The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association

Neighbors united to improve the quality of life in Harlem

Tag: Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Free Tickets

Posted on by Harlem Shill

YOU’RE INVITED

Hello! Please be our very special guest this week for two of “the most anticipated plays of 2023!” (NY Mag, Vulture). Complimentary tickets for WICG friends & family are available for select performances, Tue – Sun, details via the RSVP links below.

Redeem 1-2 tickets for yourself, and please share this link with colleagues. A confirmation email with etickets will arrive the day of your performance. See you soon!

Sarah Ruhl’s Letters from Max: A Ritual, is based on the book by Ruhl and Max Ritvo, directed by Kate Whoriskey, and features Jessica Hecht, Ben Edelman and Zane Pais. In this lyrical play, Ruhl shares a personal correspondence with her former student, the late poet Max Ritvo (Four Reincarnations), who openly discusses his terminal illness and tests poetry’s capacity to put to words what otherwise feels ineffable.

RSVP here.

WICG – 2312 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, New York, NY 10030-2604

1965

A great photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at Abyssinian Church, conducting a new conference.

Harlem Newsboy and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Reports

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Ebay has this image of a newsboy from 1943 up for sale:

To the left is an ad for an upcoming feature in The People’s Voice – Adam Powell Reports On His 8,000 Mile Cross Country Tour.

ACP

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Today is Adam Clayton Powell Jr.’s birthday and I wanted to share two of my favorite photos of him:

This first one is from the 1930’s at Colby where he studied. The contrast between the sharp image on the right, and the ‘brushed’ image on the left is fascinating.

This second image comes from 1968 as his political star began to wane:

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. represented Harlem as our congress member from 1945 until 1971. He was the first African-American to be elected to Congress from New York, as well as the first from any state in the north.

Powell supported emerging nations in Africa and Asia as they gained independence after colonialism and in 1961 became chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, the most powerful position held by an African American in Congress. Powell supported the passage of important social and civil rights legislation under Kennedy and Johnson.

Following allegations of corruption, in 1967 Powell was excluded from his seat but he was re-elected and regained the seat in 1969 but promptly lost his seat in 1970 to Charles Rangel and retired from electoral politics.

And On Adam Clayton Powell Blvd…

This December make some time to visit the Claire Oliver Gallery’s new show: ACROSS SEVEN RUINS AND REDEMPTIONS SOMO KAMARIOKA

The work (sculpture and painting from Leonardo Benzant) is described by the artist in this way

“The paintings are a type of mirror as they are created from tracing parts of the sculptures. On a material level, it references the metamorphosis of the beads, string, and fabric. On a spiritual level, it reflects the adaptive survival strategies and transformations that occur- both personally and collectively,-as we navigate various systems of oppression. In spite of the trauma and the violence, Across Seven Ruins and Redemptions_Somo Kamarioka materializes a journey of hope, healing, and self-determination.”

-Leonardo Benzant

In Memory: The 2020 Silent Procession

Posted on by Harlem Shill

A video of the 4th Annual (Virtual) Silent Procession for Puerto Rico

Save The Date: September 19th

The White Wall

The novel, the film, and the soundtrack Across 110th Street, reflected a fascinating cultural moment in New York City and Harlem. In the film you see a car driving up through Central Park, a heist across from the Morris-Jumel Mansion, and the unfinished Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Building being used in a horrific scene of violence.

The 2020 Census shows that New York’s borders between the UWS, and the UES in particular, are still firmly entrenched and, as they say, ‘visible from space’.

And while there is some movement in the diversity in the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights, the UES remains a steadfastly predominantly white community.