African American Studies Commons^™

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

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

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 …

Alexander, Earle, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

143^rd interview

Interviewee: Dr. Earle Alexander

Interviewers: Dr. Mark Naison, Dawn

Interview took place February 6, 2006

Summarized by Concetta Gleason 12-20-06

Dr. Earle Alexander is a distinguished psychologist born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. Alexander’s mother immigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad and his father from Grenada. His parents met in New York and had three children together; Alexander is the middle child of an older sister Elma and a younger brother Dawn. As the Harlem education system deteriorated, Alexander’s parents decided to move the family to the Bronx in the mid-1930s. The family lived on …