{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/5h7br8mv3x/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Jay Williams Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eClip 1:  Jay Williams describes his family's history settling in Flushing. His father's side came from Virginia via the Underground Railroad. His mother's side was half Shinnecock American Indian from Long Island, half African American from Detroit, Michigan. The Williams family owned a large property in downtown Flushing at 38th Avenue and Union Street that they lost in the 1950's when the city took it over to build a parking lot.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eClip 2:  Jay Williams is a life-long resident of Flushing, where his ancestors were some of the first African-American landowners in Queens. He is a lifetime member of the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.  In 1932, when the church built a chapel adjacent to their original building, they found remains from an early cemetery next to the church.  Williams shares the story of what happened to those bones and how they eventually saved the historic church from demolition in the 1950's.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eClip 3:  Jay Williams briefly describes early jobs leading up to joining the Army as a teenager. After returning home as a Korean War veteran, he took an aptitude test at New York University that recommended a creative field of employment.  He got a job at a custom carpet company called Edward Fields Incorporated in Flushing and worked there for the next 45 years.  He enjoyed his work and took pride in the high-quality custom carpets the company produced.  Williams describes the work he did and lists some of the company's high-profile clients, including the White House, where he and his wife got a private tour thanks to a letter of introduction from his boss.  There were four Fields brothers who owned the business: Edward, Elliot, Freddy, and Shep Fields, the well-known big band leader.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe original factory was on Depot Rd off of Northern Blvd. It then moved to Prince Street and 32nd Ave, then built their own factory on what had been swamp land at 127th Street and 25th Ave. in an industrial park in College Point.  They used to have a 59th Street and 1st Ave showroom in Manhattan.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eClip 4:  Jay Williams is a life-long resident of Flushing, where his ancestors were some of the first African-American landowners in Queens. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 192, which met at the Macedonia AME Church.  He discusses some of the racial inequalities he experienced growing up during the 1930's and 40's in Flushing. The Flushing YMCA did not admit African-American members.  But there was ethnic diversity too.  His best friend as a child was a Chinese-American boy whose parents owned a restaurant in Flushing.  He also describes Knights of Pythias summer camp, which he attended in the early 1940's. It was sponsored by the Child Service League. \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSummary of Full interview\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJay Williams is a life-long resident of Flushing, where his ancestors were some of the first African-American landowners in Queens. He is a lifetime member of the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.  In this interview he describes his family's history settling in Flushing and his life growing up there. He also discusses some of the racial inequalities he experienced growing up during the 1930's and 40's in Flushing.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/16082"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2012-03-07"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Jay Williams (Interviewee)","Natalie Milbrodt (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1867-2012 (temporal)","Flushing, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eClip 1: \u0026nbsp;Jay Williams describes his family's history settling in Flushing. His father's side came from Virginia via the Underground Railroad. His mother's side was half Shinnecock American Indian from Long Island, half African American from Detroit, Michigan. The Williams family owned a large property in downtown Flushing at 38th Avenue and Union Street that they lost in the 1950's when the city took it over to build a parking lot.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eClip 2: \u0026nbsp;Jay Williams is a life-long resident of Flushing, where his ancestors were some of the first African-American landowners in Queens. He is a lifetime member of the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.\u0026nbsp; In 1932, when the church built a chapel adjacent to their original building, they found remains from an early cemetery next to the church.\u0026nbsp; Williams shares the story of what happened to those bones and how they eventually saved the historic church from demolition in the 1950's.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eClip 3:\u0026nbsp; Jay Williams briefly describes early jobs leading up to joining the Army as a teenager. After returning home as a Korean War veteran, he took an aptitude test at New York University that recommended a creative field of employment.\u0026nbsp; He got a job at a custom carpet company called Edward Fields Incorporated in Flushing and worked there for the next 45 years.\u0026nbsp; He enjoyed his work and took pride in the high-quality custom carpets the company produced.\u0026nbsp; Williams describes the work he did and lists some of the company's high-profile clients, including the White House, where he and his wife got a private tour thanks to a letter of introduction from his boss.\u0026nbsp; There were four Fields brothers who owned the business: Edward, Elliot, Freddy, and Shep Fields, the well-known big band leader.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe original factory was on Depot Rd off of Northern Blvd. It then moved to Prince Street and 32nd Ave, then built their own factory on what had been swamp land at 127th Street and 25th Ave. in an industrial park in College Point.\u0026nbsp; They used to have a 59th Street and 1st Ave showroom in Manhattan.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eClip 4:\u0026nbsp; Jay Williams is a life-long resident of Flushing, where his ancestors were some of the first African-American landowners in Queens. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 192, which met at the Macedonia AME Church.\u0026nbsp; He discusses some of the racial inequalities he experienced growing up during the 1930's and 40's in Flushing. The Flushing YMCA did not admit African-American members.\u0026nbsp; But there was ethnic diversity too.\u0026nbsp; His best friend as a child was a Chinese-American boy whose parents owned a restaurant in Flushing.\u0026nbsp; He also describes Knights of Pythias summer camp, which he attended in the early 1940's. It was sponsored by the Child Service League.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSummary of Full interview\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJay Williams is a life-long resident of Flushing, where his ancestors were some of the first African-American landowners in Queens. He is a lifetime member of the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. \u0026nbsp;In this interview he describes his family's history settling in Flushing and his life growing up there. He also discusses some of the racial inequalities he experienced growing up during the 1930's and 40's in Flushing.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA\u0026nbsp;Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/101/666/small/williams_jay_portraitaviary.jpg?1608110511","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/32818/file/101666","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 4 - 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