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Oral history interview with Ralma Blake

Anacostia Community Museum

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.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1712088000981-1712088003373-1
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7372a4849-90bc-438f-872e-80dc2c54a89b

Related Content

  • Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records

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