Tag: Harlem Renaissance
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Harlem Club
The Austrian painter Hans Bohler met the African American sculptor Selma Burke when she was studying in Vienna in the mid 1930’s. In 1936, he moved with her to live in New York where he was introduced to a number of the artistic figures in the Harlem Renaissance. Bohler frequented Jack Carter’s – a mixed…
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Harlem Renaissance Banner 2.0
The Gatekeepers Collective (TGC), with West Harlem Development Corp and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council are launching HARLEM RENAISSANCE 2.0, honoring the Centennial of the Harlem Renaissance and SGLBTQ (same gender loving (SGL), gay, lesbian, bisexual, Transgender, Queer) S/Heroes: a public art and performance initiative including a series of Banners along West 125thSt. celebrating SGLBTQ…
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Caribbean New Yorkers
The largest wave of immigrants from the Caribbean came to Harlem during the Harlem renaissance. Indeed, many of the greatest artists, luminaries, and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance were Caribbean-born. Claude McKay, Marcus Garvey, and Arturo Schomburg. Almost a quarter of Harlem’s Black population was foreign-born in the 1920s. Earlier, however, in 1880, the distribution…
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Harlem YMCA
In the 1940s the Harlem YMCA on 135th Street was eager to produce a film that highlighted how the ‘Y’ offered job training, healthy recreation, and cultural development. With a tight budget, producing a sound film would have been costly, so the clever use of handwritten intertitles suggested a letter written home about the YMCA…
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Elks in Paris
In 1990 Jennny Livingston released a documentary called Paris is Burning that revealed to theater goers the rich underground ballroom scene in Harlem during the 1980s. The film focuses on one key venue for the ballroom scene – the Imperial Lodge of Elks at 160 West 129th Street – just east of Adam Clayton Powell…
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Harlem Jazz Clubs: 1920-40
If you’ve ever wondered where the scores of jazz clubs were during the Harlem Renaissance, this map is the best I’ve seen: Here is the list with more details: HARLEM JAZZ CLUBS, RESTAURANTS, and BALLROOMS from the 20’s-40’s: • Alamo Club (1915-1925) 253 West 125th St (basement) b/t 7th and 8th (aka Alamo Cafe; Jimy Durante)• Alhambra Ballroom (1929-1945)…
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Mike, The Knife Sharpener
Mike is planning to return to our neighborhood this Wednesday. We’ll put out details when we know more. Great prices, great sharpening, just in time for the holidays (even though we have much smaller celebrations this year, it is still great to have sharp knives for cooking!) The Dark Tower A’Lelia Walker’s home at 108 West…
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First Lady Michelle Obama Reflects on The 2020 and 2016 Elections
“This week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on where I was four years ago. Hillary Clinton had just been dealt a tough loss by a far closer margin than the one we’ve seen this year. I was hurt and disappointed—but the votes had been counted and Donald Trump had won. The American people had spoken.…
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Aaron Douglas
The esteemed Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas has two of his amazing works up at the Whitney Museum. These large 5′ square works are signature examples of his mature style – one that you might recognize if you visit the Schomburg which owns a number of his pieces. To learn more about Aaron Douglas, see:…
