{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/vx05x26860/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Samantha Inniss 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\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSamantha Alethea Inniss was born in Jamaica, Queens, in 1982; her parents are from Barbados, and first landed in BedStuy Brooklyn, before moving to Jamaica, Queens. Inniss attended elementary school at Holy Trinity Community School in Hollis, a safe space with a mix of all different ethnicities; her transition to public school starting in sixth grade was difficult, fights broke out almost every day, and at Jamaica High School there was gang activity and metal detectors had to be put in. She discusses changes in the neighborhood over time, how dangerous it was in the early 90’s, jobs she had, and places she hung out - like the Queens Public Library on Merrick Boulevard and especially the Colosseum Mall, where teens from all over the neighborhood would congregate. Inniss talks about cultural institutions in the neighborhood such as the African Poetry Theater and Jamaica Center for Arts, and how she started Art, Food \u0026amp; Soul after she graduated from college as an event where the community could showcase their talents without having to leave the neighborhood to perform or see performances.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright 2020 Samantha Inniss, Linda Ganjian, CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. 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/42210"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2020-12-11 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Samantha Inniss (Interviewee)","Linda Ganjian (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview recorded as part of Linda Ganjian's Jamaica Flux project for Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1980s-2020 (temporal)","Jamaica and Queens Village, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSamantha Alethea Inniss was born in Jamaica, Queens, in 1982; her parents are from Barbados, and first landed in BedStuy Brooklyn, before moving to Jamaica, Queens. Inniss attended elementary school at Holy Trinity Community School in Hollis, a safe space with a mix of all different ethnicities; her transition to public school starting in sixth grade was difficult, fights broke out almost every day, and at Jamaica High School there was gang activity and metal detectors had to be put in. She discusses changes in the neighborhood over time, how dangerous it was in the early 90\u0026rsquo;s, jobs she had, and places she hung out - like the Queens Public Library on Merrick Boulevard and especially the Colosseum Mall, where teens from all over the neighborhood would congregate. Inniss talks about cultural institutions in the neighborhood such as the African Poetry Theater and Jamaica Center for Arts, and how she started Art, Food \u0026amp; Soul after she graduated from college as an event where the community could showcase their talents without having to leave the neighborhood to perform or see performances.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright 2020 Samantha Inniss, Linda Ganjian, CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. 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/000/123/720/small/Samantha_Inniss_photo2-aviary.png?1632137030","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Inniss_Samantha_Alethea_edit.mp3"]},"duration":4752.58776,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/123/720/small/Samantha_Inniss_photo2-aviary.png?1632137030","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/123/720/original/Inniss_Samantha_Alethea_edit.mp3?1632136985","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":4752.58776,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Let me see. Okay. Today is December 11th, 2020. We are recording. This is Linda Ganjian of the Queens Memory Project with Samantha Alethea Inniss. Is that right?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=0.0,23.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Samantha Alethea Inniss.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=23.0,29.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Okay. Please say and then spell out your name.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=29.0,31.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Okay. My name is Samantha Alethea Inniss, and it's spelled S A M A N T H A. Alethea A L E T H E A. Inniss I N N I S S.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=31.0,58.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And what is your age?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=58.0,60.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: 38 years old.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=60.0,62.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And now we can begin. So tell me when and where you were born.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=62.0,68.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I was born in Jamaica, Queens on March 27, 1982.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=68.0,77.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And what part of Jamaica did you grow up in?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=77.0,82.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I grew up on a Hillside Avenue at the same exact address. My parents moved there right when they came into the country. And I was born five years later. And I was born at Jamaica Hospital. And that is where I grew up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=82.0,113.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Do you know what brought your family to Jamaica?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=113.0,117.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yes. My parents were always looking at America as a land of opportunities, coming for the American dream. So my mom, she came first to America. She moved to BedStuy Brooklyn with the rest of my extended family members. And eventually she really, in her words, wanted to assimilate into the culture a bit more, because in BedStuy, Brooklyn, it was more like you never left the Island. She eventually moved to Queens. She found this apartment on Hillside Avenue and as she described it, it was such a beautiful apartment. It had a different landlord at that time and the building was 95% white she described it. It was very nice. It had a doorman that dressed up, there were curtains in the lobby—very different from what it looks like now. Mirrors on the walls that weren't cracked—the mirrors are cracked now. It was just a very, very beautiful description she had of the apartment. And actually, it's funny that even though I was very, very young, I have a slight memory of what it used to look like when I would sit with her in the tenant association meetings when I was a baby, because I remember just running around between all the people and everybody playing with me. But she said that as the years were rolling on and people started to move out and it was more people of color that started to move into the building. But, yeah, it changed drastically and then a new landlord took over and it went downhill. Totally changed.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=117.0,257.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So did your mom come first, you were saying, and then your dad came?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=257.0,262.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: My mom came first and she moved from Brooklyn to the building in Queens, and then she sent for my father and my sister to come over later on. So once they got their paperwork together, they came and moved in and then we were all a family and I was born about five years later. And that was the start.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=262.0,288.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And do you remember what did your parents do for work when they first came?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=288.0,295.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: My mom, she used to be a housekeeper and a nanny. She was doing that for many years. She also started working for my godfather. My godfather had moved from Barbados to America and opened his own store, his own grocery store. And my mom, she did the cooking. Sometimes she'll cook some Caribbean dishes and help in selling things. So it was my godfather, his wife and their kids, and my mom. She was the one who would help in cooking and also in selling any of the products that they sold.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=295.0,348.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Was the store in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=348.0,350.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah, that was in Hollis, Queens on Jamaica Avenue.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=350.0,353.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Interesting. Is it still there by any chance?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=353.0,357.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: No. My godparents after awhile—they were there for, I think maybe a good 15, 20 years. And then my godfather, he went bankrupt. But it had a long, good run. My godfather used to experiment a lot with trying to do different things like yoga and herbs. And I don't think the community was ready for those kinds of things at that time. But he used to try. He used to try a lot of different things because the store originally started out selling candies and potato chips and beef patty and coco bread and things like that, and heroes sandwiches. And then all of a sudden he just did a total switch. He wanted the community to be more healthy and he just started switching on them and they weren't ready for that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=357.0,426.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: That's funny. It's something that could work today, but maybe at that time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=426.0,433.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: He was before everyone's time. I mean, I love my godfather. He was just always experimenting with something different in the community and wanting to do something that would better his people and it just didn't always work.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=433.0,455.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And do you want to talk about your dad's work when he came or what kind of work was he able to do?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=455.0,462.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: When my Dad first came, he actually worked for Woolworth. Woolworth used to be on Jamaica Avenue. And, my father was just always, he was a hard worker. Because he came from Barbados and he was a teacher. He used to work for the ministry of health. He did a lot of great jobs, but he was also trying to support my mom and her goals to get that American dream, because there really wasn't that many opportunities here in Barbados. So when he came to New York, it wasn't easy for him. So when he got Woolworth, there was a robbery I remember hearing about, and it's funny, that's something else I feel like I can remember the panic around it. But there was a robbery one night where they had two armed robbers who came in with guns and my father took off running throughout the store to hide inside the basement. One of the robbers caught him and hit him in the head with the pistol. And it knocked him clean out. So he had a concussion. I remember the story, he had a concussion and he wasn't really the same after that. So, and I was a baby at that time. I think I was just born not too long ago.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=462.0,568.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So it would have been in the mid eighties, probably?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=568.0,574.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Mid-eighties. And right after that Woolworth closed, not too long after that. But my father eventually went searching on for more jobs and was able to get a job with the MTA. So he worked there until retirement as a MTA security agent. Yeah. So he seemed to have loved that job. He gave it his all. We hardly saw my father. He used to work almost six days a week.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=574.0,615.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Wow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=615.0,618.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. And a lot of overtime, so he can be gone in the morning, and then next thing they'll tell him, they'll ask him if he will do another shift overnight. And he always said, yes. It was like, he did a lot for our family in trying to make sure he made enough money for me, for college, for us to get out of that apartment building to get a house, which we eventually did. He was able to save up and we were able to pass on the apartment to my sister because that was a rent stabilized apartment. Yeah. So then my mom and I and him, we moved into a house in Queens Village. So my high school years going into my college years, we were able to be in a house.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=618.0,681.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So do you want to talk about that transition, like in terms of the physical aspect of the neighborhood? Like what you remember from growing up, I guess starting on Hillside and then. I know it's a lot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=681.0,710.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: A lot of memories. I remember my schools which are so different now. I even remember my daycare center, which is no longer there anymore. It was right up the hill from my apartment building in the Jamaica Hills, by the Jamaica park. And her name was Miss Barbara. She was just my favorite teacher, but she's no longer there. My kindergarten, which was Busy Bee Learning Center, I know that's still there. Yeah. Because my teacher, originally, she was my niece's teacher later on in life, years later. So that was really good to see that full circle.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=710.0,761.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And she's still there, you think?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=761.0,764.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I heard she actually moved out of the state and now my niece is 22, but she was able to teach my niece when she was born. But Busy Bee Learning Center is actually still there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=764.0,785.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And do you actually remember anything from kindergarten? It seems like you have a really good memory.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=785.0,795.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I remember I got picked on and my mom having to come. I mean, a Caribbean mother, they don't play. So my mother had to come a couple of times to let some children know to stop messing with me because I was a crier. I was a crier. I was very shy. I just always had this—the little boys. The little boys were always just picking on me and pulling my hair or pulling my skirt. And I would come home crying because my sister would always pick me up from school. And I was just always crying every time she picked me up. So that was the story I will come home with. Yeah, I remember a lot. I really do. I remember being scared of the same teacher, too. She used to get sick and tired of my crying, but her name was Mrs. James. And Mrs. James, I remember she was a Jamaican lady, but she was like family in some way. Like she didn't tolerate any bad behavior or crying. Like she kind of worked with me the same way my parents worked with me. I was just such a soft child. I couldn't take any harshness. So, and that's just kind of a Caribbean way. They kind of talk kind of hard. When I look back now, I'm a part of two cultures. So this was also very new to my parents, and also my sister coming from Barbados. Like the way that they were used to things in Barbados, it had to be done differently in America. So they have a very hard way of bringing up children that it just didn't work for me. I just cried all the time, but I guess they learned along the way, but so the teacher was kind of the same way. Yeah. And after I left from Busy Bee Learning Center, I know my parents saved up enough money to get me into a private school. And I went to a private school in Hollis, Queens called Holy Trinity Lutheran School.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=795.0,966.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Is it still there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=966.0,971.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: No, that shut down as well. Yeah, but I was there from first grade to sixth grade. I loved that school, but a lot of memories from that school as well. And it was a private school that made me feel very safe in the kind of neighborhoods that we were in in Queens. Because you saw a lot of things. Like I can remember, even in my kindergarten class at Busy Bee Learning Center, getting in trouble for finding crack vials in the playground. I thought they were toys because they had so many colors on it. And my sister came to pick me up from school and I had collected all of them and stacked them in my cubby. And when my sister saw them, when she picked me up, she went and told the teacher on me and the teacher just started yelling at me, telling me how dangerous it was. And I remember just being so scared and not knowing what I did wrong. But they were always every day in our playground area. It was all over the ground and our playground area had a gate, but this was the eighties. And that was the height of the crack epidemic. So it was just like, you never know, crack heads jumping over gates and breaking into abandoned buildings. This is the things that they were doing at that time. I just remember getting in trouble for that and begging my sister to not tell our parents.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=971.0,1097.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Did she?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1097.0,1097.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: No, she didn't because I already got chewed out by the teacher, but yeah, I understood how bad it was, but it just, it looked like toys to me. And once I got into Holy Trinity Lutheran school, it was just like that area of Hollis, it was between Jamaica Avenue and Hillside Avenue, it just seemed like a nicer little area just kind of off from all the bad stuff. And it was really nice. And we had a huge gym that we were able to play in inside the school. It was really nice. I have good memories from those years.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1097.0,1150.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And what were your classmates like? What were their backgrounds or was it a mixed?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1150.0,1160.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. We had very few whites. It was mostly African-American, African-Caribbean, American, we had Hispanic, Latino, Indian as well. And that's about it. Yeah, but it was a mix. You have the same class every grade.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1160.0,1193.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Oh, so you really got to know the—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1193.0,1196.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: You really got to know who your classmates, you really had close bonds. We were all having slumber parties and things like that where the parents were all very close friends as well. So those were really good times for me. Once the end of sixth grade came, the tuition started going up and that's when it started to become harder for a lot of the parents to afford the tuition. And then we started getting taken out to go into public school. Now that was scary, I remember, because I heard what public school was like, but I never experienced it. I just know my sister went, but my sister and I are two totally different personalities. She is somebody I call for the bullies. So I was not ready for that transition into public school. And, I had no choice. So I was sent to Susan B. Anthony IS 238 on Hillside Avenue. And I went there for seventh and eighth grade.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1196.0,1284.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Okay. And was it a difficult transition? Was it as bad as you feared?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1284.0,1298.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yes, it was. [inaudible] were fighting all the time. I never seen kids fighting so much. I mean, in Holy Trinity, they would have a fight over somebody likes this person's girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever, and then that will be it, but this was like every day, a fight at this school. I just didn't understand what was going on and I remember just constantly questioning my parents about why did I have to go here? And they're like, well, we can't afford, you know the tuition, but this is just two years you're going to be here and then you're going to be off to high school. And so, I remember them also saying that, you know, once you are ready for high school, you'll be able to pick which high school. That wasn't the case later on.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1298.0,1357.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: But, I try to stick it out. I try to get by through those two years. You make friends. And then I had to always find ways to make friends so that I will be protected. Those who just thought I was funny or always stick close to me or call me their friend, but they will always be my security guards, basically, from any bullies. So that was helpful. It was like you had to really maneuver and find ways to maneuver around these kind of changes. And I did. I definitely found my way to get through those two years without getting picked on or beat up. But sometimes that comes with you falling into the wrong crowd or falling into what you think is the way to be, just so that you can not get picked on and fit in with the in crowd.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1357.0,1432.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: And, I know many times I disappointed my parents getting in trouble for getting into something like stealing from the candy store or getting into trouble doing something that is just not me in the classroom, causing a disturbance or something. So I regret those days, but as a child, you know, it was just I was really trying my best to fit in and trying to explain that to your Caribbean parents was a very difficult thing. Especially when they did the best they can and always getting you the best clothes or just getting you decent clothes. And I think I had a harder time in understanding that, it's not always going to be the name brand things that they're going to get me. They're going to get me clothes that you know, are clean and are decent to wear to school. And sometimes I think in my mind, it wasn't enough, especially when kids start making fun of, you know, that's not in style, that's not the latest sneakers. I had a lot of trouble with that around those years in IS 238, and I remember a lot of trouble.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1432.0,1523.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: But once it was time to move on to high school, I got excited thinking that I can pick the school I want to go to. And I really had it in my heart at that time to go to a performing arts school. And I was thinking at that time, the LaGuardia Performing Arts school and little did I know of something called—sorry, there's mosquitoes around here—little did I know about school zoning. And the entire school, we were all so excited to pick all these different schools that we were going to possibly go to. And the majority of us, almost 90% of us, did not get chosen for the schools we picked. And we were all basically shoved into Jamaica High School. Also there was another school Francis Lewis High School, Jackson High School, but they really squeezed us. They packed us into Jamaica High School, a lot of us.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1523.0,1607.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Do you think it was because LaGuardia was giving priority to Manhattan students or why was it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1607.0,1619.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I remember out of all the classes on my side of the hallway, I remember one student in my classroom, she was the only one who got chosen for LaGuardia High School. There was over 300 of us in there and all of us were sent to Jamaica High School, the majority. And I remember the first day when we had to go with our parents to go and wait outside the doors of Jamaica High School to sign up and register. I remember all the parents talking over the children and they were sharing what they heard, and that was what was going around. They were like, Oh, I heard from the guidance counselor it's because of their zip codes. So they rezoned and I just kept saying, mommy, what does that mean? And she didn't know what that meant, either. It's all new to my family, but once we got into the school and that was such a messy day, just getting into Jamaica High School, because it was like standing outside, like cat outside the door. And it was just everybody bombarding the door and waiting for the security to open up and let us in. And we eventually did hear from the school guidance counselors in Jamaica High School, that that was what the deal was. It's about being zoned, but not really breaking it down for us to really understand what that meant. It's now years later we have a better understanding of what those things meant and they just told us that, Oh, well, once you're here after a year or two, if you want to transfer out to another school and if your grades are good, you can do that. So with the kids, sometimes I know once I felt comfortable and I got to know all the other students, I didn't like to constantly switch from another place to another place. That didn't happen to me once the two years pass. I ended up just staying there, even though it wasn't the best school, because again, you just basically had everybody from IS 238 come right over to Jamaica High School, and then you had other delinquents coming from other schools. We saw some vicious fights. We had a lot of gang activity to the point where they eventually added the metal detector.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1619.0,1808.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: And constantly having police officers waiting outside. So it's funny when I speak with some of my friends now that it's almost like they don't ever really remember a lot of it because it was so normal for us. But I remember just not understanding why we have this kind of set up in our neighborhood, in our schools. So I always questioned and observed, and I always ask questions or with my teachers that they will find their ways to get out of answering a question, and asking my parents as well. But my parents never really knew how to answer those questions. So it was something that I said, no, this can't be normal. I knew that from very young.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1808.0,1870.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And what did you do in the afternoons and weekends for fun with your friends? Or, I don't know if you had a first job. What was your experience of the neighborhood?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1870.0,1882.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh yeah. I used to do a lot of volunteering at churches working with the little kids, in summer camp and Bible school camp, things like that. My first job was at age 14. I got my working papers early and I started working at Green Acres Mall. I worked at Baker's shoe store.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1882.0,1914.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Okay. Is Green Acres Mall still there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1914.0,1917.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: It's still there. A lot has changed last time I stopped by. A lot has changed, but yeah, it's still there. I worked at Baker shoe store and I remember them taking advantage of me, stealing my sales. So I quit and I started working at Burger King in Five Towns and that was pretty, pretty good for me. Yeah. That was a good experience. I did that for about two months, and then moved over to Blockbuster Video on Hillside Avenue. I really moved around.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1917.0,1972.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And what did you do for fun in the neighborhood with your friends? Did you go to the mall?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1972.0,1980.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. We did a lot of going to Green Acres Mall to watch the movies over there at Green Acres Mall. In the neighborhood, we used to hang out a lot at the library. And that was our hangout spot until you got kicked out by the security guard for making too much noise. That was every day after school.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=1980.0,2009.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Was it the branch on Merrick?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2009.0,2013.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah, because that was right around the corner from where I lived. So that was the spot. It was just like everybody was there, where you could hook up with a new boyfriend. It was just the ultimate hangout spot. And going up and down the Colosseum block where the Colosseum mall was, that was also the spot to just walk up and down where you will hear hip hop music playing or reggae music. And you will always get to hear who's the latest hip hop artist that's out. So you will be able to go and buy your cassette, getting the first sounds of that artist. Also the pizza shop was right there across from the Colosseum mall. So everybody used to go there for a pizza. Also further up the block was the beef patty and coco bread place. So it was just like everything that you liked to eat, the music, you get see everybody from all the other schools. Because everybody grew up in that neighborhood, but a lot of us may have had to go to another high school. So it was like, that was the meeting place right there on the Colosseum block. And sometimes you'd meet some of the hip hop artists. So it was just like an exciting time for us to just see who's who, and you'll come right down in the Colosseum block, like they did music videos on the Colosseum block too.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2013.0,2134.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Did you ever witness them shooting a video?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2134.0,2137.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh yeah. Wu-Tang Clan did a video there called Ice Cream. And I remember when that was there, that was just like, Oh my God. We were just so excited about that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2137.0,2158.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: You watched them filming it and stuff?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2158.0,2162.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Filming it. And everybody tried to run into the camera shots. It was fun. It was so much fun.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2162.0,2170.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: It's funny. I think someone else told me about it. Was that in the Colosseum mall that they shot it or was it outside?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2170.0,2177.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: It was inside and outside of the Colosseum mall. That was fun. That was so much fun, but yeah, those were good memories.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2177.0,2190.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Yeah. It's great. So that 165th seems like the public town square or something like—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2190.0,2198.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh, definitely. I never thought of it like that. It definitely was.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2198.0,2203.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Because I don't know, Jamaica is so intense. There's so much traffic and stuff, like having a public, an outdoor space.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2203.0,2216.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: That was like a place on the Colosseum block to just be able to stand still, but we would walk down to Jamaica Avenue every now and then, because then you had the other stores that we like to shop at. So sometimes if you had a little money in your pocket after school, you may want to go get the latest t-shirt or something from VIM or Jimmy Jazz, which was right there on Jamaica Avenue. So we would walk down there and see what sales they had. If we could get the name brand shirt, or a pair of sneakers if it was on sale. So yeah, that, that was something that you just constantly searched up and down Jamaica Avenue for. That's where your parents went shopping for you when it was the beginning of the school year. So they would take you shopping to those spots or they'll give you the money and just let you go.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2216.0,2288.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Oh, did you grow up going to a particular church? I don't know if you want to talk about any role of religion in your family?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2288.0,2299.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: My parents didn't actually take me to church. They didn't really go church themselves. On the weekends, I used to get sent to Brooklyn with my extended family members who were very much into church. So I will constantly go to BedStuy or over in Canarsie where my family members lived and go to church with them. But my parents didn't really force my sister and I to go. And as I got older, I did start going to Allen Church on Merrick Boulevard. I was a very, very prominent member of their church. I was part of their drama ministry, doing a lot of their plays and traveling, going out of state to represent the church in a lot of their plays. I also helped in things with the women's ministry, serving food during the holidays. So that was a church that was really close to my heart at a time where I felt like I was seeking church.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2299.0,2386.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: That seems like—I spoke to a pastor there. It seems like such a pillar of the community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2386.0,2395.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: It really is. That was definitely helpful. I'm still friends with many, many of the members from that church to this day, and one of the pastors as well. I look at him as my mentor who led our drama ministry. He now lives in Atlanta, but he's always been just like a big brother to me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2395.0,2420.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Do you want to say his name quickly? [inaudible]","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2420.0,2424.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Sekou Laidlow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2424.0,2425.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Can you spell that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2425.0,2429.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: S E K O U and his last name, Laidlow L A I D L O W.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2429.0,2444.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So was that when you were in high school or college?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2444.0,2447.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: That was actually college. And I was coming towards my last years of college and I was just not sure about what I wanted to do. And I was actually coming back from college into the community as a social worker, and I was confused about a lot of things. And I think that was something that really helped keep me grounded. So Minister Sekou was just so helpful because that's how I actually started Art, Food, and Soul in my community. I used to work for a nonprofit called Covenant House of New York. And we used to have—right across the street from where I lived in my building was one of the community-based centers. Now, once the recession hit, it wiped all the community-based centers out. So it was just amazing to be able to have my first social work job in my community, across the street, from where I live giving back to these children in the community that I grew up around their parents and it meant a lot to me to be able to work in the community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2447.0,2536.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: So when I was working at Covenant House, I started to do these open mic events around Thanksgiving and Christmas time that was giving me a little taste of what Art, Food and Soul would have been like later on. Because I was an artist, I was an actor. So I was constantly just, doing open mics across the boroughs and meeting with all these other artists. And I had eventually asked them if they would like to come and perform for the kids, just to give them some inspiration. And it worked out really well. Like the kids, it was a way for me to find something else for these kids to find some hobbies. It was just like, there was nothing else in the community to really do. And I noticed coming back after college, the community didn't really change much. So I was just like, wow, this is the same. It looked like the same devastation that I grew up with. And I was just like, okay, I have to be that change I wish to see. So I started doing them in my office and every time I would meet with any of my clients, I would just ask them, what are your hobbies? What do you like to do? Do you like to sing dance, rap, anything? And they just loved showing me all the things that they worked on. And then I started sharing with them, things that I write, my poetry and my stories. And then the CEO of Covenant House allowed me to just kind of do my thing with putting together these events and the kids loved it. And some of the staff started getting involved in it. So I was just like, okay, if I could do it here, then eventually I'm going to try to do this in my own community on my own.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2536.0,2670.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: And I guess I spoke so soon because the recession hit and then that's when we shut down. I felt I had no choice, but to create it and start doing it on my own. And luckily I was able to find a art gallery right off of Jamaica Avenue, on I think that's 168, Chashama art gallery.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2670.0,2698.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So you organized events. That's Chashama that comes in and they take over a commercial space that's not being rented, right?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2698.0,2709.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. Any spaces that were just kind of sitting around in the five boroughs and upstate New York, they would just take it over and they will refurbish the place and make it into an art gallery. And I was lucky to just come across that one day, walking through the blocks and I didn't see anything going on. So I just walked in and asked him, what is this, what is happening? And they said, Oh, it's an art gallery and we're trying to, you know, spruce it up and do some more things here. And I asked him if it was okay if I can bring them some foot traffic and we have some performing arts in here and they allowed me and it just took off from there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2709.0,2759.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And what was the community response to the events?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2759.0,2766.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: It was the response I expected, because we didn't really see many things happening in that area of Jamaica, Queens. I mean, we have the Jamaica Performance Arts Center. We have the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, but it was just very few things you will hear going on and not everybody heard of what was going on in those spaces. And that was something that I noticed when I would speak to people in the community. They all said the same thing. And I was just like, okay, is it just me? It's not enough. And I feel like as an artist myself, I'm constantly going out of my borough to find the places to perform or see performances. So once I put it on and I literally, I remember at that time we just had Facebook, Twitter, and I was just trying to post it then and tell people what was going on. I had flyers, I was going all around the neighborhood posting flyers and people came through. We packed the place out. So it was really, really good because it was such a small studio, but we packed the place out. It was a hot summer day, but it was okay. People were sweating, they enjoyed it. They had a good time. And I just love how it kept on going, because I remember the third event that I had there. There was this older gentleman, he was a poet and he was a poet that used to be on the streets in the neighborhood a lot. And he was known by the name Batteryman. Him and another older gentleman, Sir Shadow was the other gentleman's name. And they're a fixture in the community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2766.0,2906.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: You always saw them around, on the streets, doing little artwork or giving out pieces of poetry. And they were in the audience one day and I was getting ready to wrap up the show. I was saying my thank yous on the mic. And I remember Batteryman got up and he just started expressing just how great the atmosphere was because he was pointing out how you have the older generation in here. You have the younger generation in here. And he said, it's such a nice vibe. And that was exactly what I wanted to create because you started to see a divide in the generations, also in the races and the ethnicities. Everybody was in one room. It was just such an easygoing night that night. So he ended up serenading me with one of his poems. And it was like, I don't know if he made it up on the spot, but it seemed very fitting to just everything he just pointed out. And it was just such a beautiful night. Like it was everything that I saw in my mind's eye for the events.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2906.0,2988.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: And I didn't have any money to put these events on, but it was just like, I was really trying to make it happen however I could. Chashama allowing the doors to open for me. And I was still trying to figure out the whole business side of things at that time. I just knew I wanted to get it going. I just started it. And then I started working on the business side later and I was able to get it up and going eventually and get the business incorporated. And it started to work, but trying to be an artist and do that at the same time. And I had a day job. I never was able to give Art, Food and Soul enough attention. I wish I did pay more attention to it, but it never left my heart. So I'm actually still trying to bring it back while I'm here in Barbados, because I didn't know I had some followers here in Barbados. So I said, you know what? I would try to do some things here and maybe also come back and forth to New York and do things there again, after this whole COVID calms down. So many things have changed that made me just kind of put everything with Art, Food, and Soul on hold. Right after my father had passed away in 2016. So I just dropped everything and just gave all my attention and time to him as he was slowly passing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=2988.0,3090.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So just to get the dates down, when you talk about these early events at Chashama, these were in the early aughts, or how would you date them?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3090.0,3102.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: This was in 2011. 2011 was when I started the first one and I believe it was April, 2011.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3102.0,3116.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And can you describe the events? Were they all kind of open mic or how much did you curate them?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3116.0,3125.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah, I kind of based them on just whatever was going on at the time. Like at first they were open mic and I would have themed events. Sometimes it would be around fashion, sometimes it would be around visual arts. Another time it was around Kwanzaa holiday, where I remember I did a Kwanzaa event in the Jamaica Harvest Room. And that was with the kids from—It was a dance school. I lost the name of the dance school now, and I used to dance with this dance school as well. Oh my goodness. Francis A Rhymes [phonetic] dance school on Merrick Boulevard, Francis A Rhymes. And I have the kids from that school do an African dance performance at the Jamaica Harvest Room for Kwanzaa.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3125.0,3201.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Where is the Jamaica Harvest Room?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3201.0,3206.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Right across the street from, you know where the movie theaters are on Jamaica Avenue, the movie, the movie theaters, right by the McDonald's when you get to—what street is that? You know where the YMCA is?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3206.0,3232.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: It's okay. I'll I'll look it up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3232.0,3236.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. That's another little hangout spot also for teens. The Jamaica Harvest Room is inside of the Jamaica Harvest Center. There's a lot of little restaurants that are there, and it's a hangout spot for the teens since I was younger, still to this day. Yeah. But they have a Harvest Room right behind where people can rent it off and have events inside that space. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3236.0,3280.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So do you want to talk about how the neighborhood changed from your time growing up there to your adult life? It's a big topic, I know. We were talking the other day about a lot of the small mom and pop stores not being there anymore.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3280.0,3303.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh yeah. So many things have just changed throughout the years. Like next door to my building, my mom just reminded me. My building on Hillside Avenue right now, there's a hotel next to it. Before that hotel used to be a taxi cab stand. That was the taxi cab for like the whole area. There are stories that it was owned by mafia and that's why it eventually shut down. And the funeral home that's next door on Hillside Avenue to that hotel, that also used to be a diner that was owned by mafia. That was the gossip because the owner was found dead behind the counter. And for some reason, nobody saw, and that was a heavy populated diner all day and all night. It was like 24 hours because you had the police precinct that was not too far away. So that was their place for donuts and having just something to eat all day and night. And it was, my mom said, that were the stories going around. Like they said, it was owned by mafia, the taxi cab stand, and that diner, and it eventually shut down.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3303.0,3403.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: And then the hotel came in its place. And then the funeral home that's there, that came in 1981. And that's still there to this day. That's exactly where we had my father's funeral and many of our neighbors who passed away throughout the years. We had their funeral there, but a lot of things yeah, definitely changed in the neighborhood.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3403.0,3436.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: How do you feel about the big box stores coming in or how do you think in general people feel, or how do you feel?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3436.0,3447.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh, I have been on so many panel discussions for the community. It's not a good feeling, because I mean, we understand change has to come. The kind of change that has been discussed to come, it's just really a drastic change to the community. Because we've already seen a lot of those changes. Like when my mom talks about. She came to that community in 1979. So the places where she used to work are no longer there anymore. A lot of the whites had moved out of the community and it was a lot more immigrants moving into the community and it just changed. Like you started to see the things that were really, really nice in the community. My mom said it was just like, they started to take things away from the community. Whoever was in charge as my mom described. [inaudible]. They just started taking things away, certain resources for the neighborhood, for the community to keep it as nice as it looked when she first moved there. It just started changing. You started to see with the buildings as well. It was just like certain landlords just started to sell off the buildings to someone else. The landlord that we have till this day, it's the same thing. He took that over after his father died, but just, you can tell, there's just no care in how they maintain the building. The building is definitely falling apart. You see a lot of the mom and pop stores, they definitely left. Because there were so many bodegas around there that I used to go to when I was little with my dad, that he will go and play lotto at. And I always get a piece of candy for free from whoever the owner was. It was like, they just knew us. But times started to change. Things started to get a little more dangerous around the neighborhood. And things shut down and other businesses came in to replace them.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3447.0,3626.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: And then there's also the housing that's being built on Jamaica Ave., like the high rises.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3626.0,3634.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh yeah. Those, they were talking about that for a long time. We thought it was just talk for a long time, but, yeah, now it's coming. They also had to talked about removing some of the old houses that are on the side blocks, but they never did that. A lot of those houses I know are still sitting there. So we are not really sure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3634.0,3672.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of homeowners, right. So it's not so easy to—that's what surprised me about Jamaica is that there are these blocks of houses right kind of in the middle of everything.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3672.0,3688.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. I mean, some of those people lived in those houses for so many years. I remember one of the neighbors was bought out and—mosquitoes again, sorry—one of the neighbors was bought out and she went and moved down South. Her husband had died, her kids were grown. It was just like, you just knew her. That was her house. We always saw her there by the barbershop. And she went and took the money that the developers offered her and moved. But I guess it's desperate times as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3688.0,3742.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Did they build an apartment building on her plot or are they waiting for—?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3742.0,3749.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I think they're still waiting because I was just there in September and I still saw the house sitting there, so I'm not sure what they're waiting for.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3749.0,3762.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: I wanted to ask you about the African Poetry Theater. What role did that play in your development as an artist? What do you remember?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3762.0,3774.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I remember sometimes we used to go there on school trips to see performers talk about African history. We will see also the different sculptures that they had inside of the African Poetry Theater, because we didn't really have anything else really showing us anything African. So that was a staple in the community to be able to walk in there and see that. And then the owner. He passed away now. His son is now the owner, but the father always had so many stories to just tell you about our African history, that it was something that we didn't really know about in the community. So that was our connection.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3774.0,3843.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: And he did a lot of things for the community. Like when it came to summer youth employment, that was where all the kids had to go to sign up for summer youth employment. Like he opened his doors for that for us every summer. So it was—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3843.0,3863.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Was that a partnership with the city or was that to be employed with him?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3863.0,3871.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: No, I think it was a partnership with the city. Yeah, because we weren't employed with him. Wait some were. Yeah. Some were. So we had some who were able to have jobs inside an African Poetry Theater. Some were at nearby schools. Yeah. So we had different jobs within the neighborhood, but he used it as a space for us to be able to come and register for summer youth employment. Because I don't know if that was like an issue every summer to find where to just have all of these children sign up, because it seemed like it was constantly changing, confusing us also. But he did like a permanent spot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3871.0,3922.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Do you remember any productions that you saw there or was it kind of like poetry readings?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3922.0,3930.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/112","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I remember coming for a lot of poetry readings because I was heavy into just poetry. Yeah. So that's my memories of it. I know they had a lot more going on there, but I always used to go for like poetry readings. I remember that. Yeah, because there was another theater on Merrick Boulevard that had plays, Oh My goodness. Now I'm forgetting the name of that one. And that was also like a theater for African-American plays. They've been there, I believe since the seventies on Merrick Boulevard. Oh, goodness. I can't remember the name.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3930.0,3995.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/113","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: It's okay. Are there any other places in Jamaica center or nearby that have special meaning to you that you have a lot of memories? I know we talked about some of the places. I just like to ask people, restaurants, shops, stores. I don't know if you went to King Manor as a kid for field trips or anything, if that had any meaning to you growing up there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=3995.0,4026.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/114","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: When I was little, I never went there as a trip. I know I always played around it. That was like the spot where a lot of kids used to play outside and just wonder what this house was. But I never really knew what it was until I became an adult and got to know the man who takes care of it. But when I was small I never knew.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4026.0,4052.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/115","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Is that Roy Fox?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4052.0,4053.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/116","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. He was a feature at one of my Art, Food, and Soul events. So, both Bridget and I, we had, partnered together and did a storytelling event at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. And Roy Fox was one of our features telling story of it. So that was the first time I actually heard this story. I was just like, Oh my gosh, all these years. And now I'm learning. But, yeah, I pretty much always used to just play around the house, not knowing what it was for.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4053.0,4092.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/117","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: You went to that park a lot growing up?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4092.0,4097.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/118","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah, because we don't have really that many green spaces in the area. So, that was our green space in the area. Also up Jamaica Hills that we had the Jamaica Pond, the Hill that we will go and play at. But, yeah, we don't really have that many green spaces. So we made the most of those.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4097.0,4126.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/119","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: I don't know if there are any other places or shops, but I know you talked about some already. So.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4126.0,4134.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/120","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I know a place that we used to love to eat at was, IHOP on Hillside Avenue. That is still there to this day, thank goodness. That was the spot if my mom didn't feel like cooking dinner, because she was very adamant about us eating home-cooked Caribbean food. She was very adamant about us eating home-cooked Caribbean food. Like I wasn't really allowed to eat out a lot. So I always had to sneak to eat any outside food or my father would sneak some food in for me, but my mom was about eating home cooked meals and also me learning about my culture. So, every now and then she will let us have a chance to go and eat at IHOP on a Sunday or sometimes we would go over by—there was a diner that was also on Hillside. It's also no longer there. It's a Greek diner called Lucille's diner. That was the best diner on Hillside Avenue.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4134.0,4222.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/121","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: So it was a treat to go there. I'm sure for your mom, it was a night off from cooking.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4222.0,4228.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/122","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah. When she had a night off from cooking, and she worked hard all week. We'll get to go to Lucille's diner and get lasagna or we'll get Greek salad. I loved Greek salad and some garlic knots. That was our favorite thing, but it was always packed in there. Like that Lucille's was the spot, but, I don't know what happened after a while. I think the owner started to get sick and then they started changing the owners and now it's no longer there anymore. But that was like every week we would go there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4228.0,4277.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/123","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Did you eat the pancakes at IHOP?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4277.0,4282.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/124","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Oh yeah. Pancakes, waffles and fried chicken. Cause I always wanted to understand what was the obsession with fried chicken and waffles, since that was such an American thing to us and my mom didn't really let me eat those things, but she would let me have a taste there at IHOP. So I get to understand what the kids were talking about in school when they would go to IHOP. But, yeah, that was what taught me about my American side of my culture. So that, that was really cool. Cool memories. [inaudible] memories.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4282.0,4323.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/125","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: Okay. I'm just going to ask you, and this is optional, you know, the Queens Memory Project has been doing a COVID series, so they're asking people how they've been impacted by COVID. So would you want to just talk about that briefly?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4323.0,4342.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/126","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Sure. I mean, this year has taught me a lot. I know I kind of ran for my life when this COVID was coming. I just, I saw something was coming. I just didn't know what it was. And I know my mom, she had already left. Once my father had retired from the MTA, he had cancer and it was just getting worse and worse. So he had retired in January in 2016 and by April he passed away, and both him and my mom had planned to come back here to Barbados together and retire, but he didn't get to make it. So my mom came back and she's been here this whole time and I've been wanting to come and check on her and see that she's okay. And I think this was a good time to come so that I can also keep myself safe because the changes that I started to see in New York was frightening. It was very frightening to me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4342.0,4426.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/127","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: In what sense?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4426.0,4430.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/128","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: I'm very much an empath. So to see that—over by Elmhurst hospital. I have a lot of nurses in my family that were being called. Some who retired were being called to come and help out at Elmhurst hospital. And just to see video of just the bodies that were passing away. It was just like, what is going on here? It was just like, things just changed so drastically. And I can really, really feel as I really take on other people's emotions intensely. And I really was feeling a lot of what was going on and just that uncertainty was not making me feel comfortable. So I think me coming here to Barbados during this time was something that I needed for my mental health and my physical health, because I really have not done well with dealing with that kind of stress, seeing that happen.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4430.0,4508.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/129","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Seeing the things that were happening around me and which is pretty much why my personality is the way it is. If I don't like what I see, I'm going to make it my business to change what I see. That's who I am and I can let it get the best of me sometimes, and stress me out to the point of sickness. I went through so much in all these stories that I've told you, I can look back and smile at some of them, but some of them, it was very stressful when you see that your parents work so hard to get you to something better. And it's almost like a feeling like you're trapped in a community that you know, that you came to America to do so much better and want better for your children. But it's almost like you're trapped. And I used to get a lot of stress from that, that it used to cause me to get stress-induced seizures. And they came out of nowhere at 18 years old that I'm a mystery to doctors with that. They cannot figure it out, but they realize that every time I let stress get the most of me from what I saw going on in my community, and I'm always out there trying to do something to change it. It used to get the best of me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4508.0,4608.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/130","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: It takes a toll, I'm sure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4608.0,4612.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/131","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: Yeah, a very big toll. So I'm at a place in my life where I know how to balance it a little better. But I knew during this COVID time I had to leave and just take a break from New York for a minute and come back. Hopefully things are a little bit more calm, but I'm always, constantly speaking to my family who is still there. I have my boyfriend and my sister, my cousins, my niece, everybody is still there. And they so want to come here as well. But it's just like, some of them still have their jobs that they're able to work from home. You can't let go of that during these times.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4612.0,4660.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/132","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Samantha Inniss: So we're always trying to keep in contact with everyone to just make sure everyone's okay. And just hear what's the latest news about how to get around this COVID. So it's changed a lot. It also helped me to just see the humanity much deeper in people. And also see how it's changed people who cannot see the humanity in others. This time has me in my head a lot. Just trying to see how do we work to make the new norm something so much better than it was before. I hope I don't drive myself crazy in trying to think of how to do that, but I just feel like we all play our part in this world and that's something that we all should be thinking about right now.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4660.0,4726.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720/transcript/32156/annotation/133","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Linda Ganjian: I think it's definitely revealed a lot of inequities in our society. Is there anything else you'd like to say, have I missed anything or should we pause it there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/45810/file/123720#t=4726.0,4752.58776"}]}]}]}