Hard Times in the City: Testifying

Man at Eddie's Bar

Photo: caption follows

Surrogate image: Pullman Porter at Union Station in Chicago, 1943. Jack Delano. Photograph, 1943.
Name:
Not given
Location:
Eddie's Bar, St. Nicholas Avenue near 147th Street, New York City
Date:
April 30, 1939, 8:00 PM
Interviewer:
Ralph Ellison

Interview Excerpt: "Do you like living in New York City?"

Listen to the man's response

"Ahm in New York, but New York ain't in me. You understand? Ahm in New York, but New York ain't in me. What do I mean? Listen. I'm from Jacksonville Florida. Been in New York twenty-five years. I'm a New Yorker! Yuh understand? Naw, naw, yuh don't get me. What do they do; take Lenox Avenue. Take Seventh Avenue; take Sugar Hill! Pimps. Numbers. Cheating those poor people out a whut they got. Shooting, cutting, backbiting, all them things. Yuh see? Yuh see what Ah mean? I'm in New York, but New York ain't in me!"

Transcript #21020403

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Man at Eddie's Bar | Man at Colonial Park | Bernice, Rent Party Hostess | Clyde "Kingfish" Smith, Street Worker

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All in a Day's Work: Industrial Lore | Rank and File | Hard Times in the City: Testifying | Making Do: Women and Work

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