Peopling of NYC Journal Week 4
Claudia Yan
2/19/2015
Groups and associations played huge roles in the development of Harlem as they groups brought people together and strengthened the community. Fraternities, churches and clubs connected people. Even though there would be a hierarchy in the community with native blacks rejecting immigrants from the South and Caribbean, people still grouped together and having others with you increases your sense of comfort in the neighborhood and strengthens the community. It was through the formation of these groups that the Harlem community was able to become such a force that Tammany Hall was driven to split the neighborhoods in half to try to dilute the influence that the black neighborhood could have on New York City politics. I thought the move to change the districts was a pretty sly and effective move and did not anticipate the fact that the black community would continue to grow and start to become the majority in the districts.
I was a little confused about participation in politics in Harlem. In the text it was mentioned that a lot of Caribbean immigrants did not become naturalized and that for some, their citizenship from another country was viewed as superior to American citizenship. However, in Harlem the most prominent figures in politics tended to be Caribbean immigrants and not native African Americans. The rise in popularity of the Socialist movement in Harlem was also interesting and clicked with some of my history knowledge of the Socialist movement in America. When I think of communism I think of poor conditions and a harsh dictator, however, the socialism was able to increase in popularity amongst blacks because they were tired of being treated unfairly and wanted to be equal.
The most interesting part of this book for me was the chapters regarding the economic situation in Harlem. During a time where the jobs available to blacks were limited to cleaning and other small service jobs, the Harlem community continued to grow. Most property was still owned by white people and they tended to charge black people more to rent. So how did it all function? Though most entrepreneurial ventures by blacks in Harlem did not last for long the attempts and support show in Harlem displayed the strength of the community. One of the most successful enterprises in Harlem, the numbers game, was also one of the most risky businesses. To be a part of the operation and in the business, owners of banks faced the constant possibility of police raids and runners faced possible violence with disgruntled players. Madame Stephanie St. Clair interested me very much. During a time when women did not have positions that caught public attention, St. Clair brought attention to herself and kept the police from her numbers business. I think it was very smart of her to bring attention to the police raids without warrants and her actions during that time were really cool.
