Voices of Crown Heights oral histories: Brooklyn Movement Center, 2017

In this interview, Alonzo Davis recalls life as a child growing up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. He describes his block and immediate neighborhood, contrasting those with his later experience at a boarding school outside of the city. Davis discusses his memories of some events during the 1991 Crown Heights "riot," and this leads into general observations about people in conflict there. Contrasting 2017 with how policing and safety has changed since the early 1990s, he invokes his own experiences and the observations of his father, who worked in the New York Police Department before moving up the ranks in Corrections. Davis also considers how neighborliness plays into a sense of safety at home. After a pause in the interview, he concludes with a description of the Crown Heights landscape during the crack cocaine epidemic. Interview conducted by Mark Winston Griffith.

In the interview, Alisha Finlay recalls her childhood, her teens, and feelings about living in the Bushwick and Crown Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn; noting their differences. She refers to her recollection and understanding of the August, 1991 uprising in Crown Heights, as well as the secondhand experiences of relatives. Much of the interview turns on Finlay's experiences and evolving opinions on policing; on the level of cultural understanding and on a level of her personal encounters with police. That subject leads into her discussion of gentrification and what she favors and dislikes about its effect on Crown Heights. In closing, Finlay also notes the influence of the Hasidic community on the area. Interview conducted by Walis Johnson.

In this interview, Evangeline "Eve" Porter vividly remembers her first trip to New York City and Brooklyn when she was nine years old; traveling to visit relatives by herself. In 1952, she recalls, she came back to Brooklyn, married, and had three children. They lived on a block of Sterling Street, with neighbors who she remembers as a cohesive unit. She speaks about what makes a good community and the values of her upbringing in North Carolina. She talks about street crime on Franklin Avenue and Crown Heights in general in the late twentieth century. Referring to Crown Heights as Crow Hill, Porter tells of her community work with the Three Saints Association. (This was the precursor to Crow Hill Community Association, which she founded.) She points out the need to include tenants in community organizing and the improvements to security via community policing and police presences as beat officers. In closing, Porter speaks to how Black people and the youth of the neighborhood interrelate, how social interactions there have improved, and the effects of having a local police captain of color. Evangeline Porter was also recorded for the Listen to this: Crown Heights Oral History collection in 2010 (2010.020). Interview conducted by Walis Johnson.

In this interview, Carlyle Price discusses his atypical childhood, largely through a lens of his schooling. He recalls the challenges he faced throughout his educational experiences as a Black man. Price reflects on being racially profiled and other interactions with police. He remembers the importance of learning Black history as a child, and considers themes of Black consciousness and aspiration. Talking about gentrification, Price identifies the social cost of disappearing storefronts and links to ideas of belonging, home, familiarity and community. He analyzes safety by gauging if there's a sense of freedom and the ability to play in a neighborhood. He also shares his feelings on racially-charged controversies in New York City's past, specifically Gavin Cato's death in Crown Heights and the Central Park Five. In closing, Price voices his frustration with unfair public transit, and details his fight for justice in a domestic violence charge in Albany. Interview conducted by Jenny Goldberg.

In the interview, Pearleta Price begins with reflections on growing up in Barbados. She talks about her work as a Broadway make-up artist. Price recalls early days in Brooklyn; in 1968, at sixteen, she moved with her family to the Crown Heights neighborhood, during a harsh winter. She describes being the only Black family on the block (136 Rockaway Parkway) and her predominantly Jewish neighbors. She compares her education in Barbados with that of George H. Wingate High School. Many changes in the neighborhood are described; with a focus on mom and pop stores being replaced by more anonymous larger stores. Price talks about her church attendance and how the family's churches intersected with community support of tenants' rights. She remembers several factors related to the August 1991 turmoil in Crown Heights. Price ends with a discussion of West Indian Carnival and her criticism of how it has evolved. Interview conducted by Jenny Goldberg.

In the interview, Yocheved Sidof begins with reflections on growing up in Minnesota, attending an out-of-state boarding school in her teens, and coming to New York City for Yeshiva University. She talks about the Hasidic community of her youth and within the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Sidof recalls her early experiences with that part of Brooklyn and evaluates the lifestyles, spiritual energy, and social mores that made it a dynamic locale for her. With an anecdote about her car being stolen, she links to general concerns and community efforts related to policing and safety. She relates her own progress in life— relationships and career choices— with how Crown Heights became less, then more important for her. Sidof talks about her filmmaking and photography efforts that she used to draw out profiles of people and the community of Crown Heights. She describes how she began a family and their efforts at finding a home. Sidof also relates the origin and progress of the Lamplighters school. In closing, she observes how gentrification has changed the area, and reflects on the ever-evolving sense of community and safety in Crown Heights. Interview conducted by Walis Johnson.

In the interview, Meredith Staton begins with an explanation of the redistricting of the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn into North and South. In a few instances throughout, he uses the distribution of the city's homeless shelters as an example of social inequity. Staton and his wife, Lula, reflect on how they bought their house from the last White family on the block in 1963. That leads into a discussion of how people feel "pushed out" because housing prices are so high. The couple describes the turn from a quiet neighborhood to one struggling with crime issues emanating from nearby public housing. Staton describes his experience with the police department and leading a group of patrolling volunteers, and the associated social benefits with safety. The couple refers to the precipitating events and the unrest of Crown Heights in August of 1991. They emphasize community safety and policing again, and Staton weighs in on the stop-and-frisk method. Meredith Staton was also recorded for the Listen to this: Crown Heights Oral History collection in 2010 (2010.020). Interview conducted by Walis Johnson.

In this interview, Randy Zimmerman discusses his personal background as well as the impetus for and timeline of his Free Portrait Project. He describes a typical portrait session, and some of the things he learned while doing this work. He shares anecdotes about several of the people he met throughout the process, and how he has become a liaison of sorts between disparate parts of the community. Through his network of community members he has found the goal of encouraging his neighbors to find commonalities where they assume there are only differences. Zimmerman speaks openly and candidly about the preconceived notions and prejudices that we all carry within us, and how his work on the Free Portrait Project has helped him accept and freely admit to those perceptions in a hope of openly and honestly grappling with them. Lastly, he talks about his personal experiences with the police and the 77th precinct, his run-ins with the police, and his realization of his "White privilege" during those moments, and his perceptions about what could be done to further improve community relations. Interview conducted by Candace Thompson.