Each of the narrators of this week’s readings had a different experience with New York; however, for the most part, they all have one thing in common – once they came, they didn’t want to leave. In her spark, Shirley discusses the different ethnic groups addressed in these readings. Lucille and Mohamed especially, describe their allegiance to Harlem. Lucille was advised by her family to move out of Harlem, but she decided to remain not only in Harlem, but also in the UPACA Gardens, the federal housing she had been living in. As tenants moved out and others moved in (or as she described, more moved in than moved out yielding worse than desired living conditions), she became a tenant patrol of the building and became involved in enforcing the rules and settling disputes between tenants. She concedes that some people couldn’t wait to get out of the overcrowded living conditions, but she was happy in her home.
Similarly, despite the challenges that Piri Thomas faced living in Harlem, he considered it his home. He was almost blinded and was forced to have emergency surgery when some kids decided to throw something in his eye, but still, when he moved to Long Island, he couldn’t wait to get back to New York City. Upon returning to New York City, he became involved in the underground economy, dealing drugs. Not only that, but he became hooked on them. Whether or not it was to his benefit, New York City was his home.
Additionally, West Africans are an important ethnic group in Harlem. Mohamed was the West African immigrant profiled in Sharman’s book. He left Sierra Leone mostly for economic reasons – the economy was on the downturn in Sierra Leone and the currency was becoming devalued. He originally obtained a Visa to stay for a short period of time in America, but after arriving and living for a short while, he didn’t want to leave. Mohamed describes the different types of housing inhabited by West Africans, many of them overlapping with those of other ethnic groups. Mohamed lived in a private apartment with roommates, but others lived in public housing or in the Park View Hotel.
Despite the less than opportune living and working conditions experienced by those living in Harlem, many people were resolved to stay. Many African Americans came up during the Great Migration to work in factors and to escape the segregation in the South. Many Puerto Ricans faced discrimination and the infant mortality rate was high. Still, the residents of Harlem, at least within their own ethnic groups, lived and worked as a community.
