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.
Every oral history relies on the memories, views, and opinions of the narrator. Because of the personal nature of oral history, listeners may find some viewpoints or language of the recorded participants to be objectionable. In keeping with its mission of preservation and unfettered access whenever possible, BHS presents these views as recorded.
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.
All citations must be attributed to Brooklyn Historical Society:
[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.
These interviews are made available for research purposes only. For more information about other kinds of usage and permissions, see BHS’s rights and reproductions policy.
Amantina Duran
Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman
March 28, 1989
Call number: 1989.004.17
0:05 - Mudanza a Brooklyn, transportación pública y comunidad latina católica en Brooklyn - Moving to Brooklyn, public transportation in and Hispanic Catholic community in Brooklyn
6:32 - Razones para mudarse a NY, sistema de inmigración en los sesenta - Reasons for moving to NY, immigration system in 1960s
12:43 - Grupo de Loma Prieta, ayuda a personas en RD y Williamsburg - Grupo de Loma Prieta organization, aid to people in the DR and in Williamsburg
22:24 - Empleo en NY, ambiente de empleo, composición étnica de los empleados de fábricas - Employment in New York, work environment, ethnic composition of factory workers
30:33 - Involucramiento de la Iglesia de la Transfiguración en la comunidad - Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church involvement with the community
34:22 - Comunidad puertorriqueña en Williamsburg, bodegas dominicanas y organizaciones de comerciantes - Puerto Rican community in Williamsburg, Dominican bodegas and business organizations
39:01 - Discriminación hacia latinos, machismo en la cultura dominicana, sueldos, condiciones de vida - Discrimination towards Latinos, misogyny in Dominican culture, wages, living conditions
52:18 - Falta de interés en organizaciones y asuntos comunitarios por parte de los inmigrantes más recientes - Recent immigrant's lack of interest in community affairs and organizations
61:24 - Involucramiento del grupo con otros grupos latinos, luchas de la comunidad latina - Group's involvement with other Hispanic groups, struggles of the Hispanic community
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Amantina Durán
Amantina Durán originated from the district of Loma Prieta, San José de las Matas, Dominican Republic. After arriving in New York City, she first lived in Manhattan and moved to the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, where she resided when the interview took place in 1989. Durán attended the Church of the Transfiguration along with many nearby Dominican Americans. With her two daughters in college, she studied English at Solidaridad Humana, a school on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
In the interview, Amantina Durán names her motivations for moving; one of her reasons for living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn is its proximity to the Church of the Transfiguration. She states that many Dominicans from her hometown also live nearby. At the church, a group from Loma Prieta and from other small neighboring towns meet on a regular basis. They contribute to a fund that offers financial aid to needy members. Durán discusses the Church's Nuestros Ninos Day Care Center, where she sent her daughters, thus allowing her to go to work in small factories in lower Manhattan. She discusses changes in Williamsburg; once heavily Puerto Rican, but populated instead by those of Dominican and Mexican heritages at the time of the 1989 interview. Finally, she talks about the problems of drugs, gentrification pressures, and conflicts between Williamsburg's Latino and Jewish communities. Interview in Spanish conducted by Marcelo Herman.
Brooklyn Historical Society initiated the Hispanic Communities Documentation Project in 1988. Over fifty interviews were conducted to document the experiences of Brooklyn residents who arrived from Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, and several other Central and South American nations in the latter half of the twentieth century. This collection includes recordings and transcripts of interviews conducted between 1988 and 1989. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood demographics, discrimination, employment, community development, and political leadership. Also included are photographs and printed ephemera.
Citation
Duran, Amantina, Oral history interview conducted by Marcelo Herman, March 28, 1989, Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, 1989.004.17; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Duran, Amantina
- Walsh, Peggy, Sister
Topics
- Community identity
- Day care centers
- Dominican Americans| Emigration and immigration
- English as a second language
- Ethnic identity
- Hispanic Americans
- Language and languages
- Puerto Ricans
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Dominican Republic
- New York (N.Y.)
- Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories