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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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Yolande Garcia
Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan
September 29, 2010
Call number: 2008.031.5.006
0:47 - Introductions; biographical details and '54 immigration to NYC from Haiti; '80 move to Ft. Greene: neighborhood, observations of her block
11:18 - Block association issues, measures taken ca. '80; cleaning up block; rooming houses; 2010 Ft. Greene: business & dining; her children; neighbors & block parties
22:53 - Interacting with other neighborhoods; her grandchildren; work life & retirement; community connections; love of music & interest in Brooklyn Academy of Music
29:03 - Work in Haiti, education focus; setting up library; helping after earthquake; great grandfather's hospice in Haiti, est. 1880s; need to help people instilled in childhood
34:50 - Neighborhood politics & new arrivals; engaging next generation; block's oldest families; favorite Fort Greene aspects: Ft. Greene Park, park's association, Presbyterian Church, Greenlight Books, Snap
45:52 - Myrtle Ave. changes; benefits of mulitcultural neighborhood, mixed families; Ft. Greene's cultural exchange stands out in Brooklyn; grateful for her multicultural tenants
53:06 - Her children & grandkids; husband's links with area; finding, buying house in '80s
64:00 - Leaving houses to her children; Haitian art collection; visiting area & landmarks; pride & love for neighborhood; her love of Ft. Greene; end of interview
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Yolande Garcia
Yolande Garcia was born and raised in Haiti in 1930, moving to New York City in 1954 to start a new life. She met her husband in the city and had two children, a boy and a girl, while living in Queens. In 1980, they moved to the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn where they have lived ever since. Highly involved in community activism and global humanitarian work, Garcia had spent thirty years in Fort Greene, helping to improve the neighborhood, and enjoying her retirement with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She visited Haiti every year and has deep roots to the community in both her home country and her adopted country. Garcia's son, Marc, was also interviewed for this collection.
In this interview, Yolande Garcia discusses immigrating to New York City and moving to the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn later in life. She talks about her role in starting a block association, creating a safe neighborhood, and the changes she has witnessed in Fort Greene throughout the past three decades. She reflects on her family roots in Haiti, her activism in Haiti and in Fort Greene, and on raising a family in the city. She describes her love of music and the arts and the different venues she frequents around Brooklyn. She talks about the benefits she sees in living in a multicultural neighborhood, the sensory experiences of Fort Greene, and her love of the neighborhood she adopted as her own. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.
The Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors series features a broad range of narrators. Most are not well-known public figures but are well-known to their neighbors. This ongoing, extensive series focuses on Brooklyn history and the experiences of these narrators document national and international history as well. The interviews include people from diverse backgrounds making observations or sharing recollections about the growth and condition of several neighborhoods within Brooklyn. Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, and Fort Greene were heavily represented as of 2017. The oldest narrator in this collection was born in 1927.
Citation
Garcia, Yolande, Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, September 29, 2010, Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors, 2008.031.5.006; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Garcia, Yolande
Topics
- Caribbean Americans
- Community identity
- Community organizing
- Family life
- Haitian Americans
- Home ownership
- Intergenerational relations
- Mixed heritage
- Multiculturalism
- Neighborhoods
- Older people
- Women in charitable work
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Fort Greene (New York, N.Y.)
- Fort Greene Park (New York, N.Y.)
- Haiti
Finding Aid
Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors