Disciplines

Jewish Studies

Abstract

Andrea Brecker’s maternal grandmother came to the United States from Russia in the late 1800s, marrying on the Lower East Side. The family had been kosher butchers in the old world, and continued the tradition on the Lower East Side and when they moved to the Bronx. Her paternal family also escaped the Tsar and came to the United States in the early 1900s, moving to the East Bronx. Her grandfather was an ironworker, who helped in the construction of Temple Emanu-El. Brecker’s father was a house painter, and supported the family on a modest income on Davidson Avenue between Burnside and Tremont Avenues in the West Bronx. She describes it as a working-class neighborhood with mixed Jewish and Italian families with some Black families who were often the supers. Brecker grew up in a kosher home, lighting candles on Shabbat and celebrating the holidays at home, though they only attended synagogue on the High Holy Days. Her parents were very involved with volunteering with Jewish and Veterans groups, and she attended the local YMHA.

Brecker became friends with the few Black girls in school, fondly remembering the difference between her friend’s birthday party and the get-togethers she was accustomed to at home. She says the neighborhood got tougher as she got older, and there were turf wars between Italians and incoming Puerto Ricans and African Americans, particularly around Roosevelt, her high school. Brecker was keenly aware of racism in the Bronx even as a young person, and even more so after she married a Black man. She describes her education as subpar throughout her time in the Bronx, even attending Lehman College, but supplemented her education with reading books from the library. Brecker began working at Macy’s in high school, lying about her age, and would go on to have careers in the marketing, culinary, and non-profit spheres.

As she got older, Brecker got interested in the jazz music scene, anti-war, and feminist movements, meeting icons such as Nina Simone, Allen Ginsberg, and Gloria Steinem. While her mother cooked amazing blintzes, Brecker was trained as a chef, and became a lifelong vegetarian despite her family’s kosher butcher roots. After the 2008 recession, Brecker lost her job in marketing and struggled to find a new one, pointing to the forgotten victims of the recession who lost their jobs in their 50s and faced ageism and other restrictions in finding new ones. Today, she speaks of feelings of uncertainty and lack of safety on the streets of New York City as she gets older, though she shared negative experiences in her youth as well. Yet, Brecker points to the diversity of her upbringing and the independence of public transportation as key parts of what made her prepared for adulthood.

Keywords: race, racism, ageism, Black, Italian, Roosevelt High School, Vietnam War, feminism, jazz, employment, Russia, West Bronx, Davidson Avenue, Rockland County, education, safety

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