Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

Mesa, Gloria, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Jane Edward

Interviewee: Gloria Mesa

Date of Interview: October 4, 2019

Transcribed by: Allison Lecce

Summarized by: Allison Lecce

Gloria Mesa emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo with her family when she was a child. She was born and raised in Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, when her family won the diversity lottery. Her oldest siblings moved to the U.S. and eventually her and her parents joined them in Greensboro, North Carolina. Gloria is the youngest of five. She speaks French, which was her first language, English, Lingala, Kikongo and Gimbala, a language from her parents’ ethnic group. …

Critical Review Of Break Beats In The Bronx: Rediscovering Hip-Hop’S Early Years, Corey Lionel Spencer

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

A Fishy Problem: Effects Of Atlantic Salmon Farming In The Pacific Ocean, Madeleine A. Griffith

Student Theses 2015-Present

In this report, I explore the historical, climatological, economic, and ethical issues created by the contemporary industrial salmon farming practices off Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. Chapter 1 utilizes a variety of sources from Stephen Hume’s A Stain upon the Sea to Miller’s Living in the Environment, to examine the integral part salmon plays in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, the ecosystem services salmon contribute in wild and farmed settings, and the trends in salmon consumption around the world. Chapter 2 examines the historically relevant role salmon held among indigenous societies and how that role has changed …

Girl Groups In The Bronx: Race Gender And The Pursuit Of Respectability, Mark Naison

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

Italian Americans In Bronx Doo Wop-The Glory And The Paradox, Mark Naison

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

The Multiracial Bronx: A Unique Cultural Incubator In Post War America, Mark Naison

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

In The Shadow Of The Great Depression- Car Imagery In Post War Rhythm And Blues Country, Mark Naison

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

The Unacknowledged Economic And Political Forces Which Shaped The Rise Of Rock And Roll, Mark Naison

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

Sanabria, Bobby, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Bobby Sanabria Summary

Summarized by Ian Smith, August 2022

Bobby Sanabria is a drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, documentary film producer, educator, bandleader, and activist. He is a 7-time grammy nominee as lead, and his versatility as both a drummer and percussionist, from small group to big band, has become legendary. His knowledge of latin jazz, both as a historian and as a maker of its history, has earned him worldwide acclaim.

Bobby Sanabria’s family were from rural Puerto Rico. Bobby was born in 1957 at the historic St. Francis hospital in the South Bronx. When he was 3, his …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Parker, William, Bronx African American History Project, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Interview: William Parker

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Date of Interview: December 8, 2018

Summary by Bailey Barnett

William Parker was born in the Bronx in 1952. As a child, Parker had the opportunity to play several different instruments before ultimately settling on the bass. Parker not only discusses some of the teachers who influenced him but also explains what he believes distinguished people who were truly "from the Bronx." He spent many years working various odd jobs until, during the 1980s, he was able to support himself by traveling and sharing his music with others. The belief that music has the …

Manus, Charlotte And Himmelstein, Paul, Bronx African American History Project, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Interview: Charlotte Manus and Paul Himmelstein

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Date of Interview: November 17, 2017

Summary by Alison Rini

Charlotte Manus moved from Harlem to the Prospect Avenue neighborhood of the Bronx at an early age. She recalls the pressure that she and other neighborhood children felt to establish a "reputation" for themselves by fighting and also touches upon the jazz and other kinds of street music that influenced her as a child. Ms. Manus discusses which areas of the Bronx were considered dangerous during her adolescence as well as some of the typical ways in which she and other …

Rivers, Darney "K-Born", Bronx African American History Project, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Mark Naison, Lisa Betty

Interviewee: Darney “K-Born” Rivers, Rodney Morris

Summarized by: Sarah Cavanagh

Darney “K-Born” Rivers is a legendary Bronx rapper and community organizer. He was born in the Bronx in 1970 and lived on Grant avenue and then Morris avenue near 169th street. Living on Grant avenue in the early 1970s, Rivers describes the fires that became a common sight in the area. The Grant avenue neighborhood became so dangerous that he had to live with relatives in Queens for some time. Rivers and his family moved to the Fordham road area of the Bronx in 1978. …

Teen Pregnancy Among Latinas: A Literature Review, Kathleen E. Keogh

21st Century Social Justice

The overall decline of teen birth rates in the U.S. is problematized by persistent racial disparities in these rates. Latina teens are especially affected, as they have the highest teen birth rate of any racial or ethnic group. High teen birth rates among Latinas even persist in locales where the overall teen birth rate is below the national average, such as Suffolk County, NY. Socioeconomic, racial, and cultural factors contribute to the birth rate for Latina teens. Traditional strategies for teen pregnancy prevention, such as comprehensive sexuality education and increased healthcare access, inadequately address Latino cultural values that normalize teen …

Lovecidal: Walking With The Disappeared [Table Of Contents], Trinh T. Minh-Ha

Cinema & Media Studies

“Lovecidal: Walking with the Disappeared is filled with provocation and guided by evocation. Encompassing various forms (poetry, treatise, memoir, and historiography) and capaciously conceived, Trinh T. Minh-ha’s contemplation of war, state-authorized violence, state-sanctioned ‘security,’ and international amnesia is skillfully tempered by observations of beauty, humanity, and resistance. To say that this is an important book is in many ways an understatement; rather, Lovecidal is transformative.” —Cathy Schlund-Vials, author of War, Genocide, and Justice: Cambodian American Memory Work

Turner, Joel, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Joel Turner is an IBM executive who grew up in the Patterson Houses from 1950 until 1972. During his life, he witnessed many of the major social changes in the Bronx and can also attest to having achieved success in the business world. Additionally, Turner has Jewish ancestry on his mother’s side, and spoke about his experience as an African-American Jew.

As a child, Turner attended elementary school at a Yeshiva at 170^th Street and Morris Avenue. Although he said that the education he received was better than what he would have received at a public school, he said …

Tucker, Ed, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Ed Tucker’s family moved to New York shortly after WWII, his father was a veteran. Ed was born inMorrisaniaHospitalin 1943 and the family lived onProspect Avenue. His father was a cab driver, for the most part. John Mcgilcrest’s family, both sides from Jamaica, moved to New York after WWI. His father worked at a fragrance factory and was part of the Teamsters. Ron Nelson’s family moved to the Bronx during WWII fromHarlem.

The neighborhood Nelso lived in was mostly Jewish, whereas John and Ed were growing up in a neighborhood that was mostly Africa-American. All of them boys went to …

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 …

Hodge, Ray, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Ray Hodge’s family came to the Bronx in 1947 to Prospect Avenue. His parents came to the Bronx from St. Croix. The family was one of the first to move into the Patterson Houses in 1950. They moved into the side of Building 291 on East 143^rd street, facing PS 18. Many families viewed moving into these new housing projects as moving up in the world. There was a real sense of community; everyone kept the building it clean and looked out for all the children.

He attended PS 18 and had a good experience there. He says that …

Fortune, Monique, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

ISummarized By: Eddie Mikus

Monique Fortune was a Professor of Communications at Fordham University who also works for WFUV. She provided some insight to the Bronx African American History Project about the development of the borough’s musical culture. Fortune also spoke about how Bronx musicians gained national prominence through groups like the Chantels.

Fortune stated that musical genres such as doo-wop and hip-hop had their origins in the 1940s when musicians started to emphasize harmony over melody. She stated that this development led to the formation of doo-wop. Fortune also stated that buildings such as churches and Police Athletic Leagues …

Braithwaite, John, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Summarized by Concetta Gleason

John Braithwaite moved with his family fromManhattaninto theBronxontoKelly Streetin 1945 when he was two years old. His parents learned of theBronxandKelly Streetfrom their friends. Braithwaite’s parents and many of his neighbors were fromBarbados. The neighborhood and schools were very diverse with Italians, Jews, Spanish and blacks (both from the South and the Caribbean), and that did not change until the Cross-Bronx Expressway divided theBronxin half. The family was associated with St. Margaret’s Protestant Episcopal Church. His family has a great love for the arts; his father was a tailor, but painting was his passion, his older …

Rivieccio, Anthony, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Born in 1960, Anthony Rivieccio moved to the Morris Heights section of the Bronx after his parents divorce with his mother and two sisters at twelve years old. Rivieccio recalls the racial tensions that developed in the South Bronx as the demographics changed leading to gangs. Rivieccio himself joined the gang The Devil’s Disciples. During the time he lived in the Bronx, Rivieccio remembers Fordham Road as an area of entertainment including arcades and movie houses, as well as a department store he would reluctantly visit with his mother on Saturday mornings.

As the fires moved closer to his location …

Sprouse, Mario, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Mario Sprouse, born October 10^th, 1948 in Spanish Harlem, is a well-known musician,arranger, composer, and musical director. His parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1929, and would meet in Harlem and begin their family after the war.

His parents worked hard to provide for their children, but always had a passion for music, which they would instill upon Mario and his siblings. After moving to the Bronx in 1950, the family would begin living on Ritter Place, where each household showcased musical ability, and stars such as Maxine Sullivan, lived just down the …

Morgan, Joan, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Joan Morgan is the author of “When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost’, activist, and doctoral student. She is of Jamaican descent. Her parents came to the United States and settled in the Bronx near Crotona Park. Her father was one of the founding members of the Jamaican Labor party; she calls the Bustamante's her “godparents.” He was also a member of the Jamaica Freedom League while in the Bronx.

While living on Fulton Avenue, Joan used to frequently go to Crotona Park because of the community center right by it, the Clermont Center. Her mother was an active member of …

Hayes, Christopher, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Christopher Hayes was born in February of 1789. He is a journalist whose work deals with those living in the Bronx and the economic challenges that face them. Hayes grew up in the Bronx to a Jesuit father and a first generation Italian mother. His father traveled and worked in Peru and at the University of Detroit before settling down at Fordham. His father was also a community organizer. His mother grew up in the Bronx, near the Fordham rose hill campus. She attended Lehman College. It is here where his mother and father met one another, sparked a friendship …

Driskell, Dana, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Dana Driskell

Interviewers: Mark Naison, Mark Smith

Transcribed By: Colleen McCafferty

Summarized By: Eddie Mikus

Dana Driskell is a former student at Fordham University who has since worked for the New York City planning commission. He told the Bronx African-American History Project about some of the social changes that have occurred in the Bronx during his life, as well as his time at Fordham University.

Driskell said that his father worked as a sheet metal worker who often worked in construction. Although Driskell’s father belonged to a union, he said that his father often experienced discrimination that was prevalent …

Thome, Marie, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Marie Tome

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison

Summarized by: Daniel Matthews

Reverend Marie Tome is the minister of Bright Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Church is located on 812 Thale Street in the Bronx. In 1932 Tome moved from South Carolina to live with her grandmother in the Bronx. She left South Carolina for fear of lynchings and segregation. Her grandmother made a living doing domestic work, often waiting on street corners for families to hire her. This practice was known as the Bronx Slave Market for the low wages and the phenomenon of black workers lined up on …

Bailey, Helen, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Interviewee: Helen Gordon Bailey

Summarized By: Eddie Mikus

Helen Gordon Bailey is an attorney who had spent much of her life in the Bronx. As such, she has served witness to many of the developments that occurred in Bronx communities over the last few decades.

Bailey lived 854East 67^th Street before moving to Morrisania during the 1930s . She was the daughter of two Jamaican immigrant parents, although he neighborhood was mostly Jewish at the time she lived there. As a child, Bailey attended Saint Anthony of Padua for first and second grade and PS 42 …

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 …

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 …