Terms of Use
Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
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The audio recording should be considered the primary source for each interview. Where provided, transcripts created prior to 2008 or commissioned by a third party other than BHS, serve as a guide to the interview and are not considered verbatim. More recent transcripts commissioned by BHS are nearly verbatim copies of the recorded interview, and as such may contain the natural false starts, verbal stumbles, misspeaks, and repetitions that are common in conversation. The decision for their inclusion was made because BHS gives primacy to the audible voice and also because some researchers do find useful information in these verbal patterns. Unless these verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.
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[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Crystal Bobb-Semple
Oral history interview conducted by Bahati Williams
April 21, 2008
Call number: 2008.030.04
0:29 - Bobb-Semple's brief bio; introduction to the Brownstone Bookstore
1:03 - Childhood in Bedford-Stuyvesant & the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (BSRC)
2:45 - CB-S's decision to found the Brownstone Bookstore; community development; gentrification
6:40 - BSRC's loan fund & role in securing CB-S's business loan; the store as a community builder
12:20 - BSRC's revolving loan fund; merchants' associations; business mentorship
13:56 - CB-S's work founding the Child Welfare Taskforce; work in children's services
16:16 - CB-S on BSRC's successes, challenges, forward direction; community literary events
21:06 - CB-S on the importance of reading, literacy, critical thinking, and access to information
23:12 - More about the Brownstone Bookstore; interview conclusion
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Crystal Bobb-Semple
Crystal Bobb-Semple was born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Educated primarily in New York's public schools, she left the city for college and her master's in Public Administration. Bobb-Semple's early career was spent in children's services and she was a co-founder of the Child Welfare Taskforce. In the year 2000, Bobb-Semple opened the neighborhood's Brownstone Books store with aid from Restoration's revolving loan fund. (The program was a cornerstone of Restoration's business revitalization efforts.) At the time of the 2008 interview, Bobb-Semple's Brownstone Books had been open for eight years.
In this interview, Crystal Bobb-Semple remembers growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and recounts childhood memories of Restoration. She discusses her decision to establish the Brownstone Books store, details the mentorship she's received from the Bedford-Stuyvesant Merchants' Association, shares her role in the Bedford-Stuyvesant Gateway Business Improvement District, and considers capitalism as a means of community development. She speaks of the effects of revitalization efforts on gentrification, displacement, and multiculturalism. Bobb-Semple describes her career journey from an early start in child welfare services to her current occupation as a bookseller and promoter of literacy. Interview conducted by Bahati Williams.
Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) and Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Restoration) partnered on the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral history project in 2007-2008 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Restoration's founding as the first community development corporation (CDC) in the United States. Nearly sixty interviews were conducted with founding Board members, supporters, activists, artists, tenants, and other community members. Audio clips from these oral history interviews were included in the exhibit "Reflections on Community Development: Stories from Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation" (BHS 2008, Restoration 2009).
Citation
Bobb-Semple, Crystal, Oral history interview conducted by Bahati Williams, April 21, 2008, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories, 2008.030.04; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
- Bobb-Semple, Crystal
- Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association
- Grannum, Colvin W.
Topics
- Business enterprises
- Community development corporations
- Community development, Urban
- Economic development
- Enterprise zones
- Entrepreneurship
- Gentrification
- Merchants
- Segregation
Places
- Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation oral histories