Posted by Sherry Bouldin Bailey on November 11, 1998 at 09:14:09:
In Reply to: Re: Follow up:Johnny Reb posted by Lena Henry (harris) on October 21, 1998 at 05:11:17:
: : : It was the first warm spring day after a cold winter, and we were all hanging out in full force in the circle, spilling out onto the Wortman sidewalk. It was about 8 in the evening when they came, Johnny, Sandy, Ralphie "Meatball", and the rest of the ENY "hitter face crew". Jimmy Larkin and Clipper added their support. There must have been at least 150-200 of us milling about. It was probably around 1968, the final peak and near end of the white population in ENY. From where I was standing, I could hear loud and angry voices forcing those spilling out of the circle and onto the avenue back into the circle which was surrounded by a fence. It was as if we were cows being forced into a corral. It wasn't very long before there was complete quiet and Sandy began to speak. You could hear a pin drop between pauses. He was raving on in some paranoid frenzy about some Puerto Ricans or Blacks, I can't remember, that we were supposed to get before they got us. The thing was that nobody really knew any of those people he was talking about. I think they lived on the other side of Linden Blvd. where few of us ever went, except maybe to walk to the New Lots train station. But the funny thing was that after he was through speaking, and of course threatening us with our own life if we didn't help out to get them, we had some vague sense for a few moments that soon we had to do the right thing and honor our race by going after these people that no one knew or cared about. For many of us the only people we wanted to pursue were the ones who were selling the best white opiated hashish. I recall the person standing next to me saying, we needed to hear that, we needed to have someone snap us out of our doldrums and activate us to do this honorable deed and smash some black or Puerto Rican over the head with a baseball bat. Some people, perhaps many, were convinced, if only for a few minutes, that we should stop standing around and join them in their quest to defend our integrity, race and territory. If the man had nothing he had charisma.
: : : I thought about that from time to time, if Sandy reb hadn't been such a bully, filled with anger and hate, he may have accomplished much in his life. Instead he was destined for trouble.
: Gary?
: Lived there all my life and had only positive racial experiences. Perhaps the few blacks/hispanic/asians there, were unaware of those feelings. Lived there from 1952-1970 and thankfully, never saw this side of the projects even though I knew it existed. Guess that's why many of the ex-project dwellers have more racial understanding than most.
Sherry Bouldin
I do not remember all but I do remember the NEW LOTS BOYS they usually fought among themselves. I had a very positive experience. Lena Henry 295 Cozine Right? Brother named Leo,sister named Carol? I agree with Gary I just loved growing up in Linden it made me who I am today. I live in Staten Island and teach in East flatbush and the kids that i teach cant even begin to understand the experience of growing up in a multicultural society. That is why there is so much violence and hate now..I am very frustrated with the myth that Blacks and Whites can not get along....because it happened so beautifully in the East New York of bygone days.