Arnold Carter

Description

Arnold Carter was born in the Bronx, but raised in Crown Heights by his godmother after his parents passed away when he was 9 and 10 years old. His parents were from Virginia. Ronald Carter grew up on Lincoln Place between Franklin and Bedford. He remembers fun times with his friends growing up, going to Coney Island, the World Fair in Queens, and just hanging out in the neighborhood. He also remembers being challenged by a white group of youth from Underhill/Classon streets in the St. Theresa’s Church Playground. The white kids had zip guns so the Black kids ran away. He remembers going to parties with no less than 15-20 guys. He remembers the neighborhood being at least 65% white when he was growing up. He attended St. Theresa’s Junior High School in Crown Heights and Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens. He remembers being bused into Queens and the whites in the area chasing and throwing bats at the school bus, and needing protection from the National Guard. While at school he felt safe, but remembers feeling anxious coming and leaving school. He attended John Jay College after high school. After working odd jobs for UPS and FedEx, he decided to go into Corrections. He remembers the devastation of drugs in the Black community in the 1960s and 1970s, Vietnam, and the many assassinations of the 1960s. He was a victim of police brutality in 1977: plainclothes white cops entered his home and he was assaulted and...

From Collection

2016 Weeksville Heritage Center Oral History Series