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.
Joseph Harold Haynes
Oral history interview conducted by Craig Wilder
August 31, 1993
Call number: 1994.006.09
0:19 - Growing up in central Brooklyn and its racial dynamics, in the 1940s and 50s
3:22 - Family life and the church as the social center
13:08 - Employment as a young man and staying out of trouble
20:45 - Discovering Weeksville; a love of aviation and learning to fly airplanes
24:19 - The Muse Community Museum and the founding of The Society for the Preservation of Weeksville
29:56 - The social dynamics in Crown Heights
32:44 - The cause of ethnic tension and the Crown Heights riots
41:03 - Speculating on the future of the Black community and race relations
54:34 - Crown Heights: It's people and future
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Joseph Harold Haynes
Joseph Harold Haynes, African American, grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn. He attended Haaren High School for aviation studies and received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri. Mr. Haynes was employed as a mechanical engineer for the New York City Transit Authority and as an accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. He was a licensed commercial pilot and flight instructor. A contributor, to the now defunct, New Muse Community Museum, Joseph Haynes was a founding member of the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville. Haynes was in his 60s at the time of his interview. He died March 2, 1997.
In the interview, Haynes discusses growing up in central Brooklyn during the 1940s and '50s; the importance of family, during this period; racial segregation; his passion for aviation; the Muse Community Museum; the founding of the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville; the 1991 riot in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights and the future of race relations. Interview conducted by Craig Wilder.
This collection contains oral history recordings and transcripts, as well as exhibit materials, from Brooklyn Historical Society's Crown Heights History Project, also known as "Bridging Eastern Parkway." Crown Heights History Project oral histories include audio and transcripts created and collected within the context of an exhibition project undertaken in part by BHS in 1993 and 1994. Three interviewers recorded conversations with over forty narrators. In addition to exhibition product value, the oral histories were conducted as life history and community anthropology interviews; topics of discussion include family and heritage, immigration and relocation, cultural and racial relations, occupations and professions, education and religion, housing and gentrification, civil unrest and reconciliation, media representation and portrayal, and activism. The series of exhibition research materials document the outreach efforts for interviews and materials from the community as well as exhibit scripts and curatorial notes.
Citation
Haynes, Joseph Harold, Oral history interview conducted by Craig Wilder, August 31, 1993, Crown Heights History Project collection, 1994.006.09; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Cato, Gavin
- Haynes, Joseph Harold
- New York City Transit Authority
- Rosenbaum, Yankel
- Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History
Topics
- African American neighborhoods
- Blacks
- Ethnic neighborhoods
- Race identity
- Riots
Places
- Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Crown Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- Weeksville (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Crown Heights History Project collection