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Evette Simmons

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@ Weeksville Heritage Center

Evette Simmons, Joy Velano

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Long-time Brooklyn residents; Evette Simmons is a descendant of Moses Cobb, one of the first African-American policeman on the NYPD Evette Simmons is a great-great-granddaughter of Moses P. Cobb, one of the first black police officers in New York City. Evette was born in 1946 in Brooklyn. Her grandmother lived at 629 Hancock Street; she attended PS 243, before busing began in New York, and then she went to school in Bensonhurst. Evette’s parents were Avery Simmons and Lionee C. Simmons. Lionee was the great-grandson of Moses Cobb; his father, Joseph C. Simmons, JR. was Cobb’s grandson. Evette’s mother was from Union Point, GA. She moved to New York in 1938 at the age of 18. Evette became interested in history when she was studying African-American history at City College. She eventually became a nurse for the NYPD’s Medical Division. Evette remembers getting a chemistry set as a child that encouraged her interest in science and experiments: in high school, she knew she wanted to become a registered nurse. She felt encouraged by her paternal grandmother, Eva Moore, who also became a nurse in North Carolina, through correspondence courses. Evette also holds a Master’s in Nursing from Long Island University. In 2001, she read an article in the Amsterdam News, written by the historian Fred Laverpoole, which detailed Moses Cobb’s contributions to Brooklyn history. She had known she was related to Moses Cobb, but was not aware of his accomplishments. After reading the article, she contacted Laverpoole and arranged to...
Type:
Oral History Wav
Contributors:
Evette Simmons, Joy Velano, Meron Tebeje
Created Date:
1957 2006
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Record Contributed By

Weeksville Heritage Center