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Full-Text Articles in African American Studies
Bataan, Joe, Bronx African American History Project
Bataan, Joe, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
173/4(?)th Interview
Interviewee: Joe Bataan
Interviewer: Mark Naison, Maxine Gordon
Interview took place June 12, 2006
Summarized by Concetta Gleason 2-1-07
Bataan Nitalano’s mother is African-American and his father is Philippine. His father joined the navy and did a lot of seasonal work as a short-order cook. Bataan would see his father only six months of the year. His racially mixed family was a rarity in Spanish Harlem where he grew up. His father was Catholic and his mother encouraged his attending Church. Although the neighborhood was mostly Spanish, there was a lot of Blacks, Chinese and Jewish people …
Mills, Kenneth, Bronx African American History Project
Mills, Kenneth, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Jazz pianist Captain Kenneth Mills grew up on Kelly Street in the Bronx. His family moved from Manhattan to the Bronx in the early 1940s. He attended P.S. 39, Junior High School 52, and Morris High School alongside several renowned artists, activists, and politicians, including Eddie Palmieri, Elombe Brath, and Colin Powell. When Mills’ family moved to Kelly Street, the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish. There was very clear ethnic division in housing. Specific strips of houses were inhabited by particular ethnic groups. Despite ethnic partitions in his neighborhood, Mills’ educational and musical spheres were integrated.
Mills’ piano talent surfaced early …
Mills, Kenneth, Bronx African American History Project
Mills, Kenneth, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Jazz pianist Captain Kenneth Mills grew up on Kelly Street in the Bronx. His family moved fromManhattanto theBronxin the early 1940s. He attended P.S. 39, Junior High School 52, andMorrisHigh Schoolalongside several renowned artists, activists, and politicians, including Eddie Palmieri, Elombe Brath, and Colin Powell. When Mills’ family moved toKelly Street, the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish. There was very clear ethnic division in housing. Specific strips of houses were inhabited by particular ethnic groups. Despite ethnic partitions in his neighborhood, Mills’ educational and musical spheres were integrated.
Mills’ piano talent surfaced early in life. At age three, he surprised friends …
Merchant, Jimmy, Bronx African American History Project
Merchant, Jimmy, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Jimmy Merchant (b. 1940) is an original and founding member of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and he also has a career as a visual artist. Merchant grew up in Harlem and the Bronx, the son of a shoe-shiner and “street man” from the Bahamas by way of South Carolina and a mother from Philadelphia. His father was frequently absent, since he made a meager living as a shoe-shiner and a numbers man. He also had problems with gambling and alcohol, and Merchant recalls that he and his mother would see his father about once a week. His mother worked …
Coleman, Dennis And Mcfeaters, Harriet Interview 3, Bronx African American History Project
Coleman, Dennis And Mcfeaters, Harriet Interview 3, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
Dennis Coleman moved into the Castle Hill Projects from Morrissania with his wife and children. He was very active in the community and was quickly elected as Vice President of the Tennant Association of Castle Hill. One of the first issues he dealt with was racial discrimination. He attended a few churches while living at Castle hill, like St. Andrew’s in Castle Hill. He goes in to detail about the racial tension that existed in the community prior to the construction of the Castle Hill Projects and after their completion. There were also issues facing where to send the children …
Questell, Americo And Connie, Bronx African American History Project
Questell, Americo And Connie, Bronx African American History Project
Oral Histories
141st Interview
Interviewee: Connie and Americo Questell
Interviewers: Dr. Mark Naison and Natasha Lightfoot
Date of Interview: January 30, 2006
Connie Questell’s parents met while working as a maid and a butler for a family in New Rochelle. When she was born, in 1943, her parents were living on Boston Road, in the Bronx. Her mother was from Georgia and her father was West Indian. Americo was born in Puerto Rico. His mother is Puerto Rican and his father is Dominican. In 1949, his family moved to East Harlem, he was 9. After he got into a fight in …