Denise Berry, Tonya Cauley, Sabrina Spurlock Interview, September 14, 2019

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:00:05.370 --> 00:02:46.220 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Denise Berry, Tonya Cauley, and Sabrina Spurlock on September 14, 2019 during the Celebrate Petworth Festival. In this clip, the women discuss how they know each other and their early memories of Petworth. SUBJECTS: 2019 Celebrate Petworth Festival; Petworth (Washington, D.C.); Shepherd Street (Washington, D.C.); 5th Street (Washington, D.C.)

It is September 14, 2019. We are at the Celebrate Petworth Festival. Could you tell me your name?

My name is Denise Berry.

My name is Tonya Cauley.

Sabrina Spurlock.

How long have you all been living in the neighborhood?

We've been living in the neighborhood all our lives. Yes, in Petworth neighborhood.

Did you guys know each other all your lives?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Tell me how you met.

Well, we all went to Petworth Elementary School before it became a police precint. We went to McFarland Elementary, Roosevelt High School. And our family members have been around for forever.

And you guys were all in the same class?

No, different grades. We all lived on the same block.

We all lived on the 4800 block.

And I now live on 5th and Shepherd.

Yeah, just around the corner.

Yeah, just around the corner.

Her mother was my babysitter.

Tell me, what were your earliest memories of the neighborhood?

Before, when we were younger on 5th Street, it was a two way street. We had trees lined up and down 5th Street. Cars parking up and down. Now as the years go on, we only got a one way street. Less cars. Still wonderful neighbors. We have new neighbors moving in, you know. Everything is changing. It's not the same. So lovely block. Never had any problems. We all have dogs that we love. We know everybody -- everybody knows us, especially this lady right here (points to Sabrina Spurlock).

Oh yeah, we all look out for one another.

Oh yeah. We're like a family. We grew up like that.

You guys look like sisters. Do you still live in the neighborhood?

I don't. But my parents do. They're still on Shepard Street. Yes.

Yes we do.

And my mother, he's been on 5th Street for about 67 years. She's the only original neighbor that's left. She's in her high 90 to 95. So she's about the only one left that got the original group. Yes.

And my grandmother, she lived on Fifth and Shepherd for 95 years. And she passed last year. So my parents still have the house. And we still communicate, you know, with the neighbors because we're like a family. This is my cousin (leans over towards Sabrina Spurlock). We found out afterwards.

I was one of the persons born in Washington Hospital before they rebuilt it. I've been living around that way for about 60 years.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:02:47.390 --> 00:05:49.530 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Denise Berry, Tonya Cauley, and Sabrina Spurlock on September 14, 2019 during the Celebrate Petworth Festival. In this clip, the women discuss how what they did for fun as children in Petworth. SUBJECTS: Petworth (Washington, D.C.); Rock Creek Park (Washington, D.C.); Upshur Street (Washington, D.C.); It Takes a Village

So what was your childhood like? What would you do to play? For fun?

I was a tomboy.

We'd play tag. Chase each other. Girls chased the boys. Boys chased the girls.

Double dutch (jump roping). I was different. I played my piano. I've been a musician ever since I was four years old. So I was mainly into my music. And I like to like climb the trees. I like to play with my cousin and we would climb up on my dad's gate because he had one of those high gates, and we would jump down just in the alley just to see the strength that we had as girls, you know, tomboyish a little bit. We jogged to Rock Creek Park. We walked to Rock Creek Park like it's nothing. Oh, yeah. All our life. We've been around.

The corner stores used to have the penny candy.

Yes.

They no lonoger have penny candy.

Yes, yes.

We'd go down with five cents and come back with all this candy.

Yes.

It was wonderful.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. The best candy in the world. And I was a bubble gum blower! Oh my god. I could eat the whole machine of bubblegum. Oh, yes. And you know the things they play... What is the red and black board game?

Checkers.

I use to take the checkers. So you could take that and put it into bubblegum machine and get a bubble gum. Oh, we learned a lot of stuff.

I didn't know about that one.

We learned a lot of stuff. That was just fun. And you know, kids going to be kids regardless of how you bring them up. We still going to be kids. So we never got in trouble. We were always a family. We always kept the community clean. We never had gunshots and fights and you know, just the stuff that's going on today. This is the difference because we can never close Upshur street. Oh, honey, this is something new to me. I'm 59 years old. I'm the baby of the group.

I'm next.

So she's next and then she comes in. So I mean, it was beautiful. We went to Petworth. At Petworth (elementary) I was a music teacher. And, go to kindergarten first, and I was a music teacher since kindergarten. And that was my life and I got along with everybody. We all did. You know, she's the oldest but she would teach us right from wrong.

And I'm the oldest she don't get in trouble.

She's beautiful. She's beautiful.

We used to be able to walk to school. Walk home from school. Mothers didn't have to worry about anything. We didn't have to lock our doors.

Oh, honey. Yes.

If I did something wrong, her mother would know first. Everybody knew what was going on.

Yes, yes. Yes.

You couldn't do anything crazy, because of before you get home. . .

Oh, you gonna get it. Yes.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:05:50.950 --> 00:06:56.610 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Denise Berry, Tonya Cauley, and Sabrina Spurlock on September 14, 2019 during the Celebrate Petworth Festival. In this clip, the women discuss businesses they remember from early Petworth. SUBJECTS: Petworth (Washington, D.C.); Georgia Avenue (Washington, D.C.); Local businesses

You said the candy shop. What are other important stores you remember in the area?

I only remember that one.

We only had the corner store That's the only store I can...

There was the cleaners...

And China America was down here. And I'm gonna tell you something that they took down. You used to get the best french fries at Jaime's on Upshur Street. And Little Tavern was our favorite store in the world... 25 cents for burger. Oh god yes. And the Super Chef was on Georgia Avenue? Yes. We used to have the best stores.

We had to walk down to Georgia Avenue...[inaudible] We used to stop there on the way home from school to get french fries.

Oh yes.

And there was a Mexican restaurant we used to go do down the street.

Oh, yeah. Oh my God, I forgot about that one.

[inaudible]

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:07:02.020 --> 00:07:33.600 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Denise Berry, Tonya Cauley, and Sabrina Spurlock on September 14, 2019 during the Celebrate Petworth Festival. In this clip, the women discuss Georgia Avenue Day. SUBJECTS: Petworth (Washington, D.C.); Georgia Avenue (Washington, D.C.); Georgia Avenue Day; Caribbean heritage

We used to have parades! y'all remember that? Oh my god. Georgia Avenue Day. They stopped that.

Tell us about Georgia Avenue Day.

Georgia Avenue Day was for Caribbean.

They started up at Missouri Avenue and went all the way down to the Banneker rec center. They had music and food out. People would come out and sit on their front. Music would go down and the dancers and singers. It was beautiful.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:07:34.650 --> 00:13:16.230 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Denise Berry, Tonya Cauley, and Sabrina Spurlock on September 14, 2019 during the Celebrate Petworth Festival. In this clip, the women discuss how everyone in the community takes care of each other.. SUBJECTS: Petworth (Washington, D.C.); It Takes a Village

Would you play music?

In my basement, not out here because it wasn't like that then. When I was young, I was shy more than likely. We had the most beautiful, like the lady there (pointing to someone off camera). You talk about a beautiful person. Someone to help you, to raise you. While mother was never around or dad. We had neighbors like this young lady. Here to really teach us really was about.

Come over and say hi (summons person off camera).

I love her so much. This is the mother of this block here. This is the best woman that you can ever, ever talk to. I love her so much. (The woman steps on-screen, behind the women being interviewed.) And we she really raised a lot of us, you know, and we are so blessed, and we're thankful to God. Because guess what, we're still here to see another life. You know, it's not about us no more. We have to help the community to get back what we had, you know, and it's so important. And if they all pay attention, and really realize you're not promised to tomorrow. So this is happening for a reason. It's not about who's down here. It's about what we can do to help the community as a group, because one person can't do it. We all have to you know, Like they said, hang together, we hold on to each other. And we love each other as sisters and brothers. This is the way God planned it, you know. As we got older, with things happen, different things change. We got in trouble, we learned from trouble. And we realize what we really, really have here. You know, as a community, things will never be the same. But we could get it close, at least close, if everybody could just get along and help one another. It's not about racial. It's not about who has what.

It's about helping and you know what I really want to change? We have a lot of people out here that's hungry. We let it have a lot of people out here that on drugs. I'm not blaming these people, because it's not their fault. If you could point your finger, you're really pointing at yourself. So we can really get in and really help people without condemning them without putting them out on the street or calling the police. Help them before you call the police. See what the problem was. We won't have so many gun shootings around here. And if you can really think they said that the community of blacks and I'm not racial, but it's the truth. They're dying. They're going like every second every minute, every hour. The thing is, when all this new stuff started happening, they forgot about this. We were here first. Just because we were here, we don't own anything. But all we asked everybody to do just get along. Just help us you know as one team because everybody don't have the money to buy a house. Everybody can't afford a car. You know, I'm saying not in this area. Back in the days you can buy a house... two houses. Now that things have changed. You know, they they changed us. What do they expect out of us? If you want the things that they need in this lifetime, you got to realize you have to step back just a little bit. You can't get big headed because you have the money and you overrule the world. Only God overruled the world. You know, but we can't own anything. All we can do is communicate. In a communication, we could get along. You'd be surprised how Shepard Street from Teller Street from Upshur Street to Randolph Street to Barnard Street. How can we make this thing work? Guess what, keep doing this. It keep putting notes in people's doors, let them know. We love you. Love is more important than money. Happiness, helping the poor person. If a guy's drunk on the street, guess what? Pick him up. He's drunk for a reason he's hurting. He doesn't have a job. We might not be able to give him a job. But guess what we could give him? We can get him some help. It's nothing like helping somebody you know. And that's all I just say. My name is Tonya Cauley. Thanks for sharing. I will come back all you do is ask for my help, because God planted this way. Thank you.

Thank you. We enjoyed it.

And I love everybody. They'll tell you the ones that know me. I love everybody. Everybody. I don't have to know you. But I love you because you're human beings you bleed like me. You cry like me, you know, you don't use the bathroom like me, but it's okay. We still human, you know, I'm saying and we need to learn how to help each other because it's a rough road. And one day, I believe this one day, it's going to be a war. And then that war we don't have no choice but to help each other. Cuz everybody don't have kids, but the ones who do have them... you can't grab 100 kids at one time, you will have to have a neighbor. You might be hungry, you might be locked out your house, but you're going to need a neighbor put something this is a drink of water or eat bread. It's something and it's just love. That's all. Thank you.

Thank you. I really appreciate your time.