Harlem is New York City’s Iconic African American Neighborhood

Harlem, the anchor of Upper Manhattan, is famous for its creativity, nightlife, and cultural influence on America and the world. It’s a home of jazz, one of America’s art forms and the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance 3.0 is happening right now.

Sponsors

Thank you for sponsoring Latin and Black culture in Harlem:

More Harlem CULTURE

Harlem Culture Venues

The 125th St BID (Business Improvement District) promotes Harlem business and culture. Check their events calendar before you go. harlembid.com

Art

  • Studio Museum in Harlem collects art of the Africa Diaspora. In 2024, its new building is under construction.

Books

Dance

  • Aaron Davis Hall is the performing arts center at City College of New York.
  • Dance Theatre of Harlem is the world’s first Black ballet company. It is one of New York’s leading dance companies, and and a community anchor.

Fashion

  • 125th St has lots of cool fashion.
  • Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market is a lovely market for clothes and products from Mother Afrika. It’s another world. The fabrics are beautiful.

Film

Food

  • Red Rooster is the restaurant of Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born, Swedish-American celebrity chef. The food is amazing and DJs spin on weekend nights.
  • Sylvia’s is a legendary place for home food, soul food.

Music

  • Aaron Davis Hall is the performing arts center at City College of New York.
  • Abyssinian Baptist Church is famous for its gospel music.
  • Apollo Theater is the anchor of Harlem. Amateur Night at the Apollo launched many legendary careers. “Be Good or Be Gone.”
  • Harlem Stage is a performing arts center for visionary artists of color.
  • Minton’s Playhouse is the room where bebop modern jazz was born.
  • National Jazz Museum in Harlem preserves, promotes, and presents the Caribbean culture that is America’s national music. 🇺🇸

Harlem Festivals

African American Day Parade is a chance to show Black Pride, teach our kids our traditions, and connect with politicians and community organizations. It is on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd; on the third Sunday in September. 🇺🇸

Harlem Week is a celebration of African Diaspora culture.

Harlem Juneteenth Parade and Street Fair celebrates All American Freedom Day. 🇺🇸

Harlem Renaissance 3.0

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s defined the Jazz Age and American culture. Jazz was the first American culture to go global.

Harlem Renaissance 1.0

American culture begins here
Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism at the Metropolitan Museum

Harlem Renaissance 2.0

The Harlem Renaissance 2.0 was the Black Arts Movement of the 1960-70s. another flowering of African American culture. It came about partly as a result of the American Civil Rights Movement, but its impact went far beyond America.

Black Arts Movement 1965-1975

Soul and funk music, the rhythm and blues of the 1970s, carries a subtext of social activism. This inspired artists around the world to make their own regional musical forms with a little R&B and social activism.

One of those artists was Fela Kuti, who turned his Nigerian Yoruba music, Ghanaian Highlife, American jazz and R&B into afrobeat the foundation for afrobeats or afropop, which is now a global force unto itself.

Another was DJ Kool Herc who with his sister Cindy Campbell held the party that is generally considered the beginning of hip hop in 1973. The Campbells are Jamaican Americans, so you might think Kool Herc and his giant speakers were influenced by Jamaican soundsystem culture. Actually he said he was influenced by American soul artists like James Brown.

James Brown live in Zaire in 1974

Thanks to Harlem Stage for teaching us about this important moment in American history. We were not taught this in school.

Harlem Renaissance 3.0

The Harlem Renaissance 3.0, another flowering of Black Arts is now. RIP George Floyd, and know that you changed the world.

What happens in the Black community soon echoes into the Latin community, and we riff back and forth off each other like rappers.

About Harlem

Harlem’s boundaries are roughly:

155th St
Hudson River | Harlem | Fifth Avenue
110th St (Central Park North)

West Harlem is in the heights of Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, and Sugar Hill. East Harlem is “El Barrio” which used to be called “Spanish Harlem.” Fifth Avenue is the traditional border. Back in the day, Latin jazz musicians (like Tito Puente) used to cross over from East Harlem to listen to jazz in Harlem. Jazz musicians went the other way to East Harlem to listen to Latin jazz.

Harlem Streets

North/south avenues have different names in Harlem.

  • Malcolm X Blvd, or Lenox Avenue, is Sixth Avenue.
  • Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd is Seventh Avenue.
  • Frederick Douglass Blvd is Eighth Avenue.

125th Street, Harlem’s main street, is anchored by the Apollo Theater. 125th and Malcolm X Blvd is a lively night spot. Red Rooster, Sylvia’s, and Maysles are nearby.

116th St is another main street with West African and Latin communities west and east of Malcolm X/Lenox/Sixth Ave.

Harlem Hellfighters

Harlem Hellfighters showed the world what America is made of. Many of them were Puerto Rican. These freedom fighters are American Heroes.

Visit Harlem

Subways
(1)(2)(3), (A)(C), (B)(D)

Trains
Danbury, Harlem, and Hudson lines, from Pennsylvania Station, stop at 125th St.