Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

Caines, Robert Jr., Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

INTERVIEWER: Oneka LaBennett, Mark Naison

INTERVIEWEE: Robert Caines, Jr. (a.k.a DJ Flawless)

SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell

Robert Caines, Jr. (aka DJ Flawless) was born on January 23, 1983, and grew up in the Mott Haven Projects in the Bronx. He is the son of Robert Caines, Sr. (aka Rockin’ Rob.) At the time of interview, he was unemployed, but had recently been working for the Scratch DJ Academy. Robert, Jr. was raised by his mother and his grandmother. Although his father was often absent, Robert, Jr. became interested in hip-hop by listening to his father’s music tapes. His mother, …

Dacosta, Lisa, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Lucy Dacosta

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison and Oneka LaBennett

Date of Interview: August 23, 2007

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Lucy was born in the South Bronx in 1967. Her paternal grandparents were from Jamaica and her grandmother was the matriarch of the family. Jamaican culture was very much a part of her upbringing. Her father worked for the Housing Authority.

She attended P.S. 28 for kindergarten and then transferred to St. Margaret Mary for several years. She enjoyed going to school there very much. She played with many of the kids of her neighborhood as well as with her …

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 …

Callender, Mike And Caines Jr., Robert And Caines, Robert And Howell, Melvin And Johnson, Keith, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Mike Callender (b. 1/21/1963) grew up in the Patterson Houses and was deeply involved in DJ culture. He had access to many records, so he was a great resource for DJs who were looking for fresh beats to spin with. He was also a friend of Robert Caines, Sr. (DJ Rockin’ Rob), and he also did some DJing himself.

Robert Caines, Jr. (DJ Flawless, b. 1/23/1983) grew up in the Mott Haven projects, near the Patterson Houses. He is DJ Rockin’ Rob’s son, and accordingly, was introduced to Djing at a very young age. He first started experimenting with a …

Kef-Karma, Sheku, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Sheku Kef-Karma (aka Chosan) is a rapper who was born in Sierra Leone. When he was two years old, his family moved to London in search of better economic opportunities. His mother, a nurse by training, worked two jobs and frequently sent supplies and money back to her relatives in Sierra Leone while his father pursued a college education. Chosan was raised Christian, even though his father was Muslim. He was raised in a neighborhood with a large number of African families, and he was exposed to reggae, hip-hop, and the general ins and outs of African-immigrant London street culture …

Chappell, Aj And Minor, Robert, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Robert Minos and Andrew Chappell were former players on the famous Hilton White Basketball team; moreover, both grew up in the Forest Houses in the Bronx. The projects were seen as upward mobility, a community of hardworking families. Minor describes a sense of cohesion in these communities, which he contrasts to the modern perception and atmosphere of project housing.

Both men relate the story of the start of their basketball careers at the relative age of 11/12. Mr. Alley and Haley White were two mentors and coaches of the Hilton basketball program. Robert says this about the program, “I came …

Martinez, Danny Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Danny Martinez, aka BeatMann, is one of the original Bronx DJs. He is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. He was born in 1965 and raised in the South Bronx alongside his brother (Freddie, born 1967) and sister. As young boys and pre-teens, the Martinez brothers began tagging throughout the Bronx, using spray paint to leave their names and artwork on trains, walls, buildings, etc. They stole the paint from various stores throughout the New York/New Jersey area. The neighborhood the boys grew up in was very diverse—Puerto Ricans, blacks, Italians, and Irish all lived together in that section of …

Attah-Mensah, Nana, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Nana Atta-Mensah

Interviewer: Dr. Jane Edwards

Date of Interview: May 16, 2007

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Nana Atta-Mensah migrated to the Bronx in 1979. He was from Ghana originally, then moved to Germany for 10 years, then moved back to Ghana and from there immigrated to the United States. When he initially moved to the Bronx he was working as a gas station attendant. In 2005, however, he went back to school at Lehman College and got degrees in Accounting and African American Studies. With these degrees, he now operates a small business on Gun Hill Road.

He also …

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 …

Brothers Under Skin: African And African-American Relation In The Bronx, Jean-Yves Mutanda

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

This project is inspired by my experience as a child of two African immigrant parent from Kinshasa, Congo. I was raised in a household where Congolese values were held to a very high standard, and I was told that these types of values should be incorporated into my daily life as a child, a young adult and later an adult. Despite living in the United States and living in n English speaking society, I never had conversations with my parents in English and was greatly encouraged to talk to my parents in their native language of Swahili or Lingala (Congolese …

Rodriguez, Angel, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Angel Rodriguez (b. 1954) is a Puerto Rican musician, educator, historian, and grassroots cultural organizer. Born in Puerto Rico, he came to the Bronx twice: first at the age of 5, and then for good when he was 10 years old, along with his father, a Pentecostal minister, his mother, a day laborer, homemaker, and accomplished dancer, and several siblings. Angel always had a love for music, and he was especially inspired by the sound of traditional drums, which he first heard as a young boy. Initially Angel wanted to be a preacher like his father, but his father’s strict …

Williams, Veralyn, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Dr. Jane Edward interviewed Veralyn Williams on May 5, 2007. Veralyn was born in Sierra Leonie in 1985 right before war broke out in the country. Her parents thus immigrated to the United States, Harlem. After about a year of living in the Harlem, they moved to the Bronx and have lived there ever since.

Veralyn recalls a happy childhood. She lived in a multiethnic community. Though Veralyn was born in Sierra Leone, she says she is mostly connected to her American roots. Apart from the food her mother cooks and other indications of culture she experienced in her house, …

A Study Of How Four Black Newspapers Covered The U.S. Masters Tournament 1994 Through 2001., Mark James Sharman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis is to discuss the manner in which four black newspapers covered the U.S. Masters Tournament, hosted annually at the Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, from 1994 through 2001. The four black newspapers include two from the North, the New Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender, and two from the South, the Atlanta Voice and the Birmingham Times. It is my contention that U.S. Masters coverage in the aforementioned black papers is dependent upon the presence of Tiger Woods. Without Woods' participation at the Masters, coverage of the event would be diminished in the …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 51, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 Freedom - Graduation 2007, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special commencement edition of the College Heights Herald.

Hill, Lamar, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

INTERVIEWER: Mark Naison

INTERVIEWEE: Lamar Hill, aka LA Sunshine

SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell

Lamarr Hill, aka LA Sunshine, is a Harlem-born rapper who was an important figure in the early New York hip-hop scene. He was a member of the Treacherous Three, an important old-school hip-hop group, along with Spoonie Gee and Kool Moe Dee. Hill grew up on 129^th Street in Harlem. His first exposure to music came at a very early age, as his mother and older brother were big fans of R&B, especially Al Green, Otis Redding, and the Temptations. His first formal public musical …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 50, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

The Professional Development Experiences Of African American Women: The Ace Fellows Program, Waltrina E. Defrantz-Dufor

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the experiences of five African American women senior administrators employed at five predominantly White institutions in the Midwest ,1ml lhc Northeast. There are few African American women in senior and chief executive administrative positions. These African American women were chosen as research subjects because they completed the American Council on Education (AC'I~) Fellows Program and cun-ently serve as senior and chief executive administrators of' higher education institutions. The goals of this study were to explore how mentoring and leadership development, specifically the ACE Fellows program, impacted the careers of the African American women. Additionally, this study …

Mulraine, Edward, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

In this interview, the Reverend Edward Mulraine (b. 2/9/1969), pastor of a Baptist church in Mount Vernon New York, shares with the Bronx African American History Project his experiences growing up in the Bronx during the turbulent 1980s, as well as details of his work in the community as a high ranking official in the Williamsbridge office of the NAACP.

Born to a mother who immigrated to the Bronx from St. Thomas, Mulraine estimates that he lived in some fifteen different locations in the Bronx during the course of his childhood. Telling of his time in the Northeast Bronx, Mulraine …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 49, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 48, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 47, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 46, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Oluwasegun, Michael, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Michael is from Nigeria and at the time of the interview was a student at Fordham University. He was born in Nigeria and came to the states with an F-1 Visa to study. Michael chose Fordham because of his Jesuit roots back in Nigeria.

Michael talks a lot about his experience at Fordham University, he says the community has been welcoming to him and he can appreciate the Jesuit tradition of caring for the whole person. Michael has an apartment on Arthur Avenue. He has never had any problems with people in the Bronx. He visits an African restaurant named …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 45, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 44, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 82, No. 44 [43], Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Microfinance In Ghana: Sustainable Solutions For Poverty Eradication, Christopher Brandt

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

Since Ghana gained its independence in 1957, its leaders have struggled to utilize development tactics that are both sustainable and address the most important economic issues facing a developing country, such as poverty, infrastructure building, inflation, and macroeconomic stability. Balancing these priorities has proven difficult for the various Ghanaian regimes that have ruled the country since independence. The complexities facing a developing country with a fragile economy often require difficult decisions that prove painful for the poorest and most marginalized individuals in society. Often, the poor must sacrifice subsidized food and other government services as economic reform programs aimed at …

Introduction: The Sexual Body, Shelly J. Eversley, Jennifer L. Morgan

Publications and Research

Introduction to the special issue, "The Sexual Body," edited by Shelly Eversley and Jennifer L. Morgan.

Jazz On The River By William Howland Kenney (Book Review), Gene H. Anderson

Music Faculty Publications

Jazz has not always been "America's classical music." In the first decades of the twentieth century it was regarded by much of the black and white Establishment as unsettling, provocative, even dangerous - attitudes exacerbated by the social upheaval of the Great Migration around the time of World War I. Enter black riverboat jazz bands to negotiate the color line: to help "white Americans approach in an oblique manner underlying social and cultural changes that were too deep and too heavily laden with pain, guilt, and fear for most citizens to discuss openly" (5). Such is the thesis of Jazz …