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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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Edna Rosado Oliveras
Oral history interview conducted by Jaime Barreto
January 19, 1975
Call number: 1976.001.047
0:11 - Introducciones, composición étnica de Brooklyn Heights, educación - Introductions, ethnic composition of Brooklyn Heights, education
2:55 - Organizaciones políticas y políticos en Brooklyn - Puerto Rican organizations and politicians in Brooklyn
5:45 - Condiciones de vida, composición étnica y llegada de latinos a Williamsburg - Living conditions, ethnic composition and influx of Latinos to Williamsburg
8:25 - Caridad entre los puertorriqueños - Charity among Puerto Ricans
13:13 - Participación en grupos políticos, Club Séneca, miembros notables - Involvement in political groups, Seneca Club, notable members
21:01 - Empleos con el Departamento de Educación, participación en YMCA e iglesia - Jobs with the Department of Education, involvement with YMCA and church
25:48 - Miembros activos de la Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana de Habla Española en Brooklyn - Active members of the First Spanish Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn
33:40 - Defectos en los programas de asistencia pública, necesidad de los inmigrantes de aprender inglés - Flaws in public assistance programs, need for immigrants to learn English
36:19 - Comentarios finales, futuro de la comunidad latina en Brooklyn, educación bilingüe - Final remarks, future of Hispanic community in Brooklyn, bilingual education
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Edna Rosado Oliveras
Edna Rosado Oliveras was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934. She lived in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn for eight years and then moved to the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. At the time of the 1975 interview, Oliveras was forty years old and a housewife. She worked as an assistant teacher with the Department of Education and as a Sunday school teacher. She was an active member of the Seneca Club, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and the First Spanish Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. Edna Rosado Oliveras died in Brooklyn in April, 1984.
In this interview, Edna Rosado Oliveras discusses living conditions in the Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn, as well the changes that occurred once the Puerto Rican population in said neighborhoods increased. Oliveras talks about the charitable activities of the civic, religious, and political organizations to which she belongs. She also mentions notable members of these organizations and their efforts to enhance the quality of life for Puerto Ricans in New York. Oliveras discusses the need for immigrants to overcome language barriers and learn the language of the country in which they currently live in while also retaining their cultural identity. The flaws embedded in public assistance programs such as Welfare are reflected upon as well. Interview in Spanish and English conducted by Jaime Barreto.
This collection includes recordings and transcripts of oral histories narrated by those in the Puerto Rican community of Brooklyn who arrived between 1917 and 1940. The Long Island Historical Society initiated the Puerto Rican Oral History Project in 1973, conducting over eighty interviews between 1973 and 1975. The oral histories often contain descriptions of immigration, living arrangements, neighborhood ethnicities, discrimination, employment, community development and political leadership. Also included are newspaper clippings, brochures, booklets about Brooklyn's Puerto Rican community, and administrative information on how the project was developed, carried out, and evaluated.
Citation
Oliveras, Edna Rosado, Oral history interview conducted by Jaime Barreto, January 19, 1975, Puerto Rican Oral History Project records, 1976.001.047; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Oliveras, Edna Rosado
Topics
- Cultural assimilation
- Education
- Employment
- Political clubs
- Public welfare
- Puerto Rican women
- Puerto Ricans
- Young Men's Christian associations
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Puerto Rican Oral History Project records