative years growing up in the Bronx River Housing Project at 1455 Harrod Ave. The son of a legal secretary and a father who worked in the Sanitation Department for 27 years, Armstrong recalls a time when growing up in the projects proved tough, but lacked some of the more malicious qualities that they might possess today. While Armstrong admits that violence occurred regularly in his neighborhood (though never directly in front of …
Stokes, Daphne, Bronx African American History Project
Stokes, Daphne, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Daphne Stokes is a parent coordinator at a Bronx high school. Her mother was from Alabama and came to the Bronx when she was a teenager and lived with her sisters. One of her sisters did domestic work and one other did not work. Her father was originally from Harlem. Her parents met in their teen years and once they were married moved to Quonset Huts on Lafayette Avenue. After that they moved to Bronx River Houses, where she was born in 1953. When the family moved to the Bronx River Houses, her father was working for the Veteran’s Hospital …
Ford, Bernadette, Bronx African American History Project
Ford, Bernadette, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Inerviewee: Bernadette Jackson Ford
Interviewers: Dr. Mark Naison and Natasha Lightfoot
Date of interview July 28, 1006
Summarized by Alice Stryker
Bernadette begins the interview by talking about her parents coming to New York. Both grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and met when they were younger. Neither one of them said that they felt the sting of segregation, and were in New York when most of the civil rights activities were occurring in Birmingham. When they moved to New York, they moved to Harlem with her father’s cousins.
She is the oldest of three and was born in 1958. She …
Conzo, Joe Jr., Bronx African American History Project
Conzo, Joe Jr., Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Interviewee: Joe Conzo, Jr.
Interviewer: Mark Naison, Maxine Gordon, Marvin Cabrerra
Interview on May 9, 2006
Summarized by Alice Stryker
Joe Conzo is the first hip-hop photographer and was born February 6, 1963. His grandmother Evelina Antonetty was a community activist. She moved from Puerto Rico to the Bronx and immediately got involved with politics in the 1950’s. She started the United Bronx Parents. His entire family, starting with his grandmother, stayed in the Motthaven area of the Bronx and all attended P.S 25. He grew up in the St. Mary’s Projects on 149th street. Music played a very …
Ketcham, Malik And Ketcham, Rose, Bronx African American History Project
Ketcham, Malik And Ketcham, Rose, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Dorothy moved to the Patterson Houses in 1950 from Brooklyn. At the time, she was married with two children. They saw moving to Patterson as a stepping-stone to greater things. Rose also moved there in 1950 from Queens with one child. Both of these families were part of the first group to live in the new projects. People were very friendly. The husbands would go to work and the mothers would go to a play yard and socialize. The building was also very safe.
Dorothy and Rose’s children went to Catholic school. Dorothy’s at St. Rita’s and Rose’s at St. …
Lightfoot, Michelle And Lightfoot, Natasha, Bronx African American History Project
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. …
Jones, Pete And Blow, Kurtis, Bronx African American History Project
Jones, Pete And Blow, Kurtis, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Summarized by Alice Stryker
Pete DJ Jones moved to the Bronx in 1970 to Anderson Ave and 164th street, where he still lives. He initially was a basketball player and moved to NYC for better playing opportunities. Kurtis Blow first heard Pete in the early 70’s. He was amazed at the fact that Pete was using two turntables, instead of 1, which was traditionally used, and that music was continuously playing.
In North Carolina, Pete fooled around with record players and microphones and would “play DJ”. He eventually started playing at parties. When he moved to the Bronx he …