African American Studies Commons^™

Nathaniel, James, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

When Jim was 14 his family moved to the Bronx from Brooklyn. The family found the Bronx through the New York City Housing Authority and moved to the Eastchester Projects. The development had been around for some time, but there were very few black families living in the building. His parents saw the move as a step up in the world. They had 8 children and the Eastchester projects provided them with more space for their family. When the Nathaniels moved, Jim’s father worked as a stevedore in a market in lower Manhattan. Jim quickly made friends because of his …

Belton, Frank Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Frank Belton was raised in the Morrisania neighborhood of the South Bronx from the time that he was 9 years old. He was born in Harlem, then later his family moved around a bit before settling in a home on Chisholm Street in 1948. Although he had lived in the city when he was younger, he had his first experiences with Puerto Ricans when he moved to the South Bronx. Chisholm Street had a fairly mixed population, but his schools were mostly made up of Puerto Ricans. He says that this mixing of racial backgrounds did not affect relationships between …

Belton, Frank Interview 2, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Frank Belton was raised in the Morrisania neighborhood of the South Bronx for most of his life. He left in January of 1960 to attend Morgan State College, now Morgan State University, and returned to the South Bronx after receiving his degree in June of 1965. In the first interview session Frank discussed growing up in the Morrisania neighborhood. In this session he talks about his return to the South Bronx and the changes that he noticed.

When Frank returned from Morgan State, he moved only a few blocks from his parents home on Chisholm Street, to Teller Ave and …

Smith, Candace, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Candace Smith was born and raised in the Bronx. From what she recalls her family lived on the top story of a two family home in the Tremont neighborhood until moving to the Patterson Houses in 1957 when she was around age 8. The home in Tremont was in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and she does not recall there being any other black families in the neighborhood. On the other hand, when they moved to the Patterson Houses, she does not recall any white families in the neighborhood there. Both of her parents had also grown up in the Bronx, …

Martin, Nicholas, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Nicholas Martin is the principle of P.S. 6 and grew up in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx. He was born in Manhattan and when he was 5 his parents moved to Fox Street in the South Bronx. His father worked on the docks. His father spoke broken English and fluent Spanish and was born in Florida. He traveled back and forth from Cuba though. His mother spoke English and Spanish fluently and was born in Puerto Rico.

He remembers Fox Street when he was growing up as lively. Children would play lots of games outside on the street. …

Cruse, Harrison Jr., Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Harrison Cruse, Jr.

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Summarized by Sheina Ledesma

Harrison Cruse, Jr. was born on August 10, 1935 in Morningside Heights, Harlem. His mother’s family was originally from Virginia and North Carolina but decided to move north during the 1920’s after experiencing an increasingly racist and violent climate due to activity by the Ku Klux Klan. His father was African American and Native American and had grown up on an Indian reservation with his mother in Roanoke Virginia. His father served in the First World War and later joined the Northwestern Railroad where he worked for many years. …

Partis, Michael, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Michael’s grandmother came to New York in 1972. She was originally born in Honduras, and then moved to Belize. From there she moved to L.A and then finally settled in New York. Michael’s Grandmother is Garifuna. His mother was born in Belize and moved with his grandmother to the Bronx, where she met his father. His father was originally from Brooklyn and moved to the Bronx because of a disagreement he had with his family. When his parents met they were in their early 20’s. Growing up he barely saw his father.

He grew up on 165^th and Bryant …

Fearon, Shirley, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Shirley Fearon was born on July 8, 1945 in Harlem. However, she spent her early years in the South Bronx on Brook Avenue. Her parents met in Harlem and then moved to the Bronx. Shortly after she was born, her parents split up and she and her mother moved to Williamsbridge with her grandparents. This neighborhood was mostly Italians, but all the children got along well. Her grandparents lived in a private home. She and her family attended New Bedford, which is part of St. Luke’s. This church was predominately black, with both people from the Caribbean and African-Americans.

She …

Rosario, Edward, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Edward Rosario grew up in the Hunt’s Point section of the Bronx. He and his family moved to the Bronx from east Harlem when Edward was very young. His family is originally from Puerto Rico and moved toNew Yorkin 1928. He essentially grew up without his father, who was a successful printer. Because of this, the family was on welfare.

The first building he remembers living, which was located between 156^th street and Dawson avenue, in was very well kept and clean. The neighborhood was mixed. PS 39, his grade school, was also mixed. He describes in detail a …

Lawrence, Rosalind, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Rosalind Lawrence

Interviewer: Dr. Brian Purnell

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Rosalind was born on November 26, 1956 in the Bronx. She grew up in the Sedgwick Houses. Her mother was born in Connecticut and her father was born in Georgia. Her parents moved from Prospect Avenue to the Sedgwick houses and saw it as moving up. The Sedgwick houses were originally for Veterans, and because her father was in the Korean War, they were able to move into the Sedgwick housing projects. They had a roomy 2 bed room apartment. Most of African Americans living in her building were …

Martinez, Tony, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Tony and his family immigrated to the US as refugees from Cuba in 1966. When the family moved to the Bronx, they were living in an apartment in a cardboard factory. His father was also a worker at a cardboard factory in Long Island City. Unfortunately, when he immigrated, he spoke no English and was consequently put into the special education class at PS 26. One teacher that particularly inspired him was Mr. Krinler. He was able to teach Tony and because of Mr. Krinler’s efforts, Tony was moved into the top class of his grade. When he was in …

Sabb, George And Mubarak, Naeme, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewees: Naeme Mubarak and George Sabb

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison and his Spring 06’ Oral History of the African American Experience Class

Date of Interview: April 23, 2006

Summarized by Sheina Ledesma

Naeme Mubarak and George Sabb are siblings who grew up on Boston Road in the Bronx. Their mother and father were originally from South Carolina and migrated to New York City during the early 1930’s. Their first stop was Brooklyn and they moved around quite a bit in the following six years until they finally settled on Boston Road in 1941. Their father worked in a steel mill …

Scott, John L., Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Reverend John L. Scott

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison

Date of Interview: March 3, 2006

Summarized by Sheina Ledesma

Reverend John L. Scott was a civil rights movement leader in the South and New York City. He has been the pastor of St. John’s Baptist Church in Harlem since the early 1970’s and remains a leader and community activist in the North Bronx where he has lived for the past thirty years. Reverend Scott was born in 1937 in a rural area of North Carolina called Delmar. He is one of six boys, including his twin brother, who were born …

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

Oral Histories

141^st 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 …

Blakeney, James, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

James Blakeney is a long time Bronx resident who grew up in the Patterson Housing Projects. His parents were sharecroppers from North and South Carolina. Neither of his parents received an education beyond the 6^th or 8^th grade. His father fought in World War II and then returned to the states to live in Queens, where James lived for three years, before moving to the Patterson Houses. His father worked at the mess hall of St. Albans Neighborhood Hospital and left the family, as many fathers were beginning to do, when James was ten years old. Mrs. Blakeney …

Brath, Elombe, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewers: Mark Naison, Maxine Gordon

Interviewee: Elombe Brath

Date of interview: 21 June, 2005

Summarized by: Craig Teal, 26 March 2007

Elombe Brath is a longtime political activist in New York City who is one of the founders of the Jazz Arts Society and was active in organizing some of the first cultural pageants in New York City in the 1960s. Born on September 30, 1936 in Brooklyn, Elombe grew up in Harlem and in Hunt’s Point on 751 Kelly Street between Longwood Avenue and 156^th Street. His family moved into a crossroads area of the Bronx that was …

Washington, Valerie, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Valerie Washington is a lifelong resident of the Bronx, whose parents were both born in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. She grew up on Wells Avenue, then 1098 Simpson Street where her parents were the superintendents of the building. She says there were no other African-American families in the building, and this was common in the area for the superintendents to be African-American with mostly white Jewish tenants. She attended PS 20 where she was placed in the top classes from the very beginning of her education. She then attended Herman Ritter Junior High and then Washington Irving High School in 1953, …

Owens, Jimmy Interview 2, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

The second session begins with Owens discussing the teachers that had the biggest effects on him at Junior High School 40. One of those teachers was the head of the music department. He fondly remembers how he learned to play the trumpet with the book Easy Steps to the Band. This gentleman was his teacher for one year and was replaced by a woman who taught the students jazz. She also helped him prepare for the entrance exam for theHigh School ofMusic and Art, which he was accepted into.

When he was in JHS 40 he played at a …

Harper, Cheryl, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Cheryl Harper was born on April 12, 1977 in the South Bronx. She grew up in the Patterson Projects. She is one of 9 children, with ages ranging from 6 to 42. The siblings are all related through their father. She attended grade school at PS 70, middle school at Diana Sands, and high school at IS 83. Her mother was very abusive and she was in custody of her father. She was an alcoholic and addicted to crack. She describes memories of her mother when she was intoxicated. Her father made jewelry on Fordham Road and was an alcoholic. …

Tullis, Mercy, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Mercy Tullis was born October 16, 1975 to Honduran immigrant parents. She was born in Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan even though her parents lived in the Bronx because supposedly it was the only hospital that would not report them for being immigrants. Mercy’s birth allowed her parents to obtain their green cards. Until she was three years old their family lived in a black Honduran neighborhood of the South Bronx on Vyse Avenue. When she was three they moved to Davidson Avenue and then finally two years later to 172^nd and Grand Concourse to Roosevelt Gardens.

Mercy goes into …

Allen. Ray, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Mr. Ray Allen

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison

Date: June 29, 2004

Summarized by: Estevan Román

Mr. Ray Allen is (was) an actor, singer and an organizer of theater and education programs in the Bronx. He is an African American of Caribbean descent, born on the island of Curacao, which is a part of the Netherland Antilles. His mother, Evelyn, was from the island of Anguilla. He moved to the Bronx on December 9^th, 1968 at the age of 14. He came after his father had passed away from a heart attack and Ray and his second sister …

Tyson, Cyril Degrasse, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Cyril Degrasse Tyson was born in Harlem in the early 1930’s and frequently moved around Harlem and eventually made his way into the Bronx at an early age. He discusses his family history and when his parents first moved to New York. His parents were both born in the West Indies on the island of Nevis and moved to New York after the first World War. They moved to an area of Manhattan which was referred to as the San Juan Hills at the time. He describes it as a pocket of blacks from the south and West Indies, Puerto …

Hope, Bertha, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Bertha Hope

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Bertha grew up in Los Angeles California to parents who had a background in music and the music business. Her parents met when her father casted her mother as a dancer for the production “Showboat.” While her older sisters were young, they and her mother traveled around with her father, who was on a concert tour. The family settled in Los Angeles and her father’s connections to the music industry grew.

She got the majority of her music training in public schools. She was very talented and learned many …

Henderson, James, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

James Henderson was born and raised in the South Bronx during the 1940’s and 50’s. He attended Morris High School during the 1950’s and graduated in 1957. During these years Morris High School was home to many musical talents who were from Henderson’s neighborhood. Groups like The Chords, a group who later became popular for their hit Sh-Boom, lived around Henderson’s block and attended many of the same classes. Henderson was also influenced by music during his youth. He collected jazz records and went to various popular jazz clubs on Boston Road like Goodson’s, Club 845, and the Blue Morocco. …

Davis, Ronald And Davis, Sara, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Ronald Davis, a long time Bronx activist, grew up in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. He lived on Washington St. then moved to Jefferson Pl. and finally Shakespeare Ave during the 1970's. He participated in the Harlem Riots in 1964. Ronald Davis was kicked out of two public high schools and spent four and a half years in prison due to gang involvement and "jitterbugging." After time in jail Mr. Davis received a bachelor of arts from Adelphi University and a master of arts from Columbia University. Also, he was a part of many African American political organizations during …

Melrose, Arnold And Melrose, Evelyn And Teasdale, Ethel, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Evelyn Melrose was born in 1926 and at the age of 3 her family moved from New Haven, CT, to Washington Avenue and Claremont Parkway in the Bronx. Her father accepted a job for the US Government Post Office on Tremont Avenue and was able to live in the apartment on Washington Avenue because he agreed to be the Super and care for the building. This was how black families were able to get apartments in all white buildings at the time, only if they were the Supers of the building. His position with the government allowed him to still …