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SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM at
the University of Florida
TELL THE STORY
JAMES NORVEL ROBERSON
August 12, 1997
(Mrs. Electra R. Ford): I am at the home of Mr. James
Roberson. Mr. Roberson lives at 717 Northwest 77th Street, his
telephone number is (305) 693-4346. It is approximately 3:00 p.m.
in the afternoon. I am doing this interview within the home. This
interview is transpired as a representative of the Black Archives
on August 12, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Seven. This is Side "A"
of the Tape. My name is Electra R. Ford, Interviewer.
Mr. Roberson were your parents born in Overtown or they at any
time live in Overtown?
(Mr. James Norvel Roberson): No they weren't born here and
they never lived her.
(Mrs. Ford): Mr. Robertson could you describe what it was
like growing up in your parents' home.
(Mr. Roberson): It was a beautiful life. My parents were
religion people and I come up with 7 brothers and sisters. Well my
mother was the secretary of the church and my father he was the
deacon of his church so they were pretty strict.
(Mrs. Ford): Did you family attend church services often?
(Mr. Roberson): Regularly.
(Mrs. Ford): The next set of questions, Mr. Roberson I will
be asking you will be regarding employment from approximately 1945
to 1970 in Overtown. Can you tell me about the type of jobs you
worked on?
(Mr. Roberson): Well ah, 19...ah I'd like to go back a
littler further than 1945 say 1940. I was a presser in a dry
cleaning establishment and the salary was thirty-five cents an hour
and I worked for a big establishment and that was the salary,
thirty-five cents an hour for men and twenty-five cents an hour for
women.
(Mrs. Ford): Were you able to support your family with a
salary like that?
(Mr. Roberson): Oh yes, because room...my room rent was $2.00
a week and umm a nickel was a nickel. I recall a bottle of beer
was fifteen cents a bottle and that was before aluminum cans come
out, it was just in bottles. A movie was thirty-five cent. We had
four theaters here...two on Second Avenue, One on Third Avenue and
One on Fourteenth Street and it was...you could live excellent with
the salary.
(Mrs. Ford): Where was the job located that you worked in Mr.
Roberson?
(Mr. Roberson): It was ahhh...between Miami Avenue and ah, ah
Second Avenue, just across the river, just across the river.
(Mrs. Ford): What years did you work on this job?
(Mr. Roberson): Ah 19...it was in the middle of 1940, say in
the summer...all of accept in the first beginning of 1940 'til the
middle of 1940.
(Mrs. Ford): What kind of...what were your work hours?
(Mr. Roberson): From 8 to 5, for five days a week, then
some...I'd say Wednesday night you'd make 4 hours extra, some
Sunday, you worked 4 hours on Sunday.
(Mrs. Ford): When and why did you leave this job?
(Mr. Roberson): Because (laughter) because at one time the,
the city buses had a strike and I ah come up with an idea that it
would be good idea to have a strike. We were asking for a nickel
more an hour and I called the strike. We did have the strike and
we got the nickel a hour...a nickel on the hour but after we got
the nickel on the hour I was fired because I manipulated the
strike.
(Mrs. Ford): So after you received an additional nickel more,
you were earning at that time how per hour?
(Mr. Roberson): Forty...forty cents an hour.
(Mrs. Ford): After leaving that job what was your method of
finding work elsewhere?
(Mr. Roberson): It wasn't too much of a problem because they
had...all pressers in town had heard that I'd call the strike at
this particular place and they were eager for me to come so I went
to work at Blue Ribbon Laundry which was at that particular time,
was on Fourteenth Street and Seventh Avenue so I had no problem
about finding a job.
(Mrs. Ford): Did you have any other relatives that lived and
worked Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): No, no.
(Mrs. Ford): Beginning in the late '50s many immigrants moved
to Miami from the Caribbean including Cuba, Haiti and other
countries. Did those immigrants competed with Overtown residents
for jobs?
(Mr. Roberson): Oh yes, certainly.
(Mrs. Ford): In opinion how would you say they affected
employment for Blacks?
(Mr. Roberson): Well it...it was a real proposition because
they would work for less wages than the Blacks.
(Mrs. Ford): Mr. Roberson the next set of questions I will be
discussing with you will be regarding neighborhood life between
1945 and 1970 and if applicable, earlier years. Could you please
tell us about the house that you lived in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Well I lived in rooming houses where there
was...they had strict, very strict rules, you couldn't have no food
in...you couldn't have no food in your rooms. You couldn't have
you know, decent size light bulb in your room and you had to be in
at a certain time and then I moved to another rooming house where
you had access of the kitchen but you couldn't have no guest, you
had to be in at a certain time. Those were the things I put up
with until 1963.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you describe the street that you lived on
in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): When I first came to Overtown I lived on
Sixth Street near Third Avenue and then I lived on Third Avenue
between Seventh and Eighth Street and my most rememberable landlady
was on Eighth Street on the corner of Third Avenue which her name
was Vannie Bell Roberson, she was a wonderful landlady which you
paid her $2.00 a week rent, had the use of the kitchen, the whole
house and everything, because our names were the same, she said we
was related and that's the most enjoyable rent lady I ever had.
(Mrs. Ford): Who lived in your household besides yourself?
(Mr. Roberson): At that particular time? My wife.
(Mrs. Ford): Were there children to this marriage.
(Mr. Roberson): No.
(Mrs. Ford): No siblings?
(Mr. Roberson): No.
(Mrs. Ford): Who were your neighbors?
(Mr. Roberson): Oh, gee. I remember some neighbors but I
can't recall their names but they were, you know, nice neighbors.
(Mrs. Ford): Do you recall where any of them worked?
(Mr. Roberson): One of the neighbors worked at the store on
Eighth Street and Second Avenue, I think it was Leonard's Clothing
Store or something like that.
(Mrs. Ford): Can you recall what happened to your former
neighbors that lived in your neighborhood when you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): No, definitely no.
(Mrs. Ford): Can you remember when any of them moved or where
they went?
(Mr. Roberson): No.
(Mrs. Ford): Do you recall people moving into the area from
out of town for example from any of the islands or any of the other
cities in Florida or Georgia or North Carolina, South Carolina, or
any other states into Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Do I recall any of them moving in?
(Mrs. Ford): Yes, moving Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Why sure, we had Bahamians in, we had
Georgians moving in, we had Carolinians moving in. But ah...we
didn't have no Cubans and Haitians moving in at that particular
time.
(Mrs. Ford): Where did these people live Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Ha! well the east boundary was the railroad
track, the south bound was Sixth Street, the West bound was Seventh
Court, the North bound was Twentieth Street so we lived right in
that vicinity.
(Mrs. Ford): What type of work did these people do?
(Mr. Roberson): We had maids, we had janitors, we had
butlers, yardmen, pressers, you name it.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you give us a verbal picture of what the
main business areas were when you lived in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): The main businesses?
(Mrs. Ford): Where at this particular time we had ah...the
buses was owned by private...ah private individual. We had Blacks
working there as clean up and tire changers but no Black bus
drivers, that was out of the question. That's about it...you know,
other things...you worked in stores but you was moppers, you worked
in banks but you were mopping the floor and all that kind of stuff,
you wasn't no teller.
(Mrs. Ford): Were there any hotels in the downtown area,
churches, laundries, office jobs?
(Mr. Roberson): Laundries, laundries was the main source,
especially for women. Women worked in laundries, men in dry
cleaners and the hotels were maids and that was it. Barber shop
you might have a shine boy.
(Mrs. Ford): Shoe shine?
(Mr. Roberson): That's it.
(Mrs. Ford): Did many people in those days get there shoes
shined.
(Mr. Roberson): Oh yeah because it was a ten cent shine or a
nickel.
(Mrs. Ford): Was it a popular thing for people to get their
shoes shined are was it a thing for them to wear dirty shoes?
(Mr. Roberson): No, no, it was popular, popular to get your
shoes shined.
(Mrs. Ford): It was the appropriate thing to do to have your
shoes shined?
(Mr. Roberson): Sure, sure and also let me mention there was
the Florida East Coast Railroad, there was porters, Florida East
Coast Railroad, shine boys at the station.
(Mrs. Ford): Okay, alright. Could you describe where your
family bought groceries when you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Well at that particular time there was mom
and poppy stores. There wasn't no Wal...Walgreens or say Winn
Dixies and all them kind of things right then so it was mom and
poppy stores.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you please explain for the record what is
a mom and pop store. Would this be a store located within the
neighborhood?
(Mr. Roberson): Sure, sure, that's where it was, in the
neighborhood. You had to...if you was Overtown and wanted to come
to a major store you had to come Seventh Avenue and Fifty-Fourth
Street was a major store out there.
(Mrs. Ford): Did most people patronize the local stores that
were owned and operated by the neighbors in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): At that particular time, yes. That was their
only choice.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you describe where your family went to the
barber shop or beauty shop when you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Second Avenue
(Mrs. Ford): Could you describe where your family went to the
drugstore?
(Mr. Roberson): Well, well we had...we had two choices Second
Avenue and Third Avenue.
(Mrs. Ford): Can you remember the name of the two drug
stores?
(Mr. Roberson): One was People's and the other slips my
remembrance. It was on Eleventh Street and Third Avenue. I can't
think of the name of that one.
(Mrs. Ford): Could it possibly have been Economy?
(Mr. Roberson): That was it Economy.
(Mrs. Ford): Dr. Ward was the pharmacist.
(Mrs. Ford): Could describe where your family went and had
their clothes dry cleaned?
(Mr. Roberson): Well, say French Benzall, Miami Laundry, they
had pick up stores all in Black town so you could drop them off in
any pick up store and have them cleaned or if you choose to go to
A Black cleaners, it was on Second Avenue and about Seventh Street
which I can't recall the name right now.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you describe the churches that your family
attended when you lived in overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Eighth Street in between Second and Third
Avenue.
(Mrs. Ford): Do you recall the name of the church?
(Mr. Roberson): It was a methodist church, I can't recall it.
(Mrs. Ford): Was it Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church?
(Mr. Roberson): That's it.
(Mrs. Ford): That's one of the landmarks.
(Mr. Roberson): Umm hum and also...also on Ninth Street and
Third Avenue?
(Mrs. Ford): Could that have possibly been Mt. Zion Baptist
Church?
(Mr. Roberson): That's correct.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you describe where your family went for
entertainment?
(Mr. Roberson): (Laughter)
(Mrs. Ford): Did they go the theaters, to the bars,
restaurants or did they go to sporting events at Dorsey Park.
(Mr. Roberson): The only places they'd go was the theaters
and Dorsey Park.
(Mrs. Ford): Tell us about entertainment when you lived
Overtown, what was it like?
(Mr. Roberson): Well at that particular time it was beautiful
because you had the Rockland Palace, you had the Harlem Square, you
had the Reno Bar, you had the Plantation, and also you had I can't
think of that one on Third Avenue and Twentieth Street. So you had
entertainment. You had ah...you had big bands that would be here
on weekends and you had...it was nice.
(Mrs. Ford): Can you name any of the big bands or any of the
entertainers, whether they were famous or local, who entertained
during that time?
(Mr. Roberson): There was famous bands, Lionel Hampton, Hy-
de-ho man and all, all big bands were here. See, what happened big
bands would come play on the Beach but big bands couldn't, couldn't
couldn't stay on the Beach. They had play and get off the Beach
and come over in Overtown and when they would come Overtown then
we'd have the pleasure of playing Overtown for us.
(Mrs. Ford): Oh, in other words, when they left Miami Beach
performers, they would come Overtown and perform for the residents
of Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): That's right.
(Mrs. Ford): When someone in your family got sick where did
they go to the doctor when you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Dr. Sawyer who was on Eighth Street and about
Second Avenue.
(Mrs. Ford): How long did you continue to patronize those
businesses in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): How long?
(Mrs. Ford): Yes.
(Mr. Roberson): Well I had...I patronized them until the time
I left from over there because that was the only choice I had.
(Mrs. Ford): When did you begin to shop or go to
entertainment outside of Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): That was when integration and other places
opened up that you could go.
(Mrs. Ford): During the period from 1945 or earlier to 1970
what were the main things that made Overtown a community? What did
the people do that brought the community together?
(Mr. Roberson): Well I, I...people seemed to be more
concerned about each other. It was me first you know...people just
seemed to care more about each other. You didn't have to worry
about locking your doors and somebody gonna rob you or something,
you didn't have that to worry about.
(Mrs. Ford): Mr. Roberson, I'm going to ah bring to memory
some of the past events and if you are aware of these events, I
would like for you elaborate on them for me please.
(Mr. Roberson): Umm hum.
(Mrs. Ford): Do you remember when you lived in Overtown area,
a local festivity know as the Orange Blossom Classic? The parade
that accommodated it, the football game and any festive events that
was associated with the Orange Blossom Classic?
(Mr. Roberson): We looked forward to that every year.
(Mrs. Ford): Was this a major event?
(Mr. Roberson): It was a major event.
(Mrs. Ford): Did most people who lived Overtown support and
look forward to it?
(Mr. Roberson): Everybody Overtown looked forward to it.
(Mrs. Ford): Can you recall a Junketnew parade and any
activities by the Shepherds when you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Junketnews?
(Mrs. Ford): Junketnews and the Shepherds?
(Mr. Roberson): Umm no.
(Mrs. Ford): Do you recall to memory Monday as being a
possible dress up day on Northwest Second Avenue during your time
that you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Yes, that was called Blue Monday.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you tell us what people did on Blue Monday
besides dress up?
(Mr. Roberson): Well you go to the bar, you probably have a
ball game and may be a dance that night and that was it.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you say it would be a holiday?
(Mr. Roberson): Sure.
(Mrs. Ford): What memories are recalled when you reflect on
church activities in Overtown? What are some of the things the
churches did to accommodate the citizens when you lived Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): I can't recall too many things the church did
but I...
(Mrs. Ford): nid they have picnics or plays or...
(Mr. Roberson): Yes, they had picnics...
(Mrs. Ford): Special guest that came or special seminars?
(Mr. Roberson): They had picnics and they helped people who
were in distress. They, they did things for people.
(Mrs. Ford): What memories are recalled when you think of
life Overtown about relatives coming to visit and family reunion,
when the family got together what...elaborate on what your family
would do when they got together for a reunion.
(Mr. Roberson): First you have a picnic, eating and
ah...specially on a Sunday you attend church, something like that.
(Mrs. Ford): I'm told that Dorsey Park was a spot that was
very special for Overtown residents, for the record could you tell
us White people did when they went to Dorsey Park.
(Mr. Roberson): Well Dorsey Park was, you know, Black people
say that was their park because see Black people couldn't go to
White parks, not less a Black lady had on a uniform and had some
White children with her, she couldn't go to other parks so Dorsey
Park was the thing for Black people and there was ball games,
picnics whatnot, anything in Dorsey Park.
(Mrs. Ford): Was this park named after or for D.A. Dorsey?
(Mr. Roberson): Yes it was.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you say it was a Black Park, a park
designated especially for African-Americans?
(Mr. Roberson): Yes definitely.
(Mrs. Ford): We're going to mention a few spots for
entertainment. I would like for you to tell me what comes to
memory when you think and reflect on these places. The Rockland
Palace?
(Mr. Roberson): It was the only place to be for Black person.
(Mrs. Ford): What did you do there?
(Mr. Roberson): Well you drank, you dance, you meet friends
and you were somebody when you were in the Rockland Palace.
(Mrs. Ford): In other words this was a social gathering?
(Mr. Roberson): That's right.
(Mrs. Ford): What about the Harlem Square?
(Mr. Roberson): Well the Harlem Square was ah...you'd class
it...it was a kind of hoodlum place and it was owned by...not by
Blacks, it was in your neighborhood so that's where you had to go.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you say it was a lessor or a better
quality entertainment place than the Rockland Palace?
(Mr. Roberson): No. It was a...it was a lessor. The
Rockland Palace seemed to be more updated and a more sophisticatBe
place than the Harlem.
(Mrs. Ford): When you reflect on places like the Sir John
prior to that name, it was called the Lord Calvert Hotel, what,
what comes to mind?
(Mr. Roberson): We thought that was one of the greatest
things that ever happened in Overtown. The Blacks had a
sophisticated hotel and a bar and you know, so we thought it was
great.
(Mrs. Ford): What comes to mind when you think in terms of
the Mary Elizabeth Hotel?
(Mr. Roberson): It was wonderful, it was wonderful because
see...the only hotel we had here was Dorsey Hotel and rooming
houses and when the Mary Elizabeth was built it was something, you
know, every Black person thought it was great.
(Mrs. Ford): Was there entertainment at the Mary Elizabeth
Hotel?
(Mr. Roberson): Certainly was.
(Mrs. Ford): What comes to memory when you think of the
Carver Hotel that was located on Northwest Ninth Street and Third
Avenue?
(Mr. Roberson): Well each one of them, as they were opening,
you know, they were great but the Carver soon faded but in the
beginning it was great.
(Mrs. Ford): Was there entertainment, pleasurable
entertainment at the Carver Hotel?
(Mr. Roberson): Yes it was.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you tell us a little more in depth about
the type of activity that occurred at the Dorsey Hotel?
(Mr. Roberson): Well they had, you know, they had fine rooms
ah they had entertainment, they a bar, they had a shows.
(Mrs. Ford): Can you tell us for the record, where was the
Dorsey Hotel located in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Eighth Street and Third Avenue, hold it,
Seventh Street and Third Avenue, Seventh Street and Third Avenue,
Seventh Street and Second Avenue, Seventh Street and Second Avenue.
(Mrs. Ford): Northwest Seventh Street and Second Avenue,
Second Avenue.
(Mr. Roberson): Second Avenue.
(Mrs. Ford): How and when did that sense of community change
in Overtown? The closeness and the umm parading up and down
and...when did this all change?
(Mr. Roberson): Well if I can recall, when ah the Classics
changed places, no longer come to the Orange Bowl, ah things began
to change. The attitude of people began to change and...
(Mrs. Ford): How has Overtown changed in your opinion since
1970?
(Mr. Roberson): Ah, ah, about a ninety-five percent change
because it's more, it's more ah dangerous then it was then.
(Mrs. Ford): Mr. Roberson, can you tell us, can you talk with
us at length about they type of work that you did?
(Mr. Roberson): Could you tell me every area of drying
cleaning and laundry that you worked in at the...during your
employable years?
(Mr. Roberson): Ah, in the 40's I worked at French Benzall
and like I said when the strike was I left and worked to Blue
Ribbon Laundry and ah I had a confrontation there with foremen and
whatnot and I left there and I worked Twenty-Second Avenue and
Forty-Sixth Street and from there in '42, in June in '42 I went in
the army and I didn't get back to Miami until 19...December in '45.
(Mrs. Ford): At that time did you live Overtown when you
returned to Miami?
(Mr. Roberson): Yes I did?
(Mrs. Ford): When you worked in the laundry did you press
clothes or did you work in the spotting department or did you work
in the mangle? Could you tell us more detail or exactly what you
did in the laundry?
(Mr. Roberson): At this particular time like when I went in
the army I worked on the presser, I was a presser but I had ah
spotting and cleaning knowledge because I took a course in Silver
Spring, Maryland for that but being Black you couldn't get that job
here so after I come out the army I went to work in Coral Gables,
The Ponce de Leon Cleaners which I took the job of cleaning and
spotting and I worked there 23 years.
(Mrs. Ford): The next set of questions that I will be asking
you about will be regarding the future of the Overtown area. What
are the most important and misconceptions or misunderstandings
about Overtown today? What do you think is the most misunderstood
thing regarding Overtown and how it use to be compared to what it
is today.
(Mr. Roberson): Oh, my God. It was ah, it was ah
inspiring, people looked forward to being Overtown then but now
today people shun it. When you go around Second Avenue today and
look at the barred up stores and buildings, it's no comparison with
what it was at that particular time.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you say that there are conditions that
exist in Overtown today that were non-existent during the years
that you lived and worked Overtown.
(Mr. Roberson): Sure, sure.
(Mrs. Ford): Do you think it was better or worse then or now?
(Mr. Roberson): It's worse now. It was glorious then.
(Mrs. Ford): What do you think public officials need to know
most about Overtown and it's history for African-American today?
(Mr. Roberson): Well I think it would be important for
officials to know the importance of the history of Overtown because
it is important to Black people. I could, you could be in Jersey
City or, or New York and somebody told you they was in Miami, they
would ask you, did you go on Second Avenue. Second Avenue was the
mainstream for Black and it...if you come to...a Black person come
to Miami and didn't go on Second Avenue, he hadn't been to Miami.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you say it was important during those
times that a person go to Second Avenue as one of the main
historical places to be in Overtown.
(Mr. Roberson): That's correct, that is correct.
(Mrs. Ford): What should be done to improve the Overtown area
now, such as transportation projects?
(Mr. Roberson): Well I don't...I'm not too familiar with the
situation over there now because I've been from over there about 33
years now and I've been over there about two times since I left but
I...there is still hope.
(Mrs. Ford): Well do you think Overtown could benefit if
tourist attractions were added to the area?
(Mr. Roberson): Sure, sure.
(Mrs. Ford): What do you think about the feasibility of job
development and creating jobs for the citizens who now live in
present day Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Well it would be a wonderful thing, if, if
such things could happen. It would be beautiful and it would
improve the whole community of Overtown.
(Mrs. Ford): In your opinion, do you feel that Overtown can
benefit today from beautification programs to make the area look
more scenic?
(Mr. Roberson): Definitely so. Umm hum, yes.
(Mrs. Ford): What should be the relationship between Overtown
and Downtown Miami?
(Mr. Roberson): Communication.
(Ms. Ford): When you have visitors from out of town, where do
you take them to show them culture and history of Dade County's
African-American or Black community?
(Mr. Roberson): I still take them to Second Avenue. And I
want to mention another historical place. I take them and show
them where Good Bread Alley use to be.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you tell us something about Good Bread
Alley?
(Mr. Roberson): Well Good Bread Alley existed from Third
Avenue to Fourth Avenue from Fourteenth Street to Third Avenue...to
Thirteenth Avenue...Thirteenth Street.
(Mrs. Ford): Could you tell us what happened in Good Bread
Alley?
(Mr. Roberson): (Laughter) Every and anything. It was
shotgun houses in there, one right behind each other, side by side,
maybe about 40 or 50 of them in there so if you didn't live in Good
Bread Alley, don't go in Good Bread Alley. Police didn't go in
Good Bread Alley alone.
(Mrs. Ford): Why didn't the police go into Good Bread Alley?
(Mr. Roberson): Because they were afraid what would happen to
them if they would go in Good Bread Alley.
(Mrs. Ford): And what do you think would have happened to the
policeman if he went into Good Bread Alley?
(Mr. Roberson): He would have been killed. It's just that
simple.
(Mrs. Ford): So would you say Good Bread was a community unto
itself? Self operated and self policed?
(Mr. Roberson): Yes, that's correct.
(Ms. Ford): Could you describe in your own words what kind of
community you would like for Overtown to be in the future?
Describe your vision in great detail. In other words we would like
for you to tell us what you think ah you would like Overtown to be
like today or in the future?
(Mr. Roberson): Well naturally I know Overtown couldn't be
like it use to be but I would like to see it have the image that it
use to have, that everybody was friendly and ah, you know, you
didn't have to bar your doors and you could sit on the porch and
wasn't even scared of nobody, young people looked after old people
and neighborhood stores and oh, but today, I know the old buildings
need remodeling or torn down and rebuilt and things like that.
(Mrs. Ford): Did families look after each other's children
and discipline them and what was the relationship with family to
family as they lived in Overtown?
(Mr. Roberson): Definitely family look family, family looked
after children, neighbors looked after children, children obeyed
neighbors.
(Mrs. Ford): What happened if a child disobeyed a neighbor
and the parents were not around?
(Mr. Roberson): When the parents come, the neighbor told the
parent what the children did and you know what happened after that.
(Mrs. Ford): Were neighbors permitted to discipline other
people's children?
(Mr. Roberson): Certainly.
(Mrs. Ford): And what would happen if one neighbor
disciplined another neighbor's child?
(Mr. Roberson): Well you had a small percentage that you
know, don't touch my child but the majority of neighbors
disciplined neighbor's children and the neighbors children
respected neighbors. Like today you hear children walking up and
down the street cussing and carrying on but children didn't cuss in
front of neighbors and other people at that particular time.
(Mrs. Ford): Would you say they lived sort of like it takes
a community to raise a child?
(Mr. Roberson): Definitely it do.
(Mrs. Ford): And everybody was responsible for raising and
rearing each others children?
(Mr. Roberson): Sure, sure.
(Mrs. Ford): Mr. Roberson, thank you so very kindly for this
interview.
(Mr. Roberson): Umm hum.
(Mrs. Ford): I am concluding this interview on Side "A". My
name is Electra R. Ford this is Side A in conclusion of the
interview with Mr. James Roberson and the last questions that we
discussed was the future of Overtown area.
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