Harlem

Harlem is a historically significant area of New York City, located in the northern part of Manhattan. It has been home to many influential African-American figures and writers throughout history. As such, it is often associated with African-American literature and culture. From Langston Hughes's "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" to Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," numerous authors have written about their experiences living in or visiting this vibrant neighborhood.


In particular, the 1920s were a time when black intellectuals began gathering at social clubs like The Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue as well as other cultural hubs such as music venues and theaters that were frequented by musicians like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, who created what became known as "the Harlem Renaissance." During this period, writers, including Hughes, produced works that celebrated black life while critiquing racial injustice; his collection Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951) encapsulates these themes within its poetic verses. Meanwhile, novelists like Hurston documented stories from her own upbringing that revealed the daily struggles faced by those living in poverty during segregation-era america-a topic she explored further through her 1937 book Their Eyes Were Watching God.


Today, although much has changed since these golden years of African American culture, there are still traces left behind: jazz clubs playing live music every night near 125th Street; street murals dedicated to civil rights leaders gracing storefront walls along Frederick Douglass Boulevard; plays retelling stories related to slavery being performed at small theaters around town—all keeping alive the spirit that once made Harlem an epicenter for arts and creativity during its heyday over 100 years ago. years ago.