Oral history interview with Ralma Blake
Object Details
- General
- Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
- Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
- Interviewer
- Walters, Ann A.
- Creator
- Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940
- Names
- Blake, Ralma
- Collection Creator
- Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
- Place
- Jamaica
- Washington (D.C.)
- United States
- Topic
- Caribbeans
- Businesspeople
- Emigration and immigration
- Manners and customs
- Child rearing
- Discipline of children
- Language and languages
- Family-owned business enterprises
- Grocery trade
- Akee
- Community organization
- Rastafarians
- Mento (Music)
- Stereotypes (Social psychology)
- Interviews
- Interviewer
- Walters, Ann A.
- Creator
- Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940
- Culture
- Jamaicans
- West Indians
- See more items in
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 3: Oral History Interviews
- Sponsor
- Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
- Extent
- 5 Digital files
- 4 Sound cassettes
- Date
- 1992 December 17
- Archival Repository
- Anacostia Community Museum Archives
- Type
- Archival materials
- Digital files
- Sound cassettes
- Citation
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
- Collection Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Note
- The total playing time of interview recording is approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. ACMA_AV002474_A is a duplicate of ACMA_AV002472_A. ACMA_AV002391_A contains clips of ACMA_AV002471_A, ACMA_AV002471_B, and/or ACMA_AV002472_A; the clips begin at about 09:40 after clips of Sarah Thiero's interview.
- Scope and Contents
- Ralma Blake spoke of his childhood in Jamaica; his parents and the disciplinarian in the family; his siblings; the music he grew up on, mainly mento; and stories his parents told him. He also spoke of his migration to the United States, things that surprised him upon his arrival in the US, his first jobs, and communicating with family and friends in Jamaica. Note, Blake has dual citizenship in Jamaica and the United States. Blake spoke about his children, born in Jamaica and raised in the United States; instilling Jamaican culture in his children; raising and disciplining his children; family meals and saying grace; and the importance of family, and maintaining and passing down Jamaican culture and heritage. Blake discussed maintaining Jamaican culture, including visiting other Jamaicans, holidays, traditions, and language, specifically Patois; Jamaicans, particularly children, being ridiculed for how they speak; and greetings and addressing people. Blake detailed the opening and managing of a West Indian, Caribbean, African food store called Carnation Market; how his store was a community space for people to gather; building and supporting Jamaican community, including popularizing Jamaican coffee and employing Jamaicans; how the community has changed; popular Jamaican food items in his store; why ackee is illegal in the United States; and the possible future of his family owned store. Blake also spoke about the media's perception of Jamaicans; Marcus Garvey; visiting Jamaica and what he brings back to the US with him; his nicknames; his record collection; how Jamaican and Rastafarian communities influence people in the US; Jamaicans as entrepreneurs; future of the Jamaican community; and his intention to move back to Jamaica. Ralma Blake was interviewed by Ann A. Walters. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include loud white noise and static, some sound interferences and distortions, and some background noise. Interviewee's voice is intelligible for the most part.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
- Record ID
- ebl-1712088000981-1712088003373-1
- Metadata Usage
- CC0