Introduction

Many people like to think of the home and business as separate worlds, but truly they are continuously implicated in each other in a symbiotic relationship that can be seen both in the microcosm of individual relationships and in the macrocosm of entire societies. Adrienne McAllister is intuitively aware of this link, frequently recounting memories that involved her family and memories of interactions at local businesses within the same train of thought. She also understands the business-family/family-business connection explicitly, spelling out how “[the business people] were more in touch with the community, with the neighbors, and with the people. And they were actually part of the extended, you know, your family.” [2] In Adrienne’s past, family and community were often interchangeable, as “everybody’s mother was your mother” and “[everybody’s] father was your father” in the housing project where she grew up. Just as children ran “in and out of each other’s homes, [...] eating each other’s food,” local food store owners would “give you something if you say “Well, I want a pickle, but I have no money;” sharing demonstrated caring and connectivity between business and family.  [2] So closely interwoven were the local businesses and local community, that amid the turmoil of the 1970’s and 1980’s, when the community began to fracture, businesses evaporated, and simultaneously, when businesses evaporated, the community fractured. Although, now family and community tend to be much more distinct entities because of a widespread trend of what Adrienne calls being “in their own little world,” remembering the ties and reciprocity between work and home is a step towards reimagining and recreating a stronger, closer community within the South Bronx.