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Kenneth ClarkKenneth Clark
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Session:         Page of 763

Clark:

Yes. She felt, very strongly and rightly, that the workers weren't getting a fair shake, and that the ILGWU was going to be the instrument by which this injustice could be righted-- until she found out that they could be perpetrators of injustice, and racial injustice. Then she became bitter.

Q:

Going back to the Garvey movement for an instant, do you recall if your mother habbored any hopes for going to Africa herself at any time?

Clark:

No! No. She was also very practical. She saw this as, I think, primarily a psychological boost, a basis for pride and assertion, on the part of blacks, that they did not have to accept inferior status. But in terms of -- she was quite contented to stay right here, and see her children go through college, and --

Q:

Can you recall anything more about her reaction to feelings against West Indian blacks, here in Harlem?

Clark:

Now, tell me, why did you ask that question?

Q:

I think that I'm trying to get at some of the history of the conflict between native-born blacks and West Indian blacks, which came as a surprise to me, as a white, when I started covering the streets of Harlem.

Clark:

Q:

Which was when?

Q:

I can tell you, my first real visit to Harlem was the Saturday before the 1958 primary, that -- when Adam Powell was challenged for re-nomination. And it was after that, with my meetings, mostly with Ray Jones (J. Raymond Jones) -- but then, as I got





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