video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZFYl3RHEfg

Sha'nya Pereira interviews Ann DeVaughn - part 2

Bronx History

Bronx Senior Storytellers - Ann DeVaughn - part 2 of 3

Ann: To the Bronx? well what made me move to New York, I was the last one to leave home, my brother was in college, my father couldn’t I was uh... what happened was that I left home, I was the only one there, my sister lived here in New York and she took sick and my mother now wanted me to come up and try to take care of her, for the boy he was in coll- he was in school, so I wanted to come to New York anyway cause I was taking a train down South so then I say “I could come up here then go to school” which I did, and took care of my sister and I went to Washington Business Institute. It was on 125th street and 7th Avenue, it’s not there no more and uh after that I joined the Union because the Union, the Union was the one that got me my jobs and everything and I know a little bit about the Union because I remember that my father was working. He was he worked at, my father was uh, what my father did? Now you know I know what he did… Longshoreman, but he could hire and he could fire you know, so anyway they wanted him to join the Union and he didn’t want to join the Union because he already had a job and he figured that joining the Union, it would make it bad for him. Well they came to the house, to our house and they would take our daddy out, and honey you should heard us screaming “don’t take our daddy, don’t take our daddy” and they kept asking our daddy “join the Union, join the Union” so my father joined the Union and from that day to this day I am very Union organized. Yes, I have walked many roads and trying to get young people to join the Union. The Union not as great as it was because of the situation that we have here now but the Union it was the best thing for me, because after I finished business school the teacher, the teacher sent me to district 65 and that was a Union, because the young lady that had graduated from Washington Business Institute was the principal of, she was the big hand there and from there I had it made, not made I mean I have a good life I didn’t make a whole lot of money but I’m still here, thank you Jesus. But the Union is the greatest thing, now they tried to bring the unions back because everybody was scared to join the Union, but the Union for us during that time was the best thing and it might be the best time for y’all now because with the situation that is happening here we don’t know what’s gonna take place. We got a crazy president and when you hear all- I’m sorry but I’m telling you like it is! You hear all these things in the paper and see what’s happening to him, and then you say to yourself “can I, can I follow him? No…” No, you might want to be popular and all that but you can’t follow your president because he’s nobody to follow. He has money but that’s all he has and I’m speaking my mind because the way he, the way he treating the ladies, the women and thinking…. Oh Lord don’t let me start talking... and I’m sorry.

Sha'nya: Right so what’s one of your favorite things about the Bronx?

Ann: About the Bronx oh honey we had so many lovely things in the Bronx right down the block we have the museum and then at 1125, we have another, it’s it belongs to this MidBronx and we have that, then across the street here we got a nice park that you can go through and walk to 165th Street, see cause I can’t walk too much now I used to do a lot of walking but, and we had so many things in the Bronx… the Zoo oh don’t laugh at me this is me! Yes, yes.

Sha'nya: So how would you describe yourself?

Ann: Myself? Wonderful, Beautiful loving and I love people, I love all of you. My heart is like a hotel, I have room for everybody!

Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, Grand Concourse

July 26, 2018

BASE CareerCLUE cohort - Summer 2018

communycate / cynematic

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