ABSTRACT
ORAL HISTORIES SERVED AS THE RICHEST SOURCE OF INFORMATION I collected while engaged in field research in Harlem. Everyone I spoke with had a captivating story and although each person had a unique and, in a few cases, even unusual experience to share, a wide range of individuals touched upon similar themes in conveying their pasts and those of their kin. Familial experiences with migration, poverty, and racism were among the commonalities discussed by the Harlemites I met regardless of gender, class, age, or place of origin.
