Carrington Lloyd Buddoo, known as Lloyd Buddoo, talked extensively about Jamaica, including the country's history, living and working conditions, education, government, geography, growing up under the British colonial system, and how things changed after independence.
Buddoo spoke in detail about his parents and siblings, the disciplinarian in the family, living and growing up in rural Jamaica and the tight knit community, the fruits and vegetables grown by his family, his parents' work and skills, the schools and colleges he attended, his family's religious traditions as Seventh Day Adventists, family traditions, and extended family history, including the origin of his last name "Buddoo" and his grandfather's East Indian traditions.
Buddoo also talked about teaching in Jamaica, immigrating and sponsoring relatives to come to the United States, where he worked when he arrived in the United States, applying to and attending Howard University, life in Jamaica versus life in the United States, working as a taxicab driver, his wife and children, why he decided to go to law school, working for Clarence Thomas at Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, his thoughts about Jamaican culture and the culture's influence on other communities, Rastafarianism, his music interests including Bob Marley, holiday celebrations, importance of Jamaican organizations, his thoughts on Jamaican posses, immigration law and discrimination, and disciplining his children.
Carrington Lloyd Buddoo was interviewed on January 30, 1993. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Abraham Joseph, a driving school owner from Haiti, talked about his family, including his siblings, his parents who were farmers, and his children; walking to school; the village, Gros-Morne, where he lived in Haiti; and working as a carpenter in Haiti and the Bahamas before immigrating to the United States in 1980 because he had a fear of Tonton Macoute. He explained the power of Tonton Macoute, including the time his brother was arrested.
Joseph described traveling on a little boat from Haiti to the Bahamas and then to Miami; moving to Washington, DC because his fiancée, who he met in the Bahamas, lived in DC with her relatives; and his reaction to seeing snow for the first time in Washington, DC.
Joseph detailed the challenges of working as a porter, his first job in Washington, DC. He explained his decision to become a taxi driver and how he accomplished his goal; how he helped others from all over the world learn how to drive; why he opened a driving school, called AB Discount Driving School; and the challenges of running a business and securing insurance for the driving school.
Abraham Joseph was interviewed by Tamara Brown on July 26, 1994. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise, static, and background noise; interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Alex Bruks, co-owner of Bruks International Market, spoke about the origin and history of Bruks International Market, which opened in 1990; the products, including imported grocery items from Africa and the Caribbean, sold in the market; demographics of his customers; how the store came to be located in Takoma Park, Maryland; his employees; and future plans.
Bruks also spoke about the town where he was born and his school experience in Ghana; his extensive work experience in the agriculture, poultry, and meat industries; his migration to the United States in 1975; his higher education experience in Indiana and Ohio; his family; his decision to become a United States citizen; Ghanaian government policies; the African and Caribbean communities in Washington, DC; and festivities or ceremonies when introducing newly born child to the community, including the food served, and Ashanti cultural dances and clothing.
Alex Bruks was interviewed by Peggy Fleming and Grace Taylor at Bruks International Market in Takoma Park, Maryland on May 28, 1993. Interview is in English; Bruks spoke briefly to a customer in Ashanti. Digital audio files include white noise and static, and background noise throughout entire interview. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Anne Marie Hogarth spoked about her migration story to the United States from Haiti in 1961; her educational and teaching background in Haiti and the United States; teaching French and English in Kentucky, Washington, DC, and Maryland; and working with Haitian migrant farm workers in Salisbury, Maryland and Winchester, Virginia, and for the DELMARVA Rural Ministry Health Project.
Hogarth detailed her exchange student experience at Nazareth College in Kentucky where she learned English and taught French as well as earned an American degree in education in the early to mid-1960s. She discussed her difficulty adjusting to life in Kentucky because of the differences in food, weather, and language as well as her age of almost 40 and recent death of her mother; and the support of the sisters at the small, religious Catholic College. She explained her decision to move from Kentucky to Washington, DC.
Having taught in public schools in Haiti prior to arriving in the United States, Hogarth described the differences in teaching styles between Haiti and the United States. She also explained the differences in her experiences, the environment, and how she was perceived at Nazareth College versus Anacostia Senior High School as well as she was perceived in regards to race in Haiti versus the United States. Hogarth talked about teaching at Gordon Junior High School and Federal City College; completing her master's degree at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada; and connecting with Haitian community, music, dance, and her country in Washington, DC in the late-1960s. She also talked about her experiences and relationship to the Black Power Movement and civil rights in the 1960s as well as the challenges of school integration, bussing, and large class sizes when she was teaching in DC public schools.
Hogarth described her work with Haitian migrant farm workers beginning in 1980; first on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and later in Winchester, Virginia. She spoke in detail about Haitian American Training Institute (HATI) in Salisbury, Maryland and funded by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; teaching English to migrant workers; and the working conditions and everyday life of the migrant workers. Next, Hogarth described her work as an outreach interpreter with the DELMARVA Rural Ministries Health project in which she helped migrant people with interpretation, health service work, and transportation. She explained some of the health issues and conditions of Haitian people in detail, and the migrant streams on the East Coast and West Coast of the United States. Hogarth also explained why she worked with Haitian migrant workers during the summer.
Anne Marie Hogarth was interviewed in 1993. Interview is in mostly English with minimal non-English language, most likely French or Haitian Creole. Digital audio files include white noise and static. There are several minutes within the last 10 minutes of the recording ACMA_AV000749_B in which no voices can be heard (too far from microphone / think interviewee is looking for something and talking at the same time). Interviewer's voice is very soft and difficult to hear for the most part, particularly in regards to recording ACMA_AV000749_A.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Anne-Marie Hogarth spoked about her family history; and being born, raised, and educated in Léogâne, a little town near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She explained she was raised with people and among people. She described Léogâne, and some of its history and geography. She detailed her extended family history on both sides of her family, where they originated from, and when her family (father and mother) migrated to Léogâne.
Hogarth explained she continued her education in Port-au-Prince, including completing the teaching program at Normal School for Teachers; and taught at different public schools in Haiti before migrating to the United States. She described how her life changed with the death of her mother, and her decision to finally study English.
Hogarth spoked about her exchange student experience at Nazareth College in Kentucky where she learned English and taught French as well as earned an American degree in education in the early to mid-1960s. She talked about completing her master's degree in French language and literature at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada; and teaching at Anacostia Senior High School, Gordon Junior High School and Federal City College in Washington, DC. She retired from teaching in the early-1990s.
Hogarth described her work with Haitian migrant farm workers during summers, harvest time; first on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and later in Winchester, Virginia. She spoke about teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to migrant workers in Salisbury, Maryland, under President Carter's Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and the working conditions and everyday life of the migrant workers. Next, Hogarth described her work as an outreach interpreter with the DELMARVA Rural Ministries Health project in which she helped migrant people with interpretation and transportation.
Hogarth spoke about what she has done since her retirement, and her continued work and connection with the Haitian community. She talked about the current events and conditions in Haiti, Haitian people coming to the United States on boats, and the number of Haitian people dying in Haiti and during migration by boat. She explained that she has friends and extended relatives still in Haiti, and how she would like to go back to Haiti and help with rebuilding in Haiti when travel to Haiti is possible.
After the interview, Hogarth explained her connection and Haiti's connection to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, located in southeast Washington, DC.
Anne-Marie Hogarth was interviewed by J. Penn, circa 1995. Interview is in mostly English with minimal non-English language, most likely French or Haitian Creole. Digital audio files include white noise and static. Interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part; there are a few moments where interviewee voice's is very soft and difficult to hear.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Arturo Griffiths spoke about the creation of the Community Coalition, Multicultural Leadership Summit, and Multicultural Leadership Council after disturbances in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood in Washington, DC to address the needs of the Latino community and the Black community, and to bring communities together. And later, the creation and evolution of the Afro-Latino institute because the Latino community was not addressing their lack of inclusivity in regards to the Black community.
Griffiths explained United States foreign policy, including why Central Americans flee to the US; Latinos' goals living in the United States; Latinos' lack of understanding regarding United States history, current events, racism, and inclusivity; the isolation of the Black community in the US which led to a lack of knowledge regarding Black people from other parts of the world; the lack of relationship and connection between the Black community and Latino community as well as between the Black people in the US and Black people from the rest of the world; and the attempts by the Black community in the US to reach out to other communities in the US and their efforts were not reciprocated. Griffiths spoke about Latinos' struggle for empowerment and lack of voting power; Frank Shaffer-Corona, the first elected Latino in DC area and first Latino on school board; racism within the Latino community; the Latino community leadership's lack of Black representation; and how people from various ethnic groups identify themselves and which groups feel isolated.
Griffiths also spoke about his extended family history and ethnic background, which included West Indian and English ancestry; the racial segregation system, imposed by the United States, in the Canal Zone of Panama; the tension between Blacks of English descent and Blacks of Spanish descent; his politically active Afro-Panamanian father, who was forced out of Panama City and arrived in the United States in the middle of the Civil Rights movement; and his father's work in the US, including the organization of the Washington Ghetto Industrial Development and Investment Corporation to empower the ghettoes and Black communities economically through controlling the distribution of goods.
Griffiths spoke about his childhood in Panama City as a Black West Indian kid who spoke Spanish and was raised by his mother; his school experience; racism within his family; and his family's economic instability. He described what he knew about the United States prior to arriving in the United States; his family's migration to the United States, including their migration preparations in Panama; his first impressions arriving in the center of the Black community in northwest Washington, DC during the Civil Rights Movement; and the segregation and discrimination he witnessed in the US. Griffiths talked about playing basketball when he was young; clashing with the Black kids in the US because he was a foreigner and spoke Spanish; being a part of one of the gangs to survive; learning English; and living in both and between the Latino community and the Black community.
Arturo Griffiths was interviewed by Hector Corporan on December 23, 1992. Interview is in English and minimal Spanish. Digital audio files include white noise and static, and minimal background noise. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Addie Green – owner, manager, and chef of The Islander, a restaurant located on Columbia Road in northwest Washington, DC – explained the boundaries of the Adams Morgan neighborhood. She talked in detail about her restaurant The Islander, her migration from Trinidad to England to the United States, her love for her country and childhood memories in Trinidad, her leadership in building the Caribbean community in the Washington, DC area, her mother's migration to and work in the United States, and the importance of cultural authenticity when organizing and running events, particularly carnivals and festivals. Note, Addie Green is also known as Adeletha "Addie" Green.
Green explained The Islander specializes in Trinidadian cuisine but also cooks and serves foods from other Caribbean islands; the founding of the restaurant in 1978 and how the menu evolved; and she visits the islands to learn about the food and how to cook the food before she prepares it in her restaurant. She talked about the reviews she and The Islander have received from the press, including The Washington Post; and catering for government agencies, events, and festivals, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Caribbean Festival Day.
Green talked about her experience traveling on a Norwegian ship to England, attending school in England, and marrying her American husband and birthing her first child in England. She explained why did not want to migrate to the United States; that racial differences, discrimination, and bias did not register for her until she arrived in the United States; her experience working in the United States; how and why she got involved in the food and restaurant industry; and her husband's reaction to her working outside of the house. Green also talked about cultural organizations, including the Trinidad-Tobago Association, Jamaican National, and West Indian American Cultural Organization; how and why the Caribbean community has changed in Washington, DC; carnival culture in Trinidad and how it differs from carnivals and festivals in the United States; and Trinidadian athletic societies represented in Washington DC area.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include loud music and talking in background. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part; interviewer's voice is soft and difficult to hear at times.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Contents of this audio recording is more of a discussion, rather than an interview, involving at least 3 people. According to transcription from physical asset, one of the people is Angela Newell. Discussion topics included extended family, including where they were born; where lived in Panama and neighbors; Creole language; education and teachers in Panama; leaving Panama; being in armed services, stationed in Korea; Panamanian community in Washington, DC; tension between "Spanish speaking Latinos" and Black Panamanians; relations between white Latinos and Black Latinos, and within the Black community; identifying self and how others identify others; Black people, citizenship, and land ownership; why Black people were pushed out of Panama; Black Panamanians and language; and the Panama Canal Zone.
Interview / discussion is in English and minimal Spanish. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static; multiple and overlapping voices; and lots of background noise, sound interference, and/or sound distortions. Voices are difficult to hear and often unintelligible. Overall, very poor audio quality.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Ato Ansah, a barber in Washington, DC, spoke about migrating to the United States in 1974; his path to becoming a barber, including cutting hair when he lived in Africa; his daily work as a barber; challenges as a barber; the barbershop where he worked, including the atmosphere; gaining confidence as a barber; stories; his clientele – white people and Black people, and all different ethnicities with all different types of hair; creating his own hairstyles; his love of cutting hair; the basic tools he used; educating people about the importance of hair grooming; who cuts his hair; and his future goals and dreams. Ansah explained which hairstyles he came across in the United States that related to hairstyles in Africa; Africans, as a whole, complain that both Black and white American barbers are only interested in money; and how Africans perceive his work as a barber.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include minimal white noise and static, and minimal background noise. Interviewee's voice is intelligible.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Mahama Bawa spoke about the origin and purpose of his African clothing store, Kobos, located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. He explained why he choose to sell African clothing; his passion for African culture, and his work selling African clothing and accessories; the impact of his store and work on the community; the African American community's acceptance of the store; and little support from the Ghanaian and West African community. Bawa also spoke about resources to learn African languages, Kwanzaa, his future plans, his wife and daughters, the meaning of African names, and the uses of Kente cloth and Kente cloth patterns.
Bawa spoke about his educational experience, his parents, his family's West African ancestry, and being raised within his culture and living his culture, including African values. He also briefly spoke about his migration to the United States from Ghana, working in the foreign office of Ghana, coming to the US on professional training within the field of foreign affairs, and teaching African studies at American University.
Bawa described in detail jewelry, clothing, and other items sold in his store. The descriptions included what country the items are from, the materials the items are made of, how made they are made, and the ethnic and cultural history of the items. Bawa explained how he chooses the merchandise for the store, including working with small scale designers and tailors in West Africa, and African artisans located in Washington, DC.
Customers spoke about why they visit the store, supporting African businesses, their families, and where they are from. Description and explanation of Kente cloth, cultural insensitivity, body politics, clothing as communication, and languages and dialects in Ghana were also discussed during these customer interviews. The recording also captured the atmosphere of the store, including the music played in the store and Bawa interacting with customers.
Mahama Bawa and customers were interviewed by Ebow Ansah. Interviews are in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static; loud buzzing sound during a portion of interview; and background noise. Interviewees' voices are intelligible for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Bill Brown spoke about organizing Brazilians for the Festival in Washington, DC; Cubans in Washington, DC organically starting the Festival; why the Cubans temporarily stopped participating in the Festival; the similarities and differences between the Festival in Washington, DC and Carnival in Brazil; the different groups and countries involved in the Festival; and who organized the different groups and countries for the Festival. He recounted, in detail, notable moments of the Festival over the years, including some controversies and conflict.
Brown explained what the Festival does for the community; how the Festival pulls the community, including different ethnicities and races, together; how Brazilians fit in with the rest of the Latino community in Washington, DC; how Brazilians immigrate to the United States; the voting power of the Latino community in Washington, DC; Mayor Marion Barry has protected the Latino community from immigration authorities; the relationship between the Latino community and the Black community; and the Smithsonian Institution's relationship with the Black community.
Brown also spoke about other festivals in the Washington, DC area and New York City; Brazilians being invited and participating in the Folklife Festival organized by the Smithsonian; his thoughts on the educational panels at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; and the Brazilian community in New York, New Orleans, Boston, and Washington, DC region.
Brown identified himself as a Black American, born in Washington, DC, with no Brazilian ancestry. He spoke out how he became involved with the Brazilian community; learning Spanish, Portuguese, and about Brazilian and Cuban culture, including Santeria; working in public health as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil; and his participation with Santeria.
Bill Brown was interviewed by Olivia Cadaval. Interview is in English and minimal Portuguese. Digital audio files include loud white noise and static, and some loud background noise. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part. During a few small portions of the interview, the interviewee stepped away from the microphone and could not be heard.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
C. K. Mann, also known as the King of High Life and Charles Kofi Mann, spoke about where he was born and grew up in Ghana; learning to play guitar; folk musicians in Ghana; places he performed in Ghana, West Africa, and London; forming musical groups, including Carousel 7, and the names of the members of his group; his love of music; recording first record and hearing himself on the radio for the first time; other albums recorded; being exploited multiple times; being crowned in Ghana as the King of High Life in 1988; and his house, nightclub, and children in Ghana. He also explained the meaning of his name. The recording also includes music performed by C. K. Mann followed by an explanation of folktale told in the song.
Mann spoke about migrating to Canada and then the United States; where he performed in the United States; how indigenous culture, including music and dress, is disregarded; lack of promotion of Ghana folk music; lack of promotion of culture and arts in English speaking countries; plans to play for the church; American music played on radio in Ghana, but African music not played on radio in US; commonalities across music from various countries; wanting to mix highlife music with salsa music; and how he wants to be remembered.
He also spoke about African American musicians having money but not going to West Africa to help West Africans musicians; how top American musicians go to Africa to popularize themselves, and exploit Africans and African culture; his love for Americans; American sympathy as he sees it; violence in the United States; and why Americans go to East Africa.
Interview is in English; C. K. Mann's music is not in English. Digital audio files include minimal white noise and static. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Antonio Carlos Rodriguez spoke about his family, including his parents, siblings, and grandparents; the city of Sao Paulo, where he was born and lived until he immigrated to the United States in 1989; working for the American enterprise, National Biscuit Company, NABISCO in Brazil; his religious beliefs, Catholicism; discrimination in Brazil and the United States; and the relationship between Brazilians and Spanish speaking people. Rodriguez identifies as White Brazilian.
Rodriguez explained when and why he decided to immigrate to the United States; his first impression of the United States; the differences between the United States and Brazil; his participation in Brazilian cultural activities and Brazilian community in Washington, DC; and traditional Brazilian cuisine he prepares.
Antonio Carlos Rodriguez was interviewed by Dario J. Santos. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise, static, and background noise. Interviewee's voice can be heard clearly.
General:
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Cedric Lynch, an assistant principal at a public school, spoke about his parents, who were farmers and self-employed, and his siblings; his mother and Jamaican mothers as the disciplinarians in the family; the importance of religion to his family; Bob Marley, the evolution of reggae music, and dancehall music; legacy of Marcus Garvey; Caribbean and Jamaican cuisine; Rastafarianism; and where he worked before leaving Jamaica to attend Howard University.
Lynch detailed his experience as a student at Howard University and as a public school teacher, including how he disciplined students and what he would change about Washington, DC public schools and the educational system. He talked about Jamaican and Caribbean students adjusting to the American school system, the challenges the students face in school, and academic work differences between Jamaica and Washington, DC.
Lynch also talked about his book, which documented the evolution of Caribbean immigrant organizations; the importance of Jamaican organizations to Jamaicans in the US and Jamaica; immigration challenges and his decision to become a US citizen; why Jamaicans tend to be self-employed and/or business owners; Jamaican women as domestic workers; use of the partner system instead of United States banking system by many Jamaicans; importance of identity; Jamaicans reluctance to share information about themselves; Jamaican posses; and how Jamaicans are stereotyped.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static; interviewee can be heard for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Curtis Ward spoke about his parents and his siblings, growing up on a small farm in a rural area in Jamaica, the businesses his father managed, primary school and high school, discipline in the school and in the community, and where he worked before he left Jamaica to attend Howard University.
Ward spoke about his experiences when he first arrived in the United States, as a student at Howard University for undergraduate study and law school, working for the embassy of Jamaica, leaving civil service, and establishing a law practice. He also talked about his involvement within the Jamaican community in Washington, DC area, including his time as president of Jamaican Nationals Association; working as taxicab driver; his wife and children, including how he disciplined his children and their Jamaican heritage pride; the feeling of freedom when stepping off plane in Jamaica; cooking Jamaican style food at home; his various residence statuses in the United States; music, including Bob Marley and reggae music, and warning labels on records; influence of Jamaicans and Rastafarians on the community; legacy of Marcus Garvey; discrimination of Jamaicans and stereotyping of Jamaicans in the United States; his thoughts on the television show "Going to Extremes"; immigration reform under Reagan and its impact; and the importance of family and Jamaican culture.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include very loud white noise and static, and some sound distortions / voices distorted. Interviewee can be heard and voices are intelligible for most of the interview.
General:
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Casilda Luna spoke about coming to the United States in 1962 and why she came to the United States; and what she could do in the United States that she could not do in the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship. She talks about learning English and the financial aspects of preparing to arrive and live in the United States.
Luna described what is like growing up and living in the Dominican Republic under the Trujillo dictatorship; and the beautiful country and small town of Sánchez where she grew up. She explained that there were 10 children in her family, her mother was a white Puerto Rican, and her father was Black and a descendent of people from St. Thomas. She talked about how her parents met, her mother was the doctor of the town even though she did not finish school, her family doing things for free for everyone, the death of her mother at the age of 47 when Luna was 12, and then living with one of her sisters. Luna also talked about her family, including her daughter; and helping people who needed counseling, which was something she could not do in the Dominican Republic.
Luna spoke about the racial atmosphere in her home growing up. Although her parents were not the only interracial couple, her paternal grandmother was "racist" in that she would not allow any of her 7 sons to marry a Black woman. Luna explained which of her family members were white and which were Black, and who they married in regards to race and nationality.
Luna spoke about race and class in the Dominican Republic and the United States explaining it was more a class situation in the Dominican Republic. In the United States, she explained how other Black people treated her because of her accent, how she felt double prosecuted (by white people because she was Black and by other Black people because of her accent), how Black people bothered her more than white people in white environments (immigration discrimination), how she wanted to get the same reception from Black people as she did from white people, and overall reception of people from the Dominican Republic in the United States. She provided several stories / examples of interactions with Black people and white people. She also explains how attitude(s) comes from environment.
Luna also talked about her work in social work and social counseling, and what she does for people; her love of giving, and guiding, counseling, and helping others; starting organization Afro-Latino; the politics of Dominican Republic; her love for the United States and Earth; and how she identifies herself as human, not Black or white, just human.
Casilda Luna was interviewed by Anthony Knight. Interview is in English and Spanish (minimal). Digital audio files include loud white noise and static, and interviewee voice soft throughout the recording. Interviewee was difficult to hear, unintelligible, often.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Dorotea Bryce explained her parents originated from Panama, and her grandparents from Jamaica; the migration of her grandparents from Jamaica to Panama; and why her grandmother migrated from Jamaica to Nicaragua to Costa Rica to Panama. She also explained the historical tension between Spain and England, the economic benefit of living in the Canal Zone, the disadvantages for Black people with traditionally Spanish surnames, the pressure when people began migrating from Caribbean, changing of names to hide historical descent, and the migration of families looking for work as enterprises emerged at the beginning of the 20th century.
Bryce described the school systems in Panama, the students, and the school she attended, including a typical school day. She attended school in the late 1940s before integration. After she finished school in Panama, she attended an American high school in the Canal Zone. She explained the difference between the two school systems, one for the children of West Indian workers and the other for children of Americans who were working on the canal. Bryce also talked about growing up and racial discrimination in the Canal Zone.
Bryce discussed the Panamanian president Arnulfo Arias Madrid; Omar Torrijos, Manuel Noriega, and treaties signed; the 1963 dispute of the Panamanian flag in the Canal Zone when 9 Panamanians killed; the various national identification cards and the voting card for Panama; why some Panamanians identified as West Indian and others as Latino; why she does not consider herself West Indian or Jamaican; and her identity as Afro-Latina. She also briefly discussed ackee (yellow fruit) as served by Jamaicans, Panamanian music, and the song she sings at the beginning of ACMA_AV000734_A.
Bryce talked briefly about arriving in the United States in 1960 at the beginning of desegregation, the Embassy in the United States, her job as secretary in Department of Romance Languages in Nebraska, and time in California. She talked more about the annual Panamanian Reunion held in different parts of the United States, and why she does not attend the reunion; and the formation, mission, activities, events, and demise of the Afro-Latino Institute, an organization to promote Afro-Latino cultures of the Americas in the Washington, DC area.
Interview is in English, Spanish, and minimal of a third language or dialect. The contents sound more like a discussion than an interview, and also might be incomplete (recording sounds like it starts in middle). Digital audio files include white noise and static, and some crinkling (going through photographs) and other background noise. Interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part. Interviewers' voices are very soft and difficult to hear for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Dr. Enid Bogle detailed her family history, including being raised by her grandparents, and the legacy of and her relationship to "national hero of Jamaica" Paul Bogle, as well as her educational experiences from early childhood through teacher training at Shortwood Teachers' College in Jamaica and graduate education at Howard University in the United States. She read a poem about her grandfather, written by Ivan Taylor.
In regards to her life in Jamaica, Bogle talked about voting, Pantomime and Boxing Day, the importance of religion and religious holidays, how children were raised by the community, and her teaching experience. She described her experience with immigration from Jamaica into the United States, including her travel to the United States, and later sponsoring citizenship for her mother and two of her sisters, including immigration challenges during Reagan administration.
As for her student days at Howard University, Bogle talked about her introduction to jazz, access to Jamaican food, barriers and challenges, her professors Ivan Taylor and Toni Morrison, her first winter in the United States, communicating with friends and family in Jamaica, and being financially poor, but not spiritually poor. She also talked about her experience as an English professor at Howard University, teaching and learning languages, when to use a specific language system or dialect, the importance of maintaining the tradition of Jamaican Creole, and working on a tutorial program for Caribbean students.
As for culture and heritage, Bogle talked about oral tradition and stories her grandfather told; music and dance, specifically mento, quadrille, Reggae, Calypso, Bob Marley, and degradation of women and violence in current music; how holidays were celebrated in Jamaica versus how they were celebrated in the United States; the influence Jamaican and Rastafarian communities and culture had on other communities in Washington, DC; the legacy of notable Jamaicans and instilling Jamaican heritage into children born in the United States; and cricket. She explained the bedrock of Jamaican families and people in the Embassy community in Washington, DC as well as her thoughts on President Clinton's impact on Caribbean, specifically Haiti.
Interview is in English and Jamaican Creole (minimal). Digital audio files include white noise and static, and very minimal background noise, including a phone ringing and minor talking; interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
For identifying and captioning of photographs, Dr. Enid Bogle named her grandparents, described the Nine-Nights ceremony for her grandfather, and stated her concentration and when she attended Shortwood Teachers' College. Bogle also talked about her experience and her teacher training at Shortwood Teachers' College, a boarding school; her education at Howard University and Catholic University; her arrival in the United States; and described the differences between Shortwood Teachers' College versus Howard University.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include loud white noise and static, and background noise, including a phone ringing; interviewee can be heard clearly for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Enrique Watson, an educator at Lincoln Junior High School in northwest Washington, DC, spoke about his family's origin in Panama and Jamaica; his many siblings; being raised by two of his aunts; working as a custom inspector; the Panama Canal; his career as an educator in Panama and the United States; and when and why he immigrated to the United States. He explained how Panama evolved into a country of Spanish and English speakers, what accounted for the mix of Blacks and Hispanics in families, and that the majority of Black Panamanians are bilingual.
Watson also spoke about overcoming his educational disability, his stuttering; his involvement in sports, including martial arts, soccer, and basketball; living in the city of Colón during his adolescent years; and incidents involving the clever thieves in Panama.
Interview is in English. Digital audio files include loud white noise and static, and background noise. Interviewee's voice can be heard clearly for the most part.
General:
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
