Oral history interview with Henry X., 1980
Members of the Columbia University community may log in here to access this content.
Terms of Use: The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than your own private study, scholarship, or research. Any subsequent copying, downloading or distributing materials accessed by you in the Columbia University Libraries Digital Libraries Collection that are subject to copyright protection may constitute copyright infringement. In addition, Columbia University Libraries may employ technical measures to prevent any further copying, downloading, or distribution of the materials. A violation of these terms may subject you to potential liability for copyright infringement. For more information about copyright, fair use and permissions, refer to Columbia University Library’s Copyright Advisory Services at https://copyright.columbia.edu, and the Copyright & Permissions for Online Exhibitions & Digital Collections.
- Name
- X., Henry (Interviewee)
- Courtwright, David T., 1952- (Interviewer)
- Joseph, Herman, 1931- (Interviewer)
- Title
- Oral history interview with Henry X., 1980
- Other Titles
- Reminiscences of Henry X., 1980; Oral history of Henry X., 1980
- Abstract
- In this interview, Henry X discusses his life in New York City and Philadelphia, focusing especially on his drug use. He discusses his various jobs, as well as the impact of the Great Depression on his employment. He comments on how he was first introduced to drugs through a friend who gave him marajuana. He also describes how he began both selling and using heroin in 1950. He describes his various attempts to detox from heroin, including by himself using a homemade remedy of sherry wine and eggnog, and at the Morris J. Bernstein Institute. He touches on his arrests and jail time, both drug related and not. He also details his personal life including his partners, children, and marriages
- Collection Name
- Addicts Who Survived oral history collection
- Subjects
- Drug addicts--United States; Drug dealers--United States; Imprisonment--United States; Drug traffic--History--20th century.--United States; Heroin abuse--History--20th century.--United States; Drug addicts--Rehabilitation--United States; Depressions--1929--United States; X., Henry
- Format
- oral histories
- Genre
- Interviews
- Date
- 1980
- Physical Description
- 81 pages
- Note (Biographical)
- Henry X was born on August 23, 1913 in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, one of eight siblings. His formal education ended in eighth grade. When he was sixteen, he and his younger brother Perry left home and went to Jacksonville, North Carolina where the y worked on the railroad. At the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, Henry was laid off, and traveled around the country on freight trains. In 1934 he moved to Philadelphia and got a job at Brown Packing Company. He began selling heroin and cocaine in 1950, and tried heroin for the first time that same year. After eight months of using heroin, he detoxed himself using a home remedy of sherry wine and eggnog. In Henry's lifetime, he was incarcerated twice for a total of four years. Once he came out of jail for the final time in 1954, he worked as a busboy at a restaurant in Far Rockaway, New York until 1960. In 1967, he began to use heroin again, but sought treatment at the Morris J Bernstein Institute to detox after only a few weeks of use, and afterwards, joined a methadone program. Henry X. was interviewed for the project that led to the book Addicts Who Survived. The name is likely a pseudonym for the project
- Note
- Interviewed by David Courtwright and Herman Joseph on June 23, 1980
- Note (Provenance)
- David Courtwright, Herman Joseph, and Don Des Jarlais, Gift, 1988
- Language
- English
- Library Location
- Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
- Catalog Record
- 11690583
- Persistent URL
- https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-1rbz-aa74
- Related URLs
- Available digital content for this interview.