Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Oral History Interview with Annie Ferdous, May 25, 2018

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Annie Ferdous discusses her upbringing in Bangladesh, her parents' marriage, and her early relationship with her husband. She also talks at length about her lifelong involvement in dance and the fine arts, including both her personal passion and the role they play in maintaining younger generations of Bengali Americans' connection to their cultural and religious heritage. In addition, she speaks about her involvement in the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts and local community groups, as well as her desire to see more women in her community become socially engaged outside the home. Interview conducted by Liz H. Strong.

Biographical / Historical

Annie Ferdous was born in 1959 in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). She had a strong foundation in both education and dance from an early age, ultimately earning a master's degree in political science from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and performing on stage in Bangladesh, England, and the United States. She immigrated to the United States with her husband shortly after their marriage. They settled in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, where she founded the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts and became involved in a local ladies' club.

Conditions Governing Access

This interview can be accessed onsite at the Center for Brooklyn History's Othmer Library and online at the Oral History Portal.

Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201