

Janetta Pegues & Allen Schwartz Joint Interview

In this oral history, narrators Janetta and Allen share their memories of growing up in public housing and life on Taylor Street. With varying timelines and viewpoints of their homes, the narrators take turns sharing how things in Jane Addams varied between the 40 year time span shared between the two.
Janetta Pegues & Allen Schwartz Joint Interview
Content Warnings: None
Audio Quality Notes: Audio quality is good! A little bit of echoey-ness given the small room in which the interview took place.
At a Glance
Public Housing Residency: Jane Addams Homes, ABLA, aka “The Village”
Themes: gentrification, neighborhood change, racial equity, community
Content Warnings: None
Primary time periods: 1940s–1980s
Primary locations: Near West Side, Chicago, “The Village” aka ABLA
Keywords: school, friends, family, “the projects”, neighborhood change, gardening, memory
Descriptive Context
Interview Summary
Content Warnings: None
In this oral history, narrators Janetta and Allen share their memories of growing up in public housing and life on Taylor Street. With varying timelines and viewpoints of their homes, the narrators take turns sharing how things in Jane Addams varied between the 40 year time span shared between the two.
About the Narrator
Narrator Full Name: Janetta Pegues & Allen Schwartz Joint Interview
Narrator pronouns: she/her (Janetta); he/him (Allen)
Refer to as: None
Self-identified race and/or ethnicity: Black/African American (Janetta); white Jewish (Allen)
[Janetta] I live in the Greater Grand Crossing community on the Southeast side of Chicago. Home is full of love and life!
[Allen] I was born and raised in the projects in Chicago, and I now live on the Near North side of the city in a condominium that I own. I retired from a career with the federal government. In retirement, I have been very fortunate to be involved with the great Theatre scene that we have here, and I have also been an architecture tour guide. I am passionate about the arts. Theatre, dance, architecture, Fine Art, add a great deal of pleasure to my life. I am also a foodie and enjoy good food and, occasionally, some nice wine. I’ve also been lucky enough to have traveled extensively to many parts of the world. My volunteer activity, which continues to this day, involves Chicago’s Theatre scene, and acting as a Greeter for visitors to Chicago.
- Birth: 1943 (Allen); 1962 (Janetta)
About the Interview
Interviewer: Liú m.z.h. Chen
Date of Interview: 2023-11-03
Method of Interview: in-person
Location of Interview: Chicago
Language: English
Duration: 00:38:46
Formats Available: None
Audio Quality and other notes: Audio quality is good! A little bit of echoey-ness given the small room in which the interview took place.
Post-Production by: Cosmo J.
Contextual Information Last Updated: None
Time-Stamped Index
No index available for this file.
Access and Use Guidelines
Access Level: public
Each oral history interview is considered to be co-created, ‘joint work’ among the oral historian, narrator, and, in this case, the National Public Housing Museum.
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Credits the co-creators (Attribution), and
Does not make money from the usage (Non-Commercial).
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When using an interview from the NPHM Oral History Archive, use the narrator’s full name the first time you reference them. Use the narrator’s “Refer to As” name in additional mentions of their name.
Please use the following formatting when citing the interview in academic settings:
Bibliography Example
Pegues, Janetta Sue. Interviewed by Francesco De Salvatore. National Public Housing Museum Oral History Archive, [insert URL], recorded June 18, 2018, accessed June 2, 2024: pp. 10-15.
Bibliography Format
[NarratorFullName in Last, First Middle order]. Interviewed by [InterviewerFullName in First Middle Last Order]. National Public Housing Museum Oral History Archive, [insert URL], recorded [write out full date of interview], accessed [write out full date of most recent access]: pp. [pages of transcript cited].
Footnote Example
Janetta Sue Pegues, interviewed by Francesco De Salvatore, National Public Housing Museum Oral History Archive, [insert URL], recorded June 18, 2018, accessed June 2, 2024: pp. 10-15.
Footnote Format
[NarratorFullName in First Middle Last Order], interviewed by [InterviewerFullName in First Middle Last Order] National Public Housing Museum Oral History Archive, [insert URL], recorded [write out full date of interview], accessed [write out full date of most recent access]: pp. [pages of transcript cited].
Transcript and Supplemental Attachments
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