Harlem Renaissance and Gentrification?

The term “gentrification” is synonymous with renovation, increased land value, capital movement, and all aspects of culture change. However, in the case of Harlem, why did it take nearly a whole century for the neighborhood to gentrify when its potential for an upscale neighborhood was being discovered at the turn of the 20^th century.

According to two different theories of gentrification, there are two components that can prompt gentrification to occur. According to Niel’s Smith Rent- Gap theory, there needs to be a difference between actual land value and potential change in the land value (Smith, 1987). Focusing on Harlem specifically, the building of many brownstones and apartments by landlords was indicative of this theory. Many of these landlords were looking to make an profit out of people moving into the neighborhood, because the land value increases as it becomes more desirable, leading to gentrification.

The second theory was proposed by David Ley, which described the social phenomenon that drives the demographics of the city to change. In the case of Harlem, it were the African Americans that was migrating away from the south looking for opportunities and African Americans currently living in the city that displaced the white minority in Harlem, otherwise term as the “white Flight”. In addition, Harlem was undergoing a cultural renaissance where there was an extreme outpouring of creative African-American expression through literature, art, theater, photography, and much more.

Theoretically, Harlem could have gentrified itself in the early 20^th century for both of conditions for gentrification was fulfilled. There was a change in demographics, potential for growth and cultural attraction. All these changes were combined into a major transitional era for Harlem in the 1920s.

The renewal of African American culture beginning in the 1920s, also termed as the “Harlem Renaissance” held great potential for gentrification. It was the time period where the first of many African-American writers, composers, and artists, achieved mainstream success, while successfully performing the ideal the African-American are capable of “high culture”.

Unfortunately, the timing of the Harlem Renaissance coincide with other major periods of change such as the Great Migration, the Roaring Twenties and subsequently The Great Depression and World War I. In addition, there was a perpetuation of racist behavior towards the African Americans. As a result, the potential of the renaissance to bring about gentrification was overshadowed by the racism and the effects of major events such as the depression and the war.

During the Great Migration, large numbers of poor African Americans began moving away from the rural south to the urban north because there was more opportunities. However, even in the north, racial discrimination was rampant. Strict housing laws prohibited African Americans from living in places where the white dominated. In fact, they were confined to areas such as Lower East Side and Upper West Side. Eventually, as white citizens moved in, the black population was forced to relocated. (Trotter, 2002)

At the same time, a lot of housing was constructed in Harlem because of the speculation that the railroads being built there would bring affluent and young people to live in Harlem. Many landlords and real estate management went bankrupt when the speculation did not come true, which also resulted in a lot of vacant apartments. As a economic solution to their problems, the landlords resorted to opening up their buildings to the African-Americans.

With limited options in housing, droves of African-American citizens migrated to the Harlem Neighborhood. By the late 1910s, it contains the highest concentration of African-American citizens in the city or approximately sixty to seventy percent of the black citizens that lived in New York City (Osofsky, 1965).

Racism of this era also plays a big part in the lack of gentrification. Many whites believe that having African-Americans around their property would devalue the land. As a result, as more people move into Harlem, the less valuable the neighborhood became. In addition, landlords exploited black citizens because African – Americans have limited housing options. For example, the rent double in seven years in the 1920s and in comparison, black citizens pays more for three, five and seven room apartments than the typical New Yorker in 1927. It was one of the priciest neighborhoods to live in for one of the most exploited and poorest minorities (Osofsky, 1965).

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In addition, many banks and mortgage companies used process of redlining was used. Initially, this process was used to deny mortgages to neighborhoods containing people with certain religion and race. This was extended into financial service and public amenities. Consequently, the neighborhood fell further into poverty due to high rent and lack of city and state economic support (Taylor, 2002).

Prior to the depression, many African Americans were either hired for menial labor or not at all. As the Great Depression hits the United States, unemployment rates for African American also skyrocketed. In his review, Meyer (1993) wrote that “Every job became a white man’s job”. This description was apt for many African Americans were replaced by white man or white woman. For example, white women were hired to replace African American in hat and coats checks in restaurants. African American’s unemployment rates skyrocketed, the salaries of skilled workers and household income decreased by almost fifty percent by the 1930s. (Meyer, 1993).

Even after the war ended, much attention of the African-American rights turn into the Civil Right Movement. This movement primarily focuses on desegregation and civil rights such as voting and the equal rights to an education. Both of these ideals did not really helped Harlem in any. That is because Harlem is nearly homogeneous in terms of race. About two-thirds of the population are African-Americans and this population has remain stagnated throughout the war. The people were fighting for improvements but mostly for an inclusion into the mainstream aspect of white social, political and economic life (Taylor, 1974). The African American population did receive any immediate benefits in terms of housing and amenities, so the civil rights movement did not bring enough attention to the conditions of Harlem. African American leaders were not able to address the poverty and crime that deterred gentrifiers from moving into Harlem.

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In comparison, Harlem in the last decade till now has been undergoing an economic transformation term as the “New Harlem Renaissance”. The causes of this new renaissance is unclear, but the economic growth can be partially attributed to the rental units that are widely available. For example, the “brownstones” built in the late 1800s are being bought up and restored for commercial purposes. This restoration effort results in a cultural and economic benefit for the neighborhood itself (Rozhon, 1997).

New zoning laws placed on Harlem by the city helped accelerated the speed of renovation. For example, the City Council allowed high-rise office towers and about two thousand new condominiums to be built around 125^th street. Also, around East River Plaza in East Harlem, a three hundred million shopping mall is being constructed. Right around the block, condominiums worth one million dollars are being constructed (Williams, 2008). These constructions creates convenience and access for those who want to move into Harlem. These condominiums and shopping mall would attract a new demographics to Harlem.

In addition, the reputation of Harlem as begun to improve. Between the late 1990s to the early 2000s, crime rate has dropped significantly. The chance of murder have dropped nearly seventy two percent and many of the open drug dealing on the streets are being busted or forced behind closed doors. (BBC, 2000). In a crime statistic report by the 30^th precinct which governs West Harlem, crime has decreased nearly thirty percent overall in comparison to the early 2000s.

The cultural attraction of Harlem has been preserved through its years of poverty. Due to lack economic means, many of the brownstones and cultural landmarks were left empty until recent years. In comparisons to richer neighborhoods, where renovations occur frequently, poorer neighborhoods tend to be more readily able to preserve its building rather than rebuilt them completely. As certain areas in Harlem became legal landmarks, the exterior of the buildings cannot be changed, this preserves a time period of New York City history and becomes part of the appeals that attracts preservationist.

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Coupled with its proximity to the rest of Manhattan, it has begun to attract many young and skilled workers looking for a resident near the other part of Manhattan. (Samuelsson, 2012).According to the Manhattan Empowerment Zone, Harlem has the highest potential for housing, population growth and increased household income as compared to the rest of Manhattan.

The economic expansion of Harlem in recent years is not all necessarily positive. Many original residents feels like they are being priced out of their own homes. For example, between 2000 and 2005, about 30,000 African-Americans moved out of Harlem while 20,000 white citizens moved into the neighborhood. This can be partially due to the fact that renovated apartments and the “brownstones” now cost about one to four million apiece and is typically only affordable for wealthy New Yorkers. In addition, housing prices have soared more than one hundred percent in the last decade. Rent stabilized apartments go for five to eight hundred a month, while rent in market rate apartments are about four thousand a month (Gørrild, Obialo, and Venema).

The rise in housing prices proves to be disastrous for many of the original residents. These residents whom have lived in Harlem for many years depend on a fixed income like social security benefits, social security disability, income from the veteran Administration, and other forms of public assistance such as food stamp and public housing. As a result, these families and older citizens are being vacated as they cannot afford rent. (Gørrild et al).

In terms of cultural change, the economic gentrification has some benefits, but also some antagonistic effects. For example, the Lenox Lounge is a jazz club that was once known for legendary jazz musicians such as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. The main patrons of this lounge now are mostly white tourists, which means that the prices are pricier. It brings economic benefits to the area. However, increased prices for performing in an upscale location would deterred many musicians who does not have the economic means to do so. This causes a natural selection among the musical culture for bands that have a mainstream appeal would be able to rent and perform at upscale locations.

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Other changes to Harlem culture can be seen through the activities held by the Apollo Theater. Apollo Theater, located on 125^th street, is the epitome of the African-American music renewal. As Rothstein (2011) wrote, “The Apollo has also been one of the few institutions in which black American musical culture was consistently nurtured over the course of 75 years.” All types of music genres were performed on stage –dance, swing, jazz, rock n’ roll, soul, hip-hop are some of the few.

In addition, it was a stepping-stone for many black musicians, dancers, and comedians in the 1930s to the 1960s. For example, some of the artists include Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Jackson Five, Redd Foxx and Jackie “Moms” Mabley were some of the notable people that advanced their career in the Apollo Theater. Overall, the Apollo Theater represented opportunity and African-American classics (Kelly, 2011).

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However, due to the inflation occurring on Harlem, the upkeep of Apollo Theater as a neighborhood and local attraction became to decline. It needed to attract a greater, more widespread appeal which means adopting shows that has a more mainstream appeal or by increasing the prices of the ticket.

Another aspect of change in culture is the “soul food” that Harlem is known for. For example, Harlem used to be dominate by small family-run diners that serve soul food, which is known for its savory flavor, but can be fatty and unhealthy. However, as stated by Williams (2008) in his article, such diners are being outcompeted by contemporary restaurants, which have better atmosphere and healthier options. In addition, contemporary restaurants charged almost more than ten dollars for a single meal, which is unaffordable by the original residents (Williams, 2008). The benefits of gentrification seen here is that restaurants are better upkeep and the food is healthier overall. However, this transition occurs at the risk of losing authenticity.

Overall the gentrification that should have happen with concordance with the Harlem Renaissance was postponed due to numerous reason. Some of these include the systematic racism and the timing of the renaissance. However, the gentrification of Harlem is occurring now the occurrence of a new economic transitions. As a result, the gentrification of Harlem would bring about a new conversion of economic and African American culture; this gentrification brings about controversial opinions.

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