African American Studies Commons^™

Norman, Gene, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Gene Norman’s family first moved to Clairemount Parkway and Third Avenue in the Bronx. He was an only child and his father was not living with him. His mother worked as a housemaid and later as a nurse. The neighborhood was predominately African-American and he attended PS 23 and PS 9. These grade schools had tracked ability levels, which were determined by standardized testing. He was always in the “1” classes and noticed that there were significantly less African-Americans in those classes. He attended Junior High School 52 and noticed a change in the makeup of the student body. Students …

Orange, Joseph, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Joseph Orange’s family moved to the Bronx in 1941 from Harlem, he is the youngest of 8. Orange grew up in the Morrissina section. Orange explained that the Bronx represented upward mobility to many African Americans at the time.

There were a number of musicians in his family. Orange’s uncle, J.C Higgenbotham was a popular trombone player in the 30’s and 40’s. He went on to play with Louis Armstrong and other famous jazz musicians. Orange was surrounded by music growing up. Neighbors would play music that could be heard on the street. Music stores would play music out the …

Payne, Patricia And Russell, Marilyn, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Patricia Payne and Marilyn Russell are both college professors who grew up in the Patterson Houses – a housing project. As a child in the 1950s, Marilyn moved there from Harlem with her family: her mother, a stay-at-home mom, her father, a shipping clerk, and her siblings. Her parents were from the South, and she recalls the housing projects as very safe and clean, as well as very diverse.

Both Marilyn remember attending after school programs at their public schools, being supervised by tutors of the same sex, as well as having librarians read to children at the library. Meanwhile, …

Pita, Dorothy, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Dr. Dorothy Pita was born and raised in the Bronx. She worked as a teacher in the South Bronx starting in 1950 at PS39 and later at PS18. She mostly taught Latino and African American kindergarten students of low-income. She remembers parents not being involved in their children’s education, but the students were also well-dressed and not malnourished

While she was a teacher, the Patterson Houses and other housing projects opened, and at the time it was seen in a positive light. The school had after school programs as well, and throughout the 50s she doesn’t recall any racial tensions, …

Crier, Arthur, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Arthur Crier

Interviewer: Mark Naison

Summarized by Concetta Gleason

Crier is an organizer of the Morissania Review and a leading figure in Doo-Wop and Rhythm and Blues in the Morrisania community. Crier was born in 1935 in Harlem, but raised on Prospect Ave in the Bronx. His mother was from the South, specifically North Carolina, which is where he currently resides. He attended a mixed elementary school and also played street games with the other children on the block. The schools were very good and teachers genuinely cared for their students. The neighborhood was safe and the families looked …

Burbridge, Richard And Doris Interview 2, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

INTERVIEWER: Mark Naison, Natasha Lightfoot, Brian Purnell

INTERVIEWEE: Richard Burbridge, Doris Burbridge

SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell

Richard and Doris Burbridge conduct genealogical research in order to find out more about their respective families’ history. Richard’s mother was from New Orleans and his father was from Biloxi, Mississippi. The couple met in Biloxi, and moved to New York, where Richard and his two siblings were born. Upon taking a genealogy class at the Queens Public Library in 1992, Richard decided to conduct some research on his own roots. He soon found out that his family also had roots in Kentucky: his …

Pruitt, James - Interview 10, Bronx African American History Project, Mark Naison

Oral Histories

Interviewee: Jim Pruitt

Interviewer: Mark Naison

No Date of Interview

Summarized by Alice Stryker

Pruitt’s family moved from Harlem to the Bronx in 1932. Both of his parents were southern and met through his mother’s brother. About 5 years after the couple was married, they moved to Prospect Ave between Home and 168^th street. When they moved to the Bronx, his father was working for the post office and for a tailor as a presser. Many of the Black men living in this neighborhood worked for the post office. Although the family and their neighbors lived in the Bronx, …

Renwick, Evril, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Evril Renwick was born and raised in Grenada by her maternal grandparents. Her father abandoned Evril’s mother after her elders refused to allow her to travel alone with her young children to Brazil and meet him there. Evril’s mother wrote her brother in New York and went to live and work with him in 1924 when Evril was still a baby. Evril was living a content, independent life in Grenada until her twenties when her older sister died (her grandparents had already passed away) and for the first time Evril had a strong desire to see her mother. In1946, after …

Wade, Chrystal, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Chrystal Wade moved to the Bronx from Harlem when she was five years old after moving from the Harlem River Drive projects to Detroit and back to New York. Chrystal’s mother gave birth to her at age 18, but she was adopted by her grandparents at age five, as they wanted to make sure she would have a good structured family life. Upon moving into a five-story walkup at 532 East 157^th Street and St. Ann’s avenue, her father and brother-in-law almost immediately had an altercation with the neighbors because her family was the second black family in the …

Salem, Fatima Naik, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Fatima is originally from Algeria, but spent her childhood in France. She was born into a “rabea” family of Algerian “traditionalists” and “nationalists.” Her dad moved to France when he was 10 years old, and her mother moved there in 1970 when she married her father. Her mother was employed as a babysitter through the DAS program of the French government. She eventually adopted some of the children she babysat who had been abandoned by their parents. This complicated her childhood because the adopted siblings were of different ethnic groups, which caused confusion when they were introduced as family members. …

Smith, Carolyn & Jack, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Carolyn Smith was born in Metropolitan Hospital and lived in Harlem until around the age of 6 when she moved to the Melrose Housing Development in the early 1940’s. Her mother and a community of friends she grew up with in Hell’s Kitchen would all move around together. They moved around in Harlem a few times before settling in at Melrose. Carolyn discusses a common theme among those who grew up in this time of a sense of community where people in the neighborhood would watch others children. When they moved to Melrose it was a new housing project 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, …

Simmons, Victoria, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Victoria Simmons-Good grew up in the Patterson Houses. Her parents moved to the Bronx from Harlem for the affordable housing options offered in the Bronx. He earliest memory is from attending PS 18, which was located near her building. On her way to school, she and her friends would always stop at a Candy Store and eat sweets for breakfast. She also remembers attending a day camp during the summer with fellow children living in the Patterson Houses. She also remembers the music her parents listened to, which was mostly Motown and doo-wop.

She grew up in the Patterson houses …

Carr, Sylvia, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Racial dynamics of the Bronx was the central theme of this interview. There was a consensus shared amongst each interviewee that the Bronx during their childhoods was a racially heterogeneous area. The area known as Fish Avenue were Sylvia Carr grew up was primarily composed of very well off blacks. However, the blacks who lived in this area were lighter skinned as each interviewee pointed out. Each participant acknowledged a certain light skinned v. dark skinned power dynamic. Indeed, some of those interviewed were able to “pass” and were often mistaken for white. In addition to the presence of blacks …

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. …

Baye, Mamadou, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

INTERVIEWER: Karima Zerrou

INTERVIEWEE: Mamadou Baye

SUMMARY BY: Patrick O’Donnell

Note: This interview was originally conducted in French and translated into English.

SUMMARY:

Mamadou Baye is a private car/limo service driver who lives on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. She was born in Guinea and raised on the Ivory Coast by a Guinean father and a mother from the Ivory Coast. After leaving school, she broke into the transportation business when she was 18 years old, driving cars in Abdijan and San Pedro. Inspired by the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and the perception that it would be easy to …

Impact Of Immigration In Zambia, Sarah Banda

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

The main focus of this paper will predominantly be on African immigrants and the impact of their immigration on the African continent specifically in the country of Zambia. I strongly believe that due to 675,665 immigrants from 57 countries receiving permanent residents status in the United States, among them Nigerian immigrants constituting the top 30 sending nations the economic prospects of many African nations is being compromised. There is no doubt that African is in fact losing many highly skilled people because of this immigration influx. As one of the many African immigrants in the United States, I can't help …

Thugz Theology: Religious Narratives And The Poetic Tradition In Hip Hop, Jenny Portillo

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

Though gangsta rappers are hardly considered bards of prophets, they are the poets and preachers of the modern-day that have chosen to leave the confines of their journals and pulpits. Despite its popularity, rap remains associated with the violence, hyper-sexuality and profanity of marginalized urban neighborhoods, or more simply, the ghetto. Rap lyrics and hip hop beats became the main story telling mechanisms for the urban culture that was born in the impoverished boroughs of New York beginning in the 1970s. Like poetry, the themes of rap lyricism can vary greatly, but there is continuity on the themes between these …

The Exploitation Of College Athletes: Education And Money, Carlton Koonce

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

A football program that has historically struggled to win games, is now winning conference championships year in and year out. The only thing that appears to be able to stop them is themselves. As a result, the university has received record donations from alumni all over the country. The university is expanding with new buildings and facilities that seem to pop up out of nowhere. Ticket prices are through the roof, and games are being sold out in a couple days' time. Not only that, but the applications for incoming freshman have more than quadrupled since the last losing season. …

Affirmative Action In College Admissions: The Past, Present, And Future, Ellen Johnson

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

The Pledge of Allegiance, which supposedly captures the core values of America, is a nostalgic hymn by virtually all citizens of the U.S. We recite it in public schools, at football games, and a wide range of ceremonies and celebrations. From the time we are young, these words become engrained in us, so much so that reciting them becomes second nature. Do we, though, truly practice the concepts held in the Pledge of Allegiance? When we pledge that the U.S. embodies "liberty and Justice of all", do we stop and think of the implications the term carries? Can we, as …

Last Of The Bronx Giants: Mayoral Control, School Reform, And The Fate Of Bronx High Schools, Ben Delikat

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Disaster From Above: New York City Teachers' Perceptions Of School Reform, Elizabeth Baker

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Public Housing In The New York City: The Case Of The Red Hook Houses, Michael Kavanagh

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

In the United States, public housing conjures up negative images of decaying high-rise buildings, places ridden crime, drugs and gangs. This stereotype largely represents society's attitude towards the urban poor that has evolved since the housing movement began in the 1920s. When support for public housing took hold, the United States were living in tenements houses under the most horrific conditions. It is easy to forget that public housing was created in order to provide safe, affordable spaces for working and middle class families to live. However, policy changes, mismanagement, and inadequate funding are among the several factors that changed …

This Land Is My Land: The Evolution And Future Of Urban Homesteading In The United States, Emma Brennan

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Transit-Oriented Development And Sustainability: A Case Study Of The Williamsbridge Metro-North Station In The Bronx, Stephen Erdman

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

The tenets of Transit Oriented Development, a planning philosophy developed during the late 20th century, has informed recent development visions in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030: A Greener, Greater New York identifies transit-oriented development as one of the theories it seeks to implement throughout the city as it shapes new development. Likewise, the Department of City Planning's Bronx Sustainable Communities Initiative seeks to implement the ideal of transit-oriented development in the areas surrounding the Bronx's largely underutilized Metro-North stations. However, recent rezonings in the Bronx surrounding the Williamsbridge Metro-North station warrants further investigations into the City's claim that …

Tuzina, Tradition, And Therapy: A Case Study Of Dance/Movement Therapy In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Kateashley Clarke

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

Despite great advancement in recent decades, rehabilitation resources for post-conflict communities are often lacking within the humanitarian field. Antonio Donini (2010, p. S233) argues that because humanitarianism is self-defined by those who practice it with little or no consideration for alternative approaches, reinventing a globally accepted notion of 'humanitarianism' is a difficult task. Post-conflict rehabilitation is one of the fields most affected by this 'particularistic' style of humanitarian action, with Western-influenced techniques dominating the spectrum. According to Peter Salama (2004, p. 1810), though mental health is increasingly discussed in policy and research forums as an essential component of emergency programs, …

Narrative Of Flight: Camden, New Jersey In The Post-War Era, Chuck Hovanic

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

Commuters boarding the Speed Line in the small town of Lindenwold, New Jersey witness a rapid change in landscape as their train whisks them towards Philadelphia. Each stop on the train represents a distinct stage of suburban development ranging from the sprawling McMansions of Voorhees to the tightly packed two-family houses of Collingswood. The passengers that board a the various stations accurately represents the demographics of each town. This broad range of people is treated to a memorable, yet brief glimpse of poverty when the train enter the City of Camden. Gliding above decaying row homes and empty streets, passengers …

Global Warming And Fordham University Students, Annie Worden

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

So far, the human race has raised the global temperature 1 degree. We have done so by implementing a social and economic system that relies on burning fossil fuels an in which success is measured by growth. So far, the United States' wealth, the lavish lifestyles that everyone wants to live, and those who are fortunate enough to live them is made possible by depending on fossil fuels and an absolute acceptance that growth is the end all measure of success. Yet we have reached a point in history where we can no longer measure success based on continued growth …

Calhoun, Annie, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewers: Mark Naison, Maxime Gordon, Dawn Russell

Interviewees: Annie Calhoun, Will Calhoun

Date: May 18, 2012

Summarized By: Eddie Mikus

Annie Calhoun has resided in the Bronx for over 50 years and is a leading community activist through her presidency of the Fish Bay Organization. Her decision to take up activism demonstrates the challenges that many minority groups face in American society as well as their to actively participate in governmental affairs.

During her childhood, Calhoun was raised in North Carolina in a family that, despite being African-American, owned land and grew tobacco. Every Friday night, she and her family …

True North: Transportation Issues In Riverdale And Edenwald, Amelia Zaino

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.