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Interviewee: Carline Frazier Crews

Interviewers: Stephen Payne

Summary by Emma Garr

January 13, 2022

Disciplines

African American Studies | Public History

Abstract

Carline Frazier Crews’s interview with the Bronx Historical Society’s Director, Stephen Payne, is a captivating collection of stories from diverse racial and economic backgrounds. Born and raised in New York City, by plantation workers from South Carolina, her blend of southern history and city education made for an interesting upbringing that would empower her throughout her life.

A self-proclaimed “thinker,” Crews was labeled an exceptional student in junior high. Although her parents, who lacked a high school education and the ability to read and write, disagreed with her pursuit of education, she was forced by her father to drop out of school before the tenth grade. Having attended predominantly white elementary and high school was a pivotal experience for Crews, who endured “go back where you came from” comments daily. These were especially frequent when she attended the predominantly white (Jewish and Italian) Christopher Columbus High School on Pelham Parkway. Despite not being allowed to finish high school, Crews carries a monumental amount of wisdom, particularly on experiences related to race. She talks of these relations in the interview, describing the many terms for African Americans, which she expositorily reminds us, “I am not African American, I do not know anybody from Africa. All of my people came here in the bottom of the boat, and I am an empress from the slave world,” ([19:57-20:09]). Often circling back to familial history, Crews possess a considerable pride in their family’s long history in the United States, as enslaved people on Southern plantations.

After high school, Crews found herself working in public service. Beginning with welfare, she helped families complete forms for rent or other government aid. Then, recalling the five-year grant for employees in the mental health sector, she landed a job at Lincoln Hospital in 1965. Patients were assessed or assigned to her, many of whom were Black, as other staff weren’t as comfortable with Black patients. She remembers certain patients, a schizophrenic woman she would care for, and a man with erectile dysfunction that she would solve, and then be courted by for a date. These complex patients were no problem, though, as she remarks, “I’m not afraid of anything, I never was afraid of anything,”([38:01-40:09]). Until being let go due to budget cuts years later, Crews enjoyed her impactful work and the tight-knit group of coworkers at Lincoln Hospital.

Crews would go on to get married, ultimately unsuccessfully, have other relationships with men, and bear two sons. Struggles to make ends meet were scary, but her retelling of these times shows resilience and a respect for the demanding situations she was placed in, such as a fight with her working husband, who did not want to take the two young kids, even though she had no house for them. She ends her interview by recounting difficulties with the healthcare system herself, including issues with various injuries and diabetes. This interview is a testament to her strength and the value of her background, which provided the integrity that Carline Frazier Crews harnessed to help the lives of Lincoln Hospital patients.

Link to Video Recording: https://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/baahp/id/70/rec/13

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