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Library

Mamoun Alamin

June 16, 2014

|

Hudson, NY

Song

Recorded by

Mary Ellen Lennon

This interview is available in-person only. Please get in touch if you would like to listen.
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Summary:

This interview with Mamoun Alamin was recorded in Hudson, New York on June 16, 2014 at 10 pm in Mr. Alamin’s store after it closed for the evening. Mamoun Alamin was born in the Sudan and immigrated to the United States where he met his wife. They have four children, live in Hudson and own two stores: a dry goods market (“Warren Street Discount”) next door to a small corner grocery store (“bodega”), both on Warren Street. In the two audio files making up the interview, some of the subjects include: his life in the Sudan and decision to move, Islam, reflection on “the American dream,” his children’s names and their meanings, arranged marriages, gardens and gardening, New York City, taxi driving, reflections on war, “coincidence,” human nature and the meaning of a “good life.”

This interview—full of poetic reflections on goodness vs. greed--will interest people curious about the experiences of an African immigrant in New York as well as those who enjoy a good love story.

Themes:
Business Ownership
,
Immigration
,
New York City
,
Warren Street
,
Black Experience
,
Parenting
,
Islam
,
Interviewer Bio:
Mary Ellen Lennon

Mary Ellen Lennon is a history professor in Indiana who grew up in Queens, New York. A student in the Oral History Summer School, she has been moved by the stories shared by the generous and deeply thoughtful people of Hudson.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
,
Audio quality:
Medium

Audio Quality Scale

Low - There is some background noise and the narrator is hard to hear.

Medium - There is background noise, but the narrator is audible.

High - There is little background noise and the narrator is audible.

Permissions: 

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please click here to inquire about permissions.

Part of this interview may be played in a radio broadcast or podcast.

Oral history is an iterative process. In keeping with oral history values of anti-fixity, interviewees will have an opportunity to add, annotate and reflect upon their lives and interviews in perpetuity. Talking back to the archive is a form of “shared authority.”

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