Harlem: Where It Stands, Where It Stood.
Saying that Harlem is the most iconic neighborhood in the United States, and perhaps even in the world may be a stretch. But I believe it to be true. For decades, Harlem has been the capital of Black America with a very rich and turbulent history. Harlem has often been held as the typical example of the American ghetto. Even throughout the country today, Harlem has a very negative reputation and is often associated with drug use and violent crime. Despite its modern reputation as the problem child of New York, Harlem has had a very dense history that is often overshadowed.
Harlem was founded in the 17th century as a Dutch outpost north of Manhattan. The Dutch were the first to colonize the area. The outpost was generally unstable and the Dutch settlers would often have to flee south when tensions with the Native Americans rose. The farmland controlled by the Dutch, and the remainder of New Amsterdam, was soon taken over by the English in 1664.
Pre-Civil War Harlem was characterized by the rapid urbanization of 19th century America. Many in the area never believed Harlem would change from its then current state – a plethora of farmland estates as well as a country retreat for the rich and powerful. In 1811, the grid system downtown was extended northward into Harlem. Again, very few people actually believed that Harlem would become an urban area for a very long time, and for the most part they were right. Besides the construction of what would become Metro North in 1831, there were very few changes in Harlem. However, in the 1840’s, 50’s, and 60’s the land’s productivity declined and it was much more difficult to farm. Many of the old English, Dutch, and French settlers and estate owners began to sell their properties or just abandon their land entirely. This is one of the many economic downturns Harlem experiences throughout its history.
Throughout this period of economic depression in 19th century Harlem, Ireland was experiencing its Great Famine, also known as the Irish Potato Famine. Between 1845 and 1852, 2 million people emigrated out of the country. Many of these emigrants ended up in Harlem in the form of squatters. They established shantytowns and occupied the abandoned properties, causing bedlam in the traditional community.
Though Harlem enjoyed a short period of prosperity after the Civil War, it grinded to a halt after the Panic of 1873. Just as most economic depressions in the United States, the Panic of 1873 was in a large part the result of over-speculation of real estate and in this case, the over-speculation of the railroads. Too much capital was invested in this industry, and it caused the overbuilding of auxiliary facilities. This also had a cascading effect because the backbone of the economy was centered around the construction of the railroads, which significantly slowed after the economic crisis.
Harlem did not escape this economic meltdown. Property values in Harlem dropped 80% as a result of The Panic, and the city subsequently annexed much of Harlem, up until 155th street. This however, may have indirectly helped the neighborhood and contributed to its growth. Many residences were constructed, as well as a substantial amount of infrastructure in the form of subways and railroads.
Before Harlem became the capital of black America, it actually was home to a fairly large amount of European immigrants who were mainly Jewish. Eastern European Jews and Italians moved into Harlem due to the new construction and falling real estate prices. Incredibly, by 1930 there were only 5,000 Jews in Harlem, but many Italians remained in East Harlem where the Italian mafia became famous.
How did the demographics of Harlem shift so rapidly? Well, black residents began to move into Harlem in the late 1800’s. The population of blacks spiked in Harlem due to another economic downturn. Cheap and affordable housing opened up in Harlem, largely because landlords could not find white renters for their properties. Black churches began to follow their parishioners and established congregations in Harlem.
One of the main contributing factors to the rise in black populations in the North was the Great Migration. Even though the Civil War had ended atrocities such as sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, and the Ku Klux Klan made the South incredibly oppressive to live in for black Americans. As Black Americans migrated north to Harlem from southern states such as North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia many whites left Harlem. The phenomenon was an early version of the term known as white flight, the large scale migration of whites from racially mixed urban regions to homogenous regions, generally suburbs.
In the 1920’s the artistic movement which would later be known as the Harlem Renaissance began. This period was in a large part affected by the Great Migration and the new African-American culture being formed in the roaring 20’s, one of the most successful decades in American history. The rippling effects of the Harlem Renaissance are vast and far reaching. Many believe that the Harlem Renaissance created a united black identity that led to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. The Renaissance also exposed other races to black culture. Certain performers such as Duke Ellington drew massive crowds of difference backgrounds and ethnicities.
Even though the country was experiencing a large amount of economic success, Harlem was becoming a slum. High rent caused families to illegally lodge people in order to pay their rent. When the Great Depression hit, Harlem was hit especially hard. Unemployment was at 25%. Race riots drove away many white investors and audiences formerly captivated by the Harlem Renaissance. These race riots turned into rent riots which turned into more race riots, giving Harlem a very negative reputation in the press.
Because of the unrest and headlines in Harlem, the neighborhood became an important spot for Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, who was later assassinated in Washington Heights.
Even after the Civil Rights movement, Harlem still experienced more economic hardship. The population of Harlem declined rapidly due to crime and economic hardships, and the only people who remained were the most impoverished out of all of the residents. Government funding did not do anything to solve issues. Drug addiction, violent crime, and illness ran rampant throughout the neighborhood. The economic system was totally destroyed in the community. A majority of the economy either ran on illegal lottery rackets or the illicit drug trade.
In the 1970’s the phrase “War on Drugs” was popularized after Richard Nixon gave a speech in which he said that drug abuse was public enemy number 1 in the United States. Later, in 1994, Nixon’s White House Domestic Affairs Advisor, John Ehrlichman claimed that the War on Drugs was targeting black people. He said, “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war on black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.” Ehrlichman’s sentiments also have historical precedent. When the Chinese began to immigrate to California, they competed for many white people’s jobs. So the Californian state government knew they couldn’t make it illegal to be Chinese, but they could make it illegal to smoke opium, so California was the first state to have opium regulations.
Minority communities such as Harlem were also hit hard by mandatory minimums as well as sentencing disparities. Mandatory minimums keep nonviolent criminals in prison for long periods of time, despite the details of the case. A judge’s discretion is limited, because mandatory minimums force judges to sentence offenders to at least a certain amount of time in prison.
In 1986, the U.S. Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the possession or trafficking of crack-cocaine when compared to powder cocaine. Even though these two substances are essentially the same, (crack is just a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked) this means that 5 grams of crack cocaine carries the same mandatory minimum sentence as 500 grams of powdered cocaine. Even though with recent legislation passed by Obama closing the gap to 18 to 1, many believe that these laws target the black community, where crack was prevalent.
Arrests, incarceration rates, and conviction rates all disproportionately affected black communities from the 70’s up until the present day. These laws and their effects create devastating economic effects in black communities such as Harlem. Taking such a large chunk of individuals out of a community has dangerous effects on it. When these individuals are forced to lead a life of crime because of their record, it creates a cycle of crime. Forty years later, many world leaders recognize these effects and are very vocal about the failure of these policies.
In spite of all of this, by the late 90’s Harlem had improved its community in many ways. Many new businesses began to open up all around the neighborhood, and even national chains began to open up along 125th. The city improved the infrastructure of the area by doing things like repairing roads, replacing streetlights, and building sidewalks. However, even though Harlem seems to be cleaning its act up by this point, rapid gentrification began in the late 90’s continuing into the present day. Many renters and residents are getting pushed out of Harlem due to rising costs of living. This unfortunate reality leads to radical leaders opposing gentrification by advocating violence.
My experiences in Harlem have been reasonably limited, but have been incredibly eye-opening. At the beginning of my first semester I moved to Harlem from a town on Long Island. This means striking differences across the board. My interactions with members of the Harlem community are much different than members of my town on Long Island. I feel as though Harlem is more personal and connected as opposed to my hometown. Of course I’m not saying one is better than the other, but a diverse urban community with such a deep history will be different than my Irish-American suburban community. I have one story in particular from this past year that will stick with me for a very long time.
On New Years Day, I was with a group of my friends watching the fireworks from Harlem. We had a very good time and a small party that was mostly just a group of our friends. We ended up going to a Dunkin’ Donuts at around 5am off of 125th street. While in this Dunkin Donuts, I was approached by two guys who said they were from Kosovo, and were impressed that I knew where that was. We were having a great conversation and I was listening to one of the guy’s music through a headphone. They were a little intoxicated, but I wasn’t too surprised considering it was 5 a.m. on New Years. All of the sudden, our conversation was interrupted by a Hispanic woman who claimed that the two black men, from Europe, were “pressing me.” I’m not entirely sure what she meant, but the confrontation escalated, she ended up screaming, and caused a huge scene. This made the entire situation incredibly uncomfortable. Not wanting to get involved in a fight on New Years and probably having to deal with police, I pulled my friends out of the Dunkin Donuts and we retreated back to the campus dorms. Reflecting on the situation, it all seemed very sudden. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what was happening, but this woman had to make a very big scene about it. In retrospect, it likely was about the color of not only his skin, but mine as well. Very simply, this was a result of a neighborhood that is currently being gentrified and is very diverse, as well as stereotypes. I’m sure that as an outsider, a young white man talking to two reasonably older black men late at night in Harlem would cause a speculative imagination to come up with many reasons for that situation, which is an unfortunate reality.
The culmination of this piece will be two interviews with local residents of Harlem, Jamie and Raymond, and my closing thoughts.
Jamie is currently happy with her neighborhood. A mother of two, Jamie is satisfied with the police presence in the past 5 years. The schools are improving, and most of all are happiest with the fact that they are getting safer. However, she doesn’t believe the neighborhood is completely safe. Her most important concern with the neighborhood is the drug use.
“125th street is the worst; I tell my kids not to go on up there. There are constantly people standing around. The mental illness is an issue as well. Getting approached by crazy, maybe drug addicts, is and has been a concern for 20 years in this neighborhood.” Jamie said
Raymond is also concerned with the homeless problem on 125th street.
“It’s so gross to walk by all the homeless. Sad, but still gross. They really needa clean up the street, it’s been a problem for years. More cops but no improvement in the community.” Raymond said.
Jamie and Raymond echoed concerns of many long time residents. Both are blue collar workers who are struggling with rising costs of living because of rising rent and gentrification.
“We can’t afford the rent anymore. It’s finally gettin cleaned up, and all of the sudden we’re getting moved further into the ghetto, now that the Harlem isn’t a ghetto no more. I’ve lived here my whole life, and they gonna take that away from me.”
These two residents reflected common sentiments of many in the community. Often, they care less about who is moving into the community race wise, and more who is moving into the community wealth wise.
Harlem today looks a lot like many diverse and changing neighborhoods. But now that I’ve gone through the history, had my own experiences living there, and having interacted with many residents, I believe it’s more accurate to say that Harlem hasn’t changed much at all. Harlem has always been characterized by struggle and hardship. If there weren’t racial tensions, there were economic tensions, and if there were not those tensions there were drug and safety problems. Even culturally black music, rhythm and blues and traditional hip hop, are based in struggle and fighting through adversity.
Living in Harlem has with no doubt changed my life. Coming here at a very formative period in my life and forcing myself to see the perspectives and needs of those living in Harlem which are very easy to ignore when you haven’t lived in a minority community. I’m very fortunate to be able to do a project on a community I have come to know and love while learning all about the roots of not only Harlem’s history but the history of blacks in America as well.
Sources
Gill, Jonathan. Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America. New York: Grove, 2011. Print.
The House I Live In. 2012. Web. (I highly recommend this film)
