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Interviewee: Denise Oliver-Vélez

Interviewer: Stephen Payne

Summary by Emma Garr

August 11, 2021

An astounding sequel to the first stories of Denise Oliver-Vélez, this interview (part 2) by Bronx Historical Society (BHS) Director, Stephen Payne, is an example of exemplary storytelling. Jumping through different times in her life, this interview touches on many details. These include early impressions of the Bronx, experiences with travel as a young activist, and advice for future generations of change-makers.

Though Oliver-Vélez would find herself frequenting the Bronx in her years as a member of both the Young Lords Party (YLP) and the Black Panther Party (BLP), she first understood the borough only as “a scary place to go” [(06:22)]. Since a sixth-grade assembly at P.S. 116 in Queens, the reality of gang presence–notably the Fordham Baldies–consumed these impressions. As she grew up, attending Hunter College’s Arts campus in the Bronx, these negative stereotypes were exemplified in the behavior of boys from Dewitt Clinton High School. These young men markedly made the train rides uptown uncomfortable. After an afternoon with famed civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, Oliver-Vélez was inspired to withdraw from Hunter College and continue working for the YLP, where she would meet activists like Yuri Kochiyama, an unforgettable, “amazingly intersectional” voice that would prove a more fitting teacher than those in the classrooms Oliver-Vélez left behind ([15:12]).

This time spent immersing herself in varying ethnic perspectives and community organizing with the YLP and the BLP would be cut short by factions in both formations. First, the YLP would dissolve over decisions on moving the platform to Puerto Rico, to aid in independence efforts. Disappointed in this move and disheartened by the racism and stereotyping in Puerto Rico, Oliver-Vélez moved onward, focusing her energy toward the BLP. Before its eventual fracturing into east and west coast chapters–leading to the fragmentation of the group altogether–Oliver-Vélez was asked to attend trips through Africa, specifically Algeria, with the Party. Little background about the trip itinerary was given, and even less money was personally possessed, but she somehow found and made her way to Africa. A wise decision, her travels would lead her into rooms of cerebral political discourse. Even more exceptional were her experiences that would follow in France and other parts of Europe, especially interactions with James Bladwin and the late wife of Richard Wright, among others.

Returning to New York City, racial aggression and the targeting of left-leaning radicals by the FBI were rampant. The African American Liberation Army, referred to as the Black Liberation Army by the police, was under fire and held close ties to the BLP. So, it was equally astounding, surprising, and sensible when two fugitives from the organization showed up at Oliver-Vélez’s door one morning. The men, seeking a hiding place after false accusations of murder, needed somewhere to stay. Nearly giving up, she realized they could stay in the Bronx with a cousin, and while other arrests continued, “the most wanted men in America were in the Bronx helping babysit and hang wallpaper” ([46:47]). After these hideaways, Oliver-Vélez’s early impressions of the Bronx were given a much-needed readjustment.

Similar to her early life, another lesson of intersectionality, or the overlapping struggles and solutions for minority rights, proved pertinent for fights against unjust incarceration. One day, Oliver-Vélez herself had to hide from police. The smartest solution, at the time, was to stay on the west side with old Howard University friends, who happened to be “flaming queens” as Oliver-Vélez puts it ([52:03]). These drag queens would help hide her and two friends. Even more, they would prove to both men the power and validity of the gay community.

Every bit of chaos Oliver-Vélez embraced should have earned her the vacation of a whole other lifetime, but instead, she moved to Washington, D.C. to become the first Black female program director in public radio; at WPFV. She would then work for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, head the Black Filmmaker Foundation, and return to NYC to get her degree from Fordham University. This epic return to the Bronx was soon followed by a move upstate, to teach as a professor of Women's Studies and Anthropology at SUNY New Paltz.

Denise Oliver-Vélez not only has one of the most remarkable lives to be recorded for both the BHS and Bronx African-American History Project archives, she also possesses a beautiful spirit, simplicity, and generosity in her personality. It would be expected for a person of such prowess to sound the part and be hard to comprehend in all her sophistication. Despite deserving this podium, Oliver-Vélez’s life is a testament to the power that lies in understanding others, rather than acting above them. In finishing an exceptional interview, she makes sure to leave a piece of advice to future communities and those attempting to connect others: “If your grandmother can’t understand what you're talking about, you failed” ([1:01:08]).

Disciplines

African American Studies | Public History

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