Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

Scroggins, Renee, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Andrew Tiedt

Interviewee: Renee Scroggins

Date of interview: 3 February 2006

Summarized by: Craig Teal, 17 March 2007

Renee Scroggins, member of the punk/funk group, ESG, was born in Bronx, New York in the Moore Projects. Located on Jackson Avenue and 149^th Street, the projects started to deteriorate within a couple of years of it being built. Renee calls this time the ‘drug era’ and recalls a lot of bad situations being present because of the poor economic situation of the people that lived there. Renee went to elementary school at PS 35 on Morris Avenue where her …

Smith, Troy, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Troy Smith was born in Harlem in 1966 and lived on 123^rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. He grew up during the emergence of hip hop in the city and into the mainstream. In this interview he describes his experience growing up during this time as well as his strong interest in hip hop. Troy attended Junior High 43, the same one that Kool Mo Dee and some of the Treacherous Three and Fearless Four had attended a few years ahead of him. Growing up there was hip hop influence all around him, especially with the block parties held in …

Swain, Matthew, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Matthew Swain is a lifelong Bronx resident who witnessed many of the major historical events that took place in the borough over the last few decades of the twentieth century. His story, therefore, presents a firsthand insight into the dynamic aspects of the Bronx’s culture as a borough.

Both of Swain’s parents had resided in the Bronx prior to his birth. As a child, Swain resided in the Tremont neighborhood. Swain recalled that the Bronx of his youth was a safe place where adults sat in the streets looking out for children. Additionally, Swain also recalls the borough as having …

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 …

Mantilla, Ray, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Ray Mantilla is a widely known Latin and jazz percussionist. He was born on 920 Prospect Avenue in 1934. He was not allowed into kindergarten because he didn’t speak English but quickly learned it from observing other children. His father was an electrical engineer and is Peruvian, while his mother is Puerto Rican. As a kid he loved to play baseball and was on a semi-professional team. He attended Clark Junior High School and School of Industrial Art for high school. While in high school, he and his mother lived in the back of a women’s clothing store they owned. …

Newsum, Phil, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Phil Newsum played in Latin ensembles in the 50’s and 60’s. He was not born in the Bronx nor was he raised there; however, his experiences in the Manhattan and Harlem music scene offers clarity to the Bronx music scene.

Phil talks about the difficulty of being accepted by a Latin community as a black man playing Afro Cuban music. Despite the difficulty, he persevered and eventually found mentorship in Tito Rodriguez, Mongo Chaquitto, Rodrigues Hungero and others. In order to fit in with the Latin crowd, and African American or Afro American musician would take on Latin names. This …

Cunningham, James And Cunningham, Margaret, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewees: James and Margaret Cunningham

Interviewers: Mark Naison and Natasha Lightfoot

Date: January 9, 2006

Summarized by Leigh Waterbury

James Cunningham was born in the Bronx in 1918 and describes what life was like in his household and his neighborhood. His father was a light-skinned black man who was considered colored while in WWI, and later when he moved to New York City to work as a customs inspector he was able to pass as white, which likely helped him to acquire that position. James attended PS 23 elementary school in his neighborhood around 167^th street, where he was …

Harris, Claire, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

INTERVIEWERS: Mark Naison, Brian Purnell, and Charles Olsen

INTERVIEWEES: Claire Harris

SUMMARY BY: Andrew O’Connell

Mrs. Claire Harris (b. May 29,1943) spent her childhood growing up in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. Harris’ parents, both immigrants from St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, arrived in New York at the beginning of the 20^th century, married, and had five daughters, the youngest of which is Mrs. Harris. Foreshadowing Mrs. Harris’ career as a university administrator and educator, both of her parents took part in the adult education programs. Her father used his education to shift careers from to the …

Jenkins, Arthur, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Arthur Jenkins

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison, Maxine Gordon, Dr. Brian Purnell

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Arthur Jenkins is a musician who grew up in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. His mother’s side of the family moved to New York City from Houston, Texas. His grandmother had moved the family to Harlem, where his mother met his father. When Jenkins was born, his family was living in Harlem and shortly thereafter moved to the Bronx. His father worked as a garment presser and worked for a tailor.

He first began playing in bands when he was attending Junior High …

Beckford, Hugh, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

INTERVIEWER: Natasha Lightfoot

INTERVIEWEE: Hugh Beckford

SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell

Hugh Beckford is the director of Caribbean American Family Services, an organization that he established in 1991. He is a 1985 graduate of Fordham College, Rose Hill, where he studied theology and sociology. Beckford was born in Trelawney, Jamaica, and was raised by his grandparents because his parents divorced when he was young. He was locally educated in Jamaican public schools and attended St. George’s College in Kingston, a boarding school. As a young man he was considered one of the best dancers in Jamaica and occasionally appeared on national …

Orange, Taur, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Taur Orange grew up in the Bronxdale Houses which they were able to live in because his father served in WWII and these houses were designated to veterans. This housing complex opened in the early 1950’s and consisted of mostly two parent households. Her father worked for the New York Transit Authority, and after she turned 6, her mother worked as an assistant teacher, or paraprofessional as they were called. He describes the houses as having lots of trees and grass surrounding the building, which were very well kept. The ethnic makeup of the houses was very diverse. For fun, …

Murray, Elizabeth, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Her family moved from Harlem in 1941. Her father was a Transit Worker in the Subway Division and her mother was a seamstress from their home. They moved into a 3 family house on Home Street. Growing up there was a rich street life. She saw the racial makeup of her street change from mostly German and Jewish to mostly African American. She attended PS 63 and really enjoyed herself there. The school was pretty diverse. Her family attended Caldwell AME Zion Church. This was a powerful force in her life and in the community. Even though she lived in …

Walters, Delores, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Delores Walters was born in Lincoln hospital and lived in Rogers Place in the Bronx for nine years. Her parents grew up in Harlem and moved from there sometime in the 1940’s. Delores fondly recalls the block in the neighborhood and the street atmosphere on Rogers Place; she remembers being very active, with a lot of playmates. The community was predominantly Black, and the building she lived in was run by a Caribbean family whom she remembers doing a great job of keeping the building up. Although Delores does remember there being bullies, she never had difficulty with them in …

Himmelstein, Paul, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Paul Himmelstein

Interviewers: Mark Naison and Brian Purnell

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Paul Himmelstein is one of 14 children and grew up on Prospect and Jennings Avenue. His father worked 7 days a week, as a truck driver during the week and a cab driver on the weekends. Both of his parents are Jewish and speak Yiddish.

The neighborhood was predominately black when he was 5. Before that, however, it was mostly Jewish. He speaks of the Jewish Delis and markets that he and his family used to go to on the weekends that were very close by. The …

Cannon, Paul And Williams, Jerald And Johnson, Woodrow, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Mark Naison, Brian Purnell

Interviewee: Paul Cannon, Woody Johnson, Gerald Williams

Date: 11/10/05

Summarized by Salmaan Khan on 4/14/07

Gerald Williams was born in Newport News, Virginia. He moved to the Morrisania section of the Bronx with his mother with the intention of working and moving back. Gerald attempted to earn some money by working a job at the Hotel Diplomat on 43^rd street in order to go to Canada to play in the International Table Tennis Tournament. They chose to move to the Bronx because of friends his mother had in the Bronx. He was 13 when …

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 …

Kogolo, Raymond, Jr., Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Raymond Kogolo Jr.

Interviewers: Ogonetojoh Okoh, Brian Purnell

Summarized By: Eddie Mikus

Raymond Kogolo Jr. is a Bronx resident who came to the borough from Lagos, Nigeria, in order to attend Fordham University. In his interview, he discussed his experience at a Nigerian boarding school as well as his life in the Bronx as a Nigerian immigrant.

As a child, Kogolo’s mother came to the Bronx due to her job as an airline pilot and split the family’s time between the borough and Nigeria. Kogolo said that many of the children he played in the Bronx were either African-American …

Mercado, Albert, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

When he was young in the Bronx he says it was a lovely area. There was a good mix of groups, but “everyone got along.” After junior high, he attended Art and Design in Manhattan, but he experienced prejudice there Latinos or African-Americans were in the minority there, so he transferred to Manhattan Vocational Tech. He stayed there a year but left because there was a lot of gang activity. He then attended DeWitt Clinton. He lived in the Bronx and the area had become very dilapidated - “it looked like if someone ran through there and just bombed it …

Cruz, Marilyn, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Marilyn Cruz

Interviewer: Dr. Mark Naison, Princess Okieme, Andrew Tiedt

Date of Interview Novermber 3, 2005

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Marilyn was born in Harlem. Her mother’s family immigrated to Harlem from Barbados and her father’s family was from the south. She grew up attending St. Ambrosse church, which was attended by many people from the Caribbean. While in Harlem, she attended PS 113 for grade school and remembers playing in Central Park.

The Basian side of her family was very mixed. She believes her great-grandfather may have been white, but she is unsure. The family really never discussed …

Owens, Jimmy Interview 1, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

No abstract provided.

Davidson, Jessie, Bronx African American History Project, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Davidson speaks extensively of is childhood. He grew up in the Bronx and moved around quite a bit. His mother was a homemaker while his father worker at the local post office. In addition to be a postal worker, Davidsons father was also a community activist as well as the founder of the local Bronx NAACP and the newspaper “The Listener”.

Davidson recalls a racially harmonious neighborhood in which he lived. However, the surrounding neighborhoods were fraught with racial tension and animus. He describes a tense relationship between blacks and police officers in these neighborhoods. According to Davidson, two or …

Fleet, James, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

The Fleet family moved to the Patterson Houses in the Bronx in the fall of 1956 from Harlem. He says growing up there provided for a very healthy and nurturing childhood. His father, Bittie Fleet a noted jazz musician, abandoned his music career in the early 1950’s to work in a department store, while his mother stayed at home with the children.

He had been aware of his father’s jazz career from an early age. He learned to play on his own, without lessons of any form. His claim to fame is that he was the person who influenced Charlie …

Mincy, Kenneth, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Kenneth Mincy grew up in the Patterson Houses in the late 1950’s. He felt very safe and loved. His mother was a nurse’s aid at a local hospital and while she was working a woman from their building would come up and watch him. Although there were many ethnicities in the building he lived in, everyone helped each other in taking care of the children.

He tells an interesting story about riding and studying subway maps at 4 years old. By this time, he was already and avid reader and feeling bored with his education in kindergarten. Because of this, …

Sall, Gilda, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Gilda Sall, originally from Harlem, moved to the Soundview section of the Bronx with her mother at the age of six. Unhappy with the education that her daughter was receiving in Harlem, Sall’s mother moved to the city’s northernmost borough, which many still considered to be almost suburban at the time. Sall tells of her first impressions of the Bronx as clean, different from the city from where she came, and overall a beautiful community in which to live.

After attending P.S. 77 and M.S. 123, Sall participated in the College Bound program at Monroe High School, a special subsection …

Brown, Donald, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Dr. Donald Brown

Interviewer: Dr. Brian Purnell

Summarized by: Estevan Román

Dr. Donald Brown was born on February 4^th, 1948 at Morissania Hospital in the Bronx. His mother Lula Moore is from Athens, Georgia or actually a town just outside Athens named Whitehall. His father was named Robert Brown is from Charleston, South Carolina. His parents were thirteen years apart in age. He mentions that his mother was previously married with three other kids and he would meet them a few years later at his mother’s funeral. His father did not like Charleston because of the racism …

Ramsey, Andrea, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Her grandparents moved to the Bronx from Harlem in the 1950’s and were immigrants from Barbados. Many of their friends from the Caribbean were moving to the Bronx, and they moved along with them to Union Avenue. Andrea was born in Harlem and then moved to the Bronx when she was very young to Tinton Avenue with her parents. There were many other Caribbean families in her life and she does not recall people from certain islands segregating themselves from the rest of the community. She and her family attended St. Augustine Church, which was Presbyterian. She remembers the amount …

Martin, Delores, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Delores Martin was interviewed August 9^th 2005 by Mark Niason. Martin was very active in the Doo Wop Bronx scene during the 1950s. Her father was a tailor and her mother a dietician. She and her family moved to the Bronx in 1941. Martin remembers a safe and happy childhood. She explained that it was safe to play on the streets, as the neighborhood parents would watch over them.

Martin explains that music was an important part of her home life. R&B and Gospel were the two prominent genres played in her house. Martin never had formal signing instruction, …

Pruitt, Henry, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Mark Naison, Rachel Donaldson

Interviewee: Henry Pruitt

Date: 8/3/05

Summarized by Salmaan Khan on 3/11/07

Henry Pruitt grew up in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. He speaks in depth of the environment of the Bronx and how he experienced it growing up. His first memory of going to the park or the beach in the Bronx is of Crotona Park in the 40’s and 50’s when he was in elementary school. In 1943, Henry began going to Camp Minisink, where he learned fishing in a catfish pond. He was taught important skills of fishing such as patience, selecting …

Gregg, Earnest, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Ernest Greg’s family moved from the South, to Atlantic City, to the Bronx in the 1930’s. The family came to the Morrisania section of the Bronx because Greg’s father was a Pullman porter. The family lived in a five-story walk-up until Ernest was about 12 on 169th street. He remembers his block as being predominately black, but Park Avenue, which was close by, as being ethnically diverse. He also remembers feeling very safe in that neighborhood. All of the adults looked out for the children.

When he was 12, the family moved to the newly opened Castle Hill projects, which …

Jackson, Jack, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Interviewee: Jack Johnson

Summarized By: Eddie Mikus

Jack Johnson is an attorney at Proskauer and Rose who attended Fordham in the 1970s after growing up in the Bronx. Much of his interview focused on how he experienced the differences between African-American and white cultures during his youth and college days.

Johnson moved to Bronx from Harlem at the age of eight years old. He says that while his elementary school was predominately African-American, there were more white people than Latinos. The same makeup held through when he attended junior high school due to his being placed on …