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The West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records

Call Number

2010.019

Dates

1993-1996, inclusive
; 1994-1995, bulk

Creator

Brooklyn Historical Society (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

Extent

28 Gigabytes in 288 files, total running time: 30 hours, 15 minutes, 57 seconds; 5.0 linear feet in 9 boxes

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Abstract

This collection includes research materials, oral histories, and photographs collected through the West Indian Carnival Documentation Project, undertaken by Brooklyn Historical Society in the mid-1990s. The project attempted to supplement existing scholarship with oral histories done with members of the West Indian community and Carnival participants.

Historical Note

The West Indian Carnival tradition in New York City stems from private gatherings and parties held in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1920s, typically in February. In the 1940s, an outdoor street festival began taking place on 7th Avenue in Harlem, organized by Trinidadian Jessie Wattle. In 1967, the Carnival was moved to Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn following a disturbance that led to its street permit being revoked in Manhattan. At this same time, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA) was founded. The Association was run by Trinidadian Carlos Lezama from 1967 until 2001, and was later headed by his daughter, Yolanda Lezama-Clark. With Thomas Bailey serving as President since 2012, the West Indian Carnival in Brooklyn is now one of the largest outdoor street festivals in North America.

Carnival activities begin on the Thursday before Labor Day and continue through Monday, concluding with the parade itself. Other events and activities include a steel band competition and a Kiddie Carnival. The parade itself takes months of preparation from each masquerade camp or "mas," which designs its own elaborate and colorful costumes around a central theme and competes for prizes with the other camps. Parade participants are accompanied by various musical groups and styles, as well as food vendors, brought together to celebrate pan-Caribbean culture.

The Brooklyn Historical Society launched The West Indian Carnival Documentation Project in 1994 in cooperation with the West Indian American Day Carnival Association and the Brooklyn Museum with a goal of supplementing existing photographs and histories of the event with personal narratives and life histories of Carnival participants. Those involved with the project attempted to get different viewpoints within the hierarchy of Carnival organization and participation. The oral histories, photographs and resources that make up this collection were compiled by a team including two community researchers, photographers from local Caribbean publications, graduate student assistants, scholarly advisors and a community advisory committee primarily made up of WIADCA members. Staff for this project included Dwandalyn Reece King (Chief Curator), Michael Roberts (Interviewer), Joyce Quamina (Research Assistant), Megan McShea (Project Assistant), Maureen Mahon (Project Fieldworker) and Kristen Elmquist (Project Fieldworker).

Arrangement

The West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records were largely kept in their original order. Series were formed based on format. The oral history transcripts, tapes, and digitized audio are arranged alphabetically. Each folder of photographs represents one reel of film and the photos remain in the order in which they were taken and developed. The folders are organized chronologically. The research materials are located in three boxes, the third of which contains oversized materials. The first two boxes are arranged alphabetically.

The collection is organized into the following four series. Series 1: Oral histories consists of digitized oral history interview recordings of most of the interviews. Series 2: Oral history transcripts includes transcripts and cassette tapes of most of the interviews. The interview with Wesley Millington does not have a transcript. The Debra Holland interview was not preserved. Interview abstracts are located in the "Summaries" folder in box 2.

Many of the topics and people discussed in the oral history interviews are also represented in Series 3: Photographs. When available, these are included in the folder title as well as the series scope and content note. The photos document the Parade itself, in addition to the organizers and participants, costumes, music, instruments, rehearsals and Carnival preparation in general. Though the majority of the series is made up of 4 x 6 color prints, there are also some corresponding negatives, contact sheets, and a few larger prints.

Series 4: Research materials is made from what was gathered and generated through the documentation project. The materials relate directly to the West Indian Carnival in Brooklyn, as well as to Carnivals in London and Trinidad. They also describe the pan-Caribbean community in and outside of Brooklyn. This series includes magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, articles, bibliographies and resource lists, and ephemeral materials.

Scope and Contents

The West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records include photographs, oral histories (audio and transcripts), publications and research, and ephemeral materials relating to the Carnival and the project itself. The materials were collected and created within the context of a documentation project undertaken by the Brooklyn Historical Society in 1994, which later culminated in an exhibition. Exhibition materials are not included in the collection.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers with varied restrictions according to narrator agreement. Oral histories can be accessed onsite at the Brooklyn Historical Society's Othmer Library and online on the Oral History Portal. Exhibition research materials are open to researchers upon request and are accessible onsite at the Othmer Library.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of the oral histories other than for private study, scholarship, or research requires the permission of BHS. Please see the Oral History Note for guidelines on using Brooklyn Historical Society's oral history collections. For assistance, please consult library staff at library@brooklynhistory.org.

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for oral histories: [Narrator Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer First name Last name], [Month day, YYYY], West Indian Carnival Documentation Project oral histories, [Object ID]; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Preferred citation for research materials, papers, and photographs: Identification of item, date (if known); West Indian Carnival Documentation Project papers, 2010.019, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The oral histories, photographs, and resources that make up this collection were compiled by a team including two community researchers, photographers from local Caribbean publications, graduate student assistants, scholarly advisors and a community advisory committee primarily made up of WIADCA members. Staff for this project included Dwandalyn Reece King (Chief Curator), Michael Roberts (Interviewer), Joyce Quamina (Research Assistant), Megan McShea (Project Assistant), Maureen Mahon (Project Fieldworker) and Kristen Elmquist (Project Fieldworker). Most recordings and transcripts were digitized in 2011.

Separated Materials

Personal documents relating to the documentation project team and hiring process were separated from the collection and added to the administrative files at Brooklyn Historical Society.

Related Archival Materials

In addition to this collection, Brooklyn Historical Society has oral history collections and other records related to the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

- The Crown Heights History Project collection includes thirty-three interviews conducted from 1993 to 1994. (1994.006)

- The Listen to this: Crown Heights Oral History collection includes forty-three interviews conducted in 2010 (2010.020)

- Eastern Parkway Coalition records, 1952-2007 (2007.016)

- 959 Park Place Tenants' Association records (1978.009)

For more information on these collections please visit our onlinefinding aid portal.

Related collections located elsewhere include:

- The Daphne Weeks Collection, 1993-1994 at the New York Public Library (Sc MG 741)

- Institutional files related to the West Indian American Day Carnival Association at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Oral History note

Oral history interviews are intimate conversations between two people, both of whom have generously agreed to share these recordings with the Brooklyn Historical Society archives and with researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. Researchers will understand that:

1. The Brooklyn Historical Society abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association (2009) and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.

2. Every oral history relies on the memories, views and opinions of the narrator. Because of the personal nature of oral history, listeners may find some viewpoints or language of the recorded participants to be objectionable. In keeping with its mission of preservation and unfettered access whenever possible, BHS presents these views as recorded.

3. Transcripts created prior to 2008 serve as a guide to the interview and are not considered verbatim. The audio recording should be considered the primary source for each interview. It may contain natural false starts, verbal stumbles, misspeaks, repetitions that are common in conversation, and other passages and phrases omitted from the transcript. This decision was made because BHS gives primacy to the audible voice and also because some researchers do find useful information in these verbal patterns.

4. Unless these verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator's speech while editing the material for the standards of print.

Collection processed by

Margaret Fraser and Brett Dion

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:20:13 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding Aid written in English

Processing Information

The West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records were processed by Margaret Fraser in 2010. West Indian Carnival Documentation Project oral histories were processed by Nilaja Troy and Brett Dion in 2016. The series of oral histories were processed to the item level. Due to privacy concerns, the specific dates of birth of all narrators or other named individuals were redacted from the digitized transcripts and audio recordings.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201