Ben is 68 years old; he was born in Cleveland. His parents were born in the South. They moved North in the 1940s to get decent jobs.

On his parents’ life in the South: “It was a struggle. All I had to do was look at them; they were poor.”

On racism in Cleveland: “I learned about it. You see the whites living in one area; the blacks living in another area. Not only that, we had what was called the swinging bridge [the Sidaway Bridge near East 65th St.]. You go across that swinging bridge, them white boys was on your ass. That was back in the late 50s.”