How did our time in Harlem change/confirm/help influence your understanding of the Harlem Renaissance and the arts that emerged from this important period? Provide visual examples from the tour that help illuminate your understanding. Feel free to use and include accompanying images from LOC, National Jazz Museum of Harlem, and the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Comments displayed by creation date
Replies displayed by creation date
Replies displayed by creation date
I can't wait to hear participants' responses! I wish I could have joined you all during this great course. I noticed that recent Library Junior Fellow 
Suzanne Schulz
just included very early work of two Harlem Renaissance luminaries in her reflection post: https://tpsteachersnetwork.org/tps-commons/loc-fellowship-reflection-post-lessons-learned-and-favorite-sources?cid=100380 Read a short story that choreographer and dance historian Katherine Dunham wrote at the age of 12 for the magazine Brownies, followed by a short poem by a young Langston Hughes! I think it might be interesting for students to see the youthful work of famous artists.
Edited
Yesterday we left the Rosenbach Museum with a reminder from Emilie: Don't think about the Harlem Renaissance in a vacuum. The artists from this era were not only working in Harlem, and were not only influenced by life in Harlem. Our time today reinforced this idea and helped to influence my understanding of these artists and appreciate the time period in which they worked. They were segregated and marginalized in this country, creating amazing literature, music, and other art forms. Our guide at the Jazz museum also mentioned that although Harlem may have been the "hub", other large cities like Pittsburgh, LA and Chicago were an integral part of Jazz culture. Our time today reiterated the resiliency and strength of minority populations in the United States in the face of systemic injustices. The link below I have included from the LOC is of redlining maps after the New Deal. This map highlights Legislation that created inequalities in housing, that led to majority black and brown neighborhoods, like Harlem and so many others.
https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=5/39.1/-94.58
The photos below are also from the LOC:
1. Page 2 of an essay by Levi C Hubert called "The Whites Invade Harlem"
2. A street scene in Harlem, 1920s
You can read the whole essay here: https://www.loc.gov/resource/wpalh2.21070806/?st=image
A thoughtfully constructed post, Jackie! I especially appreciate your commentary: "Our time today reiterated the resiliency and strength of minority populations in the United States in the face of systemic injustices." You linked some important resources to consider when contextualizing this historical time in America. How did such art flourish and prosper in the face of such extreme challenges and systematic inequality? It Rises!
Something that intrigued me today at the national Jazz Museum of Harlem was our conversation about the black art being made in Harlem in the 1920s being consumed and enjoyed by white audiences. This raises some questions about the differences between appreciating art from a cultural group, appropriating a culture, and mocking or belittling members of a cultural group for entertainment.
For instance, The Cotton Club in Harlem had a southern plantation theme intended to evoke American slavery, and black people were only allowed to enter the club if they were performing. This is a clear example of white audiences engaging with black art in a demeaning way.
But the advent of vinyl records (bringing with them the ability for people to enjoy music at home) allowed non-black audiences to engage with the art of the Harlem Renaissance in a more culturally respectful way - without going to a segregated club nor treating the performers as second class citizens. I also found it interesting that these 78s did not have any artwork on their covers, which allowed young white listeners to bring black music into their homes unbeknownst to their racist parents, allowing the music of Harlem to spread far beyond it's geographic borders.
I loved this part of the day's experiences in Harlem, too, Tyler! As a collector of vinyl records, I am particulary interested in how Black music, such as early Jazz, was propagated to the masses as a "cultural relevant" art form while these musicians were treated as less than second-class citizens. Seeing how the record industry evolved and album covers took on a whole other design element in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the Jazz world, I am glad that Jazz music has stood the test of time and endured - and even thrived!
Edited
Lindy Hop, 1936, LOC
- Covarrubias, Miguel, 1904-1957, lithographer
Our time in Harlem grew my understanding of the city that lives within the city, and how much it was connected beyond. The walking tour helped put into perspective the vastness of the Savoy Ballroom – the importance it played to the community, how it was valued then and still is today in spirit. I enjoyed learning that though integration was against the law, both white and black dancers went to the Savoy and interacted. I was not aware of the Harlem Rent Parties before today and I value it as another piece of the Roaring 20s and how people made hard choices often – and how they needed each other often to get through difficult times. So much of their efforts and work is thankfully preserved in resources housed at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. I really enjoyed seeing the Lindy Hop videos at the end of the day. We had an introductory dance lesson when we arrived, and getting to see the live footage at the end was a perfect pause to leave on. To see these absolutely stunning professional dancers flying around is unforgettable. Wearing whatever ridiculous costume was set out for them, could never permanently distract away from their greatness. In honor of them, I write this poem below:
Thank you Savoy Dancers
Your walls are gone now and
the second floor beats no more
of that essential core.
The Lindy, the Ladies Night,
the music that gave the 20s its might
is not pouring out that door.
And though the apartments
line the space you gave,
there’s still a drum clapping,
and a map on how
to be brave.
Do you know how much
Harlem
still lives,
and your spirit is still spreading?
It’s beautiful.
I’m in
Philadelphia
and I can
clearly
hear
it.
B E a u t i F U L.
LOC The Lindy Hop
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/ppmsca/05900/05983_150px.jpg#h=150&w=110
Savoy Ballroom Group Photo
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipPc8N1ErGsbbVTm2rHreeKYHyQTKWNoRM8Bsqfe=s1360-w1360-h1020
Harlem Rent Parties
Jazz Alive Today through the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
What a gorgeous poem! I love it.
Edited
What a great post, Renee! I especially love the image of the Savoy Ballroom group photo. I appreciate the resources included, as they really give mutliple historical perspectives - the videos in the "Jazz Alive Today" collection are fantastic and show the impact that Harlem and its music has made on generations! A lovely poem to capture the impact the day made on you!
Edited
Our host at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem described a constant thread through out the history of African American musicians in the early 20th century: Continuous creative energy despite appropriation, exploitation and exclusion.
Despite that skewed, unjust social construct, African Americans in Harlem were a driving force in generating an incredible entertainment phenomena in that city within a city. Countless huge ballrooms, supper clubs and over 500 speakeasies created a force of music, dance and energy that seemingly could not satisfy the huge appetite young Americans had for all that Harlem could offer.
The clubs were owned by both Blacks and Whites. Mobsters saw Harlem clubs and ballrooms as huge money makers; over time, they dominated club ownership. Most of the clubs employed black talent but only permitted white patronage. The Savoy Ballroom was a notable exception. When certain orchestras played, the percentage of black and white couples could be 50/50.
But all of the clubs paid Black musicians, singers and dancers a fraction of what White entertainers received. Despite the roaring popularity of Black jazz music, dance forms and vocal technique, racist caricatures appeared on menus and commercial art. Perhaps the most demeaning discrimination inflicted upon Black artists and workers: they were not allowed to sleep in the hotels in which they performed.
Harlem in the 1920's was a more than a city within a city. It was a way of life that prophesized the remaining decades of the 20th century across the U.S. Black culture and talent would be vastly consumed in music and sports by all. But equal justice and economic opportunity would be denied.
This week we have explored the Roaring 20s and Harlem Renaissance by listening to lectures, looking at primary sources, talking to each other, walking around neighborhoods looking for examples from the time period and even tasting the food, and by doing this we are echoing what people from that time also did.
As we walked around Broad street looking at Art Deco architecture we could see buildings like City Hall (1875) with strong corners and weighty pediments standing next to East Penn Square (1929 now Marriott Residence Inn) whose Art Deco style shows in its colored terra cotta patterns, whimsical palmette details and rounded and stepped back corners as the building goes up to steep center tower, giving the sense that it’s soaring upward. The whimsy and exoticism of Art Deco shows up in clothing, jewelry, furniture and automobiles showing how people embraced the spirit of the age in all aspects of their lives, not just one part.
As material culture was outfitted in this youthful, less restrictive style in a show of throwing off the last generation’s styles and actions, so too were writers and entertainers moving to new ground. Literary parties hosted by the white upper class became racially diverse, and in these gatherings people like Blanche Knopf met Langston Hughes who met Carl van Vechten and “The Weary Blues” (1925) was the result.
Jazz is another art form which grows exponentially when the right factors are put together. As a result of the Great Migration many black people moved to Harlem, to certain streets that were acceptable to white real estate moguls, and many white people fled. Harlem was filled with theaters and nightclubs where black musicians performed but weren’t allowed to eat, mingle or sleep with whites, but in the hot summers and open windows the music could be heard everywhere. The new phonograph technology allowed middle classes to hear music that wasn’t live, white teenagers could listen to black “snappy” music because the record covers didn’t have any artwork to give away the racial difference. Most blacks worked in the service industry but after work entertainment meant going to parties, playing music and dancing. Young people could enter dance competitions at nightclubs and earn free entry, food or become professional dancers in “the city that never sleeps”.
A great post, Amy. I appreciate how you synthesized your observations from the past couple of days' travel into an informative and thoughtfully rendered post. The images highlight your commentary in a balanced way. Well done!
A thoughtful and expressive post, Ann. Your commentary speaks to the fact that not much has changed, save for the fact that certain 21st Century artists and athletes - Beyonce, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Lebron James, Steph Curry, Serena Williams - have been able to rise above these social inequalities to create entrepreneurial and wealth opportunities as influencers that extend beyond their crafts, reshaping the narratives that have existed for decades. Though, with the caveat, of course, that this is still only a small portion of the larger whole.
Our time in Harlem yesterday helped to further shed light on the racism of the 1920s and the gentrification that persists in the neighborhood today. What a striking difference to see the map commissioned by Cab Calloway filled with nightclubs and ballrooms on each block, and today only seeing a few historic signs and little to no live music clubs remaining. The attached photo shows the facade of the ballroom and casino complex built in 1921 called The Renaissance, as it appeared in 2015. Since closing in the 1970s it underwent multiple sales and promises of restoration and preservation, ending recently with the completion of a luxury apartment building. “The Rennie” barely features any of the original architectural details and seemingly gives a nod to the history of the building in name (and marketing) only. The cost of the smallest studio unit starts at over half of a million dollars.
A poignant reminder that "all that glitters is not gold" - especially if you are not one of the beneficiaries of this economic paradigm shift. To think that what made this neighborhood so "rich" - in culture, in thought, in diversity, in ethnicity, in history - has been replaced by developers only retaining a superficial nod to the neighborhood, all the while squeezing out those generations of residents who helped build this cultural hub in favor of housing that can only be afforded by wealthier New Yorkers - a true example of gentrification!
Testimonials
-
I love that there is new info on the site daily!
-
I had a wonderful time working with the Library of Congress and learning about all of the resources at my fingertips!
-
The TPS Teachers Network has an equal exchange of ideas. You know it's not a place where you're being judged.
-
My colleagues post incredibly fine resources and ideas....the caliber of the suggestions and resources make me feel that I take a lot from it. It's a takeaway. And I hope that I can give back as much as I get.
-
Going into this school year, I have a fantastic new resource for my own instruction and to share with my colleagues!
-
I am very glad that I discovered the TPS Teachers Network through RQI. Great resources can be hard to find out there on the internet!
