Federal Writers' Project: Hard Times in the City: Man at Colonial Park

Hard Times in the City: Testifying

Man at Colonial Park

Photo: caption follows

Surrogate image: New York, New York. September 1942. Bum who claimed to be a Scotch comedian, at Third Avenue and 14 Street. Marjory Collins. Photograph, 1942. (LC-USW3-7826-E).

Name:
Not given
Location:
Colonial Park near 150th Street, New York City
Date:
June 6, 1939
Interviewer:
Ralph Ellison

Interview Excerpt: "Do rich people and poor people have anything in common?"

Listen to the man's response

"God made all this, and he made it for everybody. And he made it equal. This breeze and these green leaves out here is for everybody. The same sun's shining down on everybody. This breeze comes from God and man cain't do nothing about it. I breath the same air old man Ford an old man Rockerfeller breath. They got all the money an I ain't got nothing, but they got to breath the same air I do."

Transcript #21020306

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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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