Harlem from 1920 to 1960

Harlem 1920-1960 Culture of the Harlem

Harlem has indeed been a mirror of the diversity that sums up the essence of the American nation. It is the social, economic, and political environment in which the African-American cultural individuality has integrated and defined itself as a cornerstone of what came to be known today as the American nation. Despite the multitude of opinions arguing that there is no true American cultural identity, it is beyond any doubt its existence, even if it cannot be fully integrated in a cultural blueprint as expressed by the traditional analysis of the European standards. Indeed, the American culture lacks the time duration and from this point-of-view it can be said to be inferior to the French or the Italian ones which have their roots well defined by the Renaissance, or the Enlightenment era, for instance. Still, the specificity of the American culture lies precisely in its novelty and its enormous diversity which proved to offer a true sense of cultural identification for hundreds of millions of Americans. In this framework, the African-American culture which developed in the poor homes of the Harlem is essential for underlining the diversity of the U.S. cultural environment and at the same time, it stands out as the fruit of the tormented existence of the Black people, in a way, similar to the actual struggling experience of the creation of the United States.

African-Americans represent the symbol of a different culture from the European one, which had influenced and set the stage for the creation of the United States. On the one hand, black people, due to the historical circumstances that made them to come to America, were somewhat forced to adopt different means of expression of their grievances and at the same time of their cultural identity. In this sense, in the 1920s and 1940s, the Harlem became one of the most active places for the African-American population and a crucial point for the rediscovery of their cultural inspiration. Clare Corbould considered that "African-Americans heard the noise, or sound, of Harlem, rather differently. To them, it indicated a distinctive and valuable culture." This was perceived in such a manner due to the fact that they considered culture and the use of their national and racial elements of identification as a tool for manifestation and for staging their own identity by comparison to the white people's criticism and exclusion.

The black population in Harlem considered the expression of their cultural identity as a means to erase or at least reduce the racial discrimination and ill treatment and, as one review of Mckay's "Harlem: Negro Metropolis" notes, Harlem represented an area in which Negroes have created a new order to obliterate the old social one of race, an order that was based upon custom and tradition. The new order of Negro megalopolis is one neither absolute nor sacred to the area's residents, more or less artificial, of course, but pragmatic. In this Harlem race is primordial, education more than a social ritual, politics empirical, amusements vocational and avocational, religion a quest rather than a tradition, and any "cause" of the "lost" variety, if it involves race, an occasion for striking up the band.

Indeed, the identification of the Harlem areal with a cultural framework was essential for the population living in the small and poor neighborhoods of New York. Although there have been numerous voices that considered the Harlem as an insalubrious area of the great city, in fact it was a matter of perception and of point-of-view. In this sense, for instance, Claude Brown expressed his views on the neighborhood through the perspective of his own childhood experience, as "he was born in Harlem (and) at the age of sixteen, began selling marijuana and cocaine." From his point-of-view, and especially taking into consideration the vivid and negative accounts of Harlem Brown had offered throughout his books, its negative perception of the neighborhood is more than entitled. However, it can be said that parts of the elements he presented, such as dirty flats, slums, the offensive white police, represented in fact the physical aspect of an area in which black people were not welcomed and were constantly rejected the right to belong to. At the same time, the author points out in his autobiography, "Man child in the Promised land" the evolution of the cultural and individual identity of the black community, as they tried to recreate and adjust their own cultural demands to a hostile environment. In this sense, Brown notes his mother's devotion to God during trying times, thus suggesting the strong commitment of the African-Americans to their religious beliefs.

Thus, from a different perspective, it is fair to say that Harlem cannot be considered a mere outrageous place, but also one in which a community, especially the black community, struggled to find and rebuilt its cultural identity in order to be part of what is called the American society.

There were different ways in which the cultural identity of the African-Americans manifested in Harlem throughout the period from the 20s up to the 60s. While some considered the neighborhood to be a "cancer in the heart of the city," it is due to the black community in Harlem that Jazz became available to the larger audience, as well as different types of interpretative theater. Therefore it can be argued that it represented a central point for the formation of an African-American identity.

The history of the Jazz music is inevitably linked to the evolution of the Black Harlem. The sounds and bits of the jazz music were "an entirely American-made, modern expression of primitivism." It represents a combination between the perspective the African background has offered the black community and the experiences they have had throughout their existence. Thus, many have viewed jazz as being a the primitive sound of the urban space, similar to the actual image of the African-American living in the city which includes the idea of savagism combined with civilization. However, while some find it evolutionary, others consider it to be a regressive step in the development of the city and therefore label the African-American presence as being a "cancer in the heart of the city."

The existence of a distinct community inside a major city cannot be perfectly interpreted in terms of only financial problems the respective groups pose for the wider majority. Indeed, there are figures to show that there was great poverty among the dwellers of the Harlem. In this sense, the years preceding the Depression were important in terms of the rise in the number of the population and the decrease in the number of houses. From this perspective, the crowded spaces and precarious living conditions, as suggested by Winston McDowell were a shortcoming for the image New York wanted to convey to the world. It represented the symbol for a decaying society taken as a whole, and, from the white majority's perspective, a pit for increased violence. Nonetheless, one cannot argue that the situation in those days in the neighborhood was the full result of the black Americans and other minorities that had found shelter in Harlem. Rather, it would be fair to say that, taking into account the evolution of the black community and the way in which it settled in Harlem, the miserable conditions they lived in were the result of the white pressure and the black population's lack of possibility to adjust to this pressure. The fact that whites were still determined to control the entire city, including the areas such as the Black Harlem where blacks were a majority determined the latter to consider a certain opposition and rebellious attitude. From this point-of-view, the sense of violence and the behavior that created the bad fame of the neighborhood was a reaction in fact to the conditions African-Americans had to endure throughout decades of exclusion.

On an opposite point-of-view lies the idea that in fact the violence of the black American man and of the Harlem dweller is more a preconception rather than a reality based assumption. Alain Locke idea of the Old Negro can be placed in the Harlem framework, because, as he suggests,

The Old Negro had long become more of a myth than a man. The Old Negro, we must remember, was a creature of moral debate and historical controversy. His has been a stock figure perpetuated as an historical fiction partly in innocent sentimentalism, partly in deliberate reactionism. The Negro himself has contributed his share to this through a sort of protective social mimicry forced upon him by the adverse circumstances of dependence. So for generations in the mind of America, the Negro has been more of a formula than a human being --a something to be argued about, condemned or defended, to be "kept down," or "in his place," or "helped up," to be worried with or worried over, harassed or patronized, a social bogey or a social burden.

From Locke's point-of-view, the traditional black person, the one most critics of the Harlem consider being responsible for the unsuccessful image of the neighborhood, is the result of a historical and popular creation of the common mind. Their main arguments are based on historical assumptions and on facts which have represented turning points for the evolution of the African-American society throughout the decades, and especially during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. In this regard, the Old Negro, and the one considered to be the traditional presence in the Harlem, is the result of history, and not of recent or contemporary events.

From the point-of-view of historical preconceptions and stereotypes, it would unwise to consider Harlem as being indeed a cancer in the heart of a city, taking into account the fact that there is no objective comparison being made. Locke points out the fact that the Negro of today be seen through other than the dusty spectacles of past controversy. The day of "aunties," "uncles" and "mammies" is equally gone. Uncle Tom and Sambo have passed on, and even the "Colonel" and "George" play barnstorm roles from which they escape with relief when the public spotlight is off. The popular melodrama has about played itself out, and it is time to scrap the fictions, garret the bogeys and settle down to a realistic facing of facts.

This idea comes to suggest that to a certain degree, it is important to take into account not necessarily the entrenched views on a certain group of individuals or a community, but rather to acknowledge both benefits and shortcomings. In this sense, while the fact that there is an increase sense of violence in the Harlem is an issue that cannot be overlooked, the fact that the African-Americans brought a new feeling of cultural identity is undeniable.

On the one hand, it is important to consider the wide variety of the Harlem environment and the possibilities it could offer from the 20s up to the 60s. There were for instance certain interesting, yet representative figures for the Harlem framework, such as Countee Cullen, Richmond Barthe, Wallace Thurman who were considered extravagant characters due to their particular sexual orientation. Therefore, from the point-of-view of a traditionalist critique, it could be said that it tined the image of a true and respectable artist, especially taking into account the fact that they were representatives for the voice of the black people.

On the other hand however, each of them was appreciated distinctively. Thus, Countee Cullen was one of the most important writers for the emancipation of the black community, with poems such as "Heritage" in which his presentation of Africa cannot be overlooked. Also, Richmond Barthe is one of the best known Harlem Renaissance artists, not so much for the artistic work he produced, but rather for the tremendous effort he put in revealing to the world the spirit of the African emancipation.

Therefore it would be hard to determine the actual impact each of the images these personalities had created had on the collective mentality of the white individuals analyzing Harlem. It may be that there is a predominance of a negative image, that of a depraved black society, or that of a creative and free spirited one. Each of these options notwithstanding, they represent in fact a set of guidelines which determines in the end the actual perspective one has over the Harlem neighborhood, a cancer to the city or a cultural spring.

The artistic manifestations and the theatrical representations that first emerged on the streets of Harlem and not on the most famous theatres of New York come to underline the perspective of the Harlem as a cultural framework rather than then a neighborhood pledged by scenes of violence and gang fights. The Harlem had been long perceived as an environment suited for the freedom of expression, in which artists could expose their creation without any critics limitations. The particular sense of racial rebellion that had long placed Harlem at the opposite corner of the white communities nurtured the idea of nonconformist attitudes and liberation from social, moral, and artistic constraints. A representative scene is the one presented by Clare Corbould who considered the 1936 representation of Macbeth as a sign for the free spirited nature of Harlem. Thus,

When the WPA production of Macbeth, directed by a young Orson Welles, opened in Harlem in 1936, the eighty-five members of the Monarch Negro Elks band marched in spectacular uniforms behind banners reading "Macbeth by William Shakespeare." They brought 10,000 people out onto the street and led them to the theatre. Out the front of the playhouse, the Elks' band played an open-air concert. Northbound traffic stood still for an hour while police battled to clear a path through to the theater's foyer.

Therefore, throughout the history of Harlem there was a constant sense of being able to defy the normal social conducts without however infringing the liberties of other communities. This came in response to the fact that there was a cultural background which could be exploited, one determined by coordinates that did not fit into the traditional marks of early modernist art. These initiatives are in this sense an important step taken towards the emancipation and reorientation of the artistic feel in America and New York because it offered artists and critics alike to explore certain artistic possibilities without respecting particular boundaries that would have curved interpretative desires. From this point-of-view, the Harlem background which facilitated this sort of artistic experiments had an important contribution to the modernization of American art.

Indeed, there are other examples that could be deemed important for revealing the artistic valences of the Harlem. As stated before, there is no doubt of the importance religion plays in the mental and moral organization of the African-American community. The belief in a supreme power that constantly protects the blacks' harsh destiny in a segregated society was a strong bond that developed and maintained the unity of the African-American communities throughout their existence, from the slave period up to the Harlem Renaissance artistic movement. This religiosity would explain the thorough attention given to Biblical issues. However, unlike traditional representations, certain themes and characters from the Bible were addressed through a black perspective, thus offering a sense of innovation and individuality to the way in which art can be perceived through racial and cultural lens. An important figure in this sense was African-American artist and poet Richard Bruce Nugent who presented at one point in the 1930s a distinctive image of Salome, the Biblical character, not so much through a particular use of traditional identifiable elements, but rather in a more open and uncensored view. In this sense,

His Salome images of 1930, for example, illustrate female bodies, many of them named for biblical characters, performing a sexy burlesque of hyperbolized gender. The curves of these dancing figures are sparingly outlined in transparent strokes, so that their bodies are denied a sense of corporeality. They are surfaces on which Nugent placed exaggerated attributes that seem to mimic gender, rather than to express its authenticity.

His approach did not betray a lack of knowledge of the traditional understanding of the artistic phenomenon; it was more a matter of innovation and of a free spirit, a sense of unrestricted interpretation. This innovative style is representative not so much for the actual results it produced, but rather for the cultural essence it stood for, which was a new influx of originality and interpretative freedom, a break away from dusty old forms of artistic approaches.

From a cultural point-of-view, therefore, it is rather difficult to deny the Harlem its major contributions it brought to developing what is today the true American culture. Albert C. Barnes underlines this fact, as the contributions of the American Negro to art are representative because they come from the hearts of the masses of a people held together by like yearnings and stirred by the same causes. It is a sound art because it comes from a primitive nature upon which a white man's education has never been harnessed. It is a great art because it embodies the Negroes' individual traits and reflects their suffering, aspirations and joys during a long period of acute oppression and distress

Therefore, it brought in a new sense of innovation and different perspectives on the way in which elements of common life and even biblical themes can be interpreted. Moreover, it was obvious that the African-American community was not seen as part of the traditional American society, but rather at its outskirts; this exclusion from the normal cultural and social framework of New York enabled Harlem to become an ideal place for the ideas of innovation and experimentation which were exploited more in a context which allowed such deviances from the social and cultural norm. From this point-of-view, it can be said that Harlem was more a cultural heaven rather than a poor racially segregated environment.

An economic view of the Harlem

The issue of the economic conditions in the neighborhood has often been invoked in order to create the image of Harlem as a decaying part of an emerging city. Indeed, there have been periods in the contemporary history of Harlem which can be transcribed in figures to show that living conditions, as well as different other measurements for social well being are particularly below the average of most white communities. Thus, from this point-of-view, Harlem is indeed a stain on the image of New York. Nonetheless, in order to give a proper assessment of the conditions it is important to take into account not only the visible results, but also the underlying factors that led to the poor social and economic level of the Harlem from the interwar period onwards.

One of the first issues that should be taken into account is the financial situation of most families in the Harlem. Those who considered the neighborhood as being a cancer in the heart of the city most often relied on arguments that included or related to the miserable conditions in which black people lived. As Winston McDowell suggested, there was a serious decline in the economic situation of the African-Americans especially in the early 30s. The wages were visibly lower than the actual expenses blacks had to endure in order to live decently and thus, in time, they choose cheaper places of living, sometimes even three families living in the same flat. From this point-of-view, it obvious that the misery and despair that characterized the black neighborhood was in fact a result of a causal relationship between necessities and means of satisfying those necessities.

Every human being is, without a doubt entitled to a decent way of life, one that would assure him the respect for the basic human rights. America has been widely considered as offering the opportunity of those brave enough to challenge their existing life, to search for a better existence. These two points placed together, it is fair to say that for black Americans, the descendants of freed slaves, the U.S. was indeed a land of all opportunities. Even for eastern immigrants, Jews, Chinese, or other minorities in the country, America stood for a dream that could be attained through hard work and determination. This can be said to have been the spirit driving forward the black mentality, as well as the thoughts of the rest of the immigrant communities. Nonetheless, it was arguably the case, especially in Harlem. In this sense, "For the thousands of aspiring blacks who had moved to Harlem, their promise land was now an economic wasteland.

The enormous difference between the dream and the actual reality is the result of numerous different factors. A major part was played however by the segregated society created in Harlem following the increase of the number of black people, after the earlier establishment of the white communities in what was considered in the early 20s to be a residential area.

The particular relationship between the white community and the black one represented an important element in the decaying social condition of the African-Americans. Aside from the discrepancies in terms of social rights and in fact basic human rights which were rarely allowed for the black population, there was also the psychological segregation which defined the relationship between the whites and the blacks.

There are various opinions on the matter of the existence of this actual psychological segregation. Melville J. Herskovits presents both aspects, in this sense. Therefore, from one point-of-view, it can be said that in appearance, there was no distinction between the whites and the blacks living in Harlem, in terms of jobs. The author presents his personal experience in which he noticed the prevalence of a sense of uniformity in the Harlem community, thus a sort of acculturation of the black and white communities. He remarks, met persons who were lawyers and doctors and editors and writers, who were chauffeurs and peddlers and longshoremen and real estate brokers and capitalists, teachers and nurses and students and waiters and cooks, and all Negroes. Cabarets and theaters, drugstores and restaurants just like those everywhere else.

Indeed, it is possible that the society evolve to a certain degree in which to accumulate influences from all the elements which enter in its composition. However, this cannot be achieved to an equal degree. In this sense, it may be that black people living in Harlem adopted certain patters from the white community in order to survive the pressures. However, it is rather hard to argue the fact that both blacks and whites represented, especially in the years following the war, a homogenous community. For the blacks, it was more a matter of survival, rather than a follow up of the dream for success.

The matter of psychological segregation between the whites and the blacks is indeed an important matter because it offers the possibility to address the issue of Harlem as a cancer, a disease in the city, or a cultural reference point. Moreover, the possibility of this segregation would also justify and determine the criteria according to which a Harlem was labeled an illness for New York, and at the same time a source for cultural innovation.

One important argument presented in favor of the idea of acculturation is given by Herskovits who considers that Harlem was, back in 1925, already a homogenous environment. In this sense, he gives several examples to underline the sense of uniformity that was created in the society at the time.

Notice them as they go about their work -- they do almost all of the things the whites do, and in much the same way. The popular newspapers in Harlem are not the Negro papers -- there is even no Negro daily-- but the city newspapers which everyone reads. And there is the same gossipy reason why the Harlemites read their own weeklies as that which causes the inhabitants of Chelsea, of the Bronx, of Putnam, Connecticut, or of West Liberty, Ohio, to read theirs. When we come to the student groups in Harlem, we find that the same process occurs -- the general culture-pattern has taken them horse, foot and artillery.

Therefore, from his point-of-view, the entire spectrum of the society was somewhat atomized, from the jobs black people take, to the newspapers they read, they are in the general trend expressed by the whites. However, it may be that certain aspects of everyday life resembled one another, but still for the majority of the African-Americans life was far from the traditional white people's standards. For instance, the issue of health represented an increasingly worrisome matter. In 1924, an analysis conducted in Harlem reported a grave situation at the level of the black community. In this sense, Reid points out that Comparing three sanitary areas comprising Harlem with the total rate for the borough of Manhattan we find that in one district the infant mortality rate is more than twice as high as the infant mortality rate for the borough.

Therefore, Reid's perspective offers a clear insight on the actual living conditions and standard of life, and the great need for an improvement. The miserable conditions were due to the poverty blacks lived in which in turn gave white people the opportunity to reject this part of the city and consider it a bad influence on the overall image of New York. In this sense, there cannot be talk of an uniform situation among the black and the white communities and physiological segregation was indeed present. The material aspect of one's life gives him or the community he is part of a sense of superiority or inferiority. In the case of the black community, their precarious life style placed them in inferiority and thus enabled the white community to exercise more power and control over Harlem, an issue that would eventually stir confrontations between the two sides.

The life experienced by the Negro population in Harlem throughout the decades was the result of a sum of factors. Indeed, there were economic reasons for which the blacks had a lower standard of living, but this was in fact a consequence of the events that were taking place at the time and the unequal chances they were being offered.

A relevant example in this sense is the employment in different areas of work. For instance, while Herskovits considered that black people in the 1920s had somewhat similar job opportunities and were engaged in activities similar to the ones practiced by the white population, other authors suggest the contrary. In this sense, Reid underlined in 1925 the scarce job opportunities for the black population. Thus, survey was made of 258 stores employing 160 Negroes chiefly as porters -- and places that had a very large Negro patronage-asking that they permit opportunities for colored workers along with white in other occupations. Despite the fact that many persistent efforts were made, it was only possible to place 4 stenographers with one concern (...) Many of them of course were willing to employ them as porters and maids but nothing more.

This discriminatory attitude was determined by a lack of interest towards the actual capabilities of the African-Americans and at the same time by the wide degree of discrimination which characterized the white society. However, there was yet another issue that played a major part in supporting this discriminatory attitude. At the time when Harlem became increasingly populated with black people, the white communities still held control over the businesses and shops. Therefore, hiring and firing of the personal was a practice commonly used against black people. This was possible however due to the fact that there was no apparent competition to the white supremacy. Any commercial attempt was limited in its scope. Thus, Reid concludes that the main businesses in this community are carried on not by Negroes, but by Jews and Caucasians. The development of Negro business has been confined-apart from real estate-to undertakers, venders, cigar stores, and insurance.

This almost exclusive business spirit transformed the Blacks not so much in terms of the economic prospects, but more in terms of the mentality it was created among the African-American community. Indeed, there were financial shortcomings because blacks were paid much less than the average Harlem dweller, but at the same time this situation reduced their status to a second level human presence. Charles Johnson notes in this respect precisely the difference the pressure of the city, combined with the effect race and ethnicity had on developing the specificities of each minority group. Thus,

The city creates its own types. The Jew, for example, is by every aptitude and economic attachment a city dweller (...) the Negro by tradition, and probably by temperament, represents the exact contrast. His metier is agriculture. To this economy his mental and social habits have been adjusted. No elaborate equipment is necessary for the work of the farm. Life is organized on a simple plan looking to a minimum of wants and a rigid economy of means.

There was also discrimination in terms of the jobs they had access to, most of the times their presence being confined to unskilled labor and low poorly paid endeavors. Johnson views this aspect indeed as a matter of racial classification.

Racial orthodoxy seems to demand that the respective status of the white and Negro races be maintained as nearly intact as the interests of industry will permit. Study the distribution of Negro workers in New York City: they are by all odds the most available class for personal service positions "blind alley" jobs which lead to nothing beyond the merit of long and faithful service. They are the porters, waiters, messengers, elevator tenders, chauffeurs and janitors.

It was barely in 1925 that Johnson considers s sense of emancipation became available to blacks around the city in general and in the Big City in particular. However, the transition or rather the emancipation of the African community in terms of economic initiatives would see a vigorous improvement only during the 40s and 60s when black elites would begin to advocate for the freedom of black people from the yoke of the white man's business initiatives. Nonetheless, it is important to underline the fact that at the beginning of their physical presence in the city environment and of New York in particular, black people were scarcely represented at the level of business ownership, and even in those cases, they lacked any economic power significance, even among their own community due to the constant influence of the white entrepreneurs.

From this point-of-view, the representation of job opportunities was all the more essential to the eventual development of both the economic spectrum in the African-American community as well as inside the black family. There was a clear distinction between the working powers of the men as compared to that of the women. However, it must be stressed the fact that women in the early days of Harlem did not work on a regular basis. Nonetheless, as the situation worsened, they were inevitably forced to join the working environment and, at the same time, to cater for the family. Most of the times, they too were given second level job opportunities as "Negro women are freely employed as laundresses and servants. Though they are in fierce competition with the women of other races, 24,438 or 60 per cent of all the Negro women working in New York are either laundresses or servants" the statistics in this sense point out a rather grim situation. By 1927, more than half of the women in Harlem were active in the working place, "In New York City 90.3 per cent of all Negro men and 57.9 per cent of all Negro women 10 years of age and over are at work." Still, it was not so much the percentage that raised an issue for the black community, but more the actual age of their employment, which was inferior to any other minority group by comparison. This came to point out the increased economic necessities facing the community and, as a consequence, it indirectly indicated the limited amount of time the young generation would have for its intellectual preparation and educational future. This in turn would result in mediocre prospects and thus a perpetuation of the state of inferiority of the African-Americans in comparison to the other minority groups.

There were also external factors which determined the poor economic conditions of the black community which in turn fostered violence and disruption. The years of the Depression were immensely harsh on the Harlem communities. The late 1920s represented a real shock for the entire United States, but it has been considered that northern states were hit in particular due to their industrial nature. Taking into account the fact that black workers were seen as second class employees, the expression "last hired, first fired" was representative for their status. As job cuts had to be made due to the great economic slum the U.S. had fallen into, black workers were the first ones to be laid off. The criterion was not so much the efficiency aspect, because an important percentage of the black workers were engaged in work needing physical power, but more the issue of race. This proved to play a major role in the sensitive equilibrium of the African-American community which was thus deprived of an important source of income, a fact that led parts of the community, in Harlem in particular, to engage in a life of misery and shortcomings that also influenced the overall perspective of the neighborhood many saw as a cancer in the heart of the city.

Another external factor which, this time, shifted to a certain degree the direction of the economic situation of the African-American community was the Second World. It is considered by scholars as being an important moment for the employment emancipation of the African-Americans and more precisely of the black women. In this sense, the labor contribution of the black population became more appreciated and it was an obvious improvement of both the percentages related to the employment rate and of the spheres of activity in which blacks exercised their jobs. Thus, Karen Anderson contents that Between 1940 and 1944 the proportion of employed black women engaged in domestic service declined from 59.9% to 44.6%, although their share of jobs in this field increased because white women exited from private household work in even greater proportions. In addition, the percentage of the black female labor force in farm work was cut in half, as many from the rural South migrated to urban areas in response to the demand for war workers.

This was seen as a general trend in the U.S. from the point-of-view of the desperate need for assistance in the war effort. At that moment, all minority groups were offered an increased importance in the productive sectors. Nonetheless, the general view of this period as well pointed out the continuous discriminatory attitude in terms of hiring and firing. In this sense, while females became engaged even in the war industry, black males were especially preferred in heavy industry jobs due to their physical superior qualities. The persistence of the racial discrimination still marked the American society in general and the New Yorker in particular. According to a set of statistics,

In April 1943 only 74 out of 280 establishments that employed women in production work were willing to hire black women. Similarly, a 1943 study by the National Metal Trades Association revealed that only twenty-nine out of sixty-two plants that used women workers had black women in their employ. Moreover, most of them used black women only in janitorial positions.

From this point-of-view, it can be said that in the prewar period, the qualities and abilities of most African-American women were particularly unappreciated and were thus reduced to a secondary labor force. Nonetheless, the pressures made by various professional groups improved the status of qualified African-American women and enabled them a fair recognition of their contribution. In this sense, the activities of groups such as National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses represented an important moment in the eventual emancipation of black women. Thus, by 1943,

It (was) created a special unit within its National Nursing Council for War Service (NNCWS) to foster the integration of black nurses into all war work (this unit) worked to encourage black schools to create or upgrade nursing education programs and to participate in the Cadet Nurse Corps, to persuade white schools to admit blacks to their programs, and to fight discrimination against black nurses by public and private hospitals.

The result was somewhat encouraging because it offered, on the one hand, the possibility of African-Americans to increase their professional abilities and, on the other hand, it enabled to achieve a different status in the general professional environment. In New York, there was a sensible rise in the number of the hospitals which agreed to employ black nurses, from fourteen to thirty two. Nonetheless, despite these initiatives, there were scarce and did not result in an essential improvement in the conditions of neither African women, nor the black community in particular. The discriminatory element persisted and affected constantly the perception of the afro Americans in big cities, and in the Harlem.

Summing up this section, it can be said that, on the one hand, there were considerable improvements made in terms of the conditions of the African-Americans by allowing them to earn a minimum subsistence wage in order to support their lives. On the other hand however, the discriminatory attitudes created an immense disadvantage for this racial group because it did not allow them the opportunity of equal chances. From this point-of-view, it is hard to view the African-American community as having the financial strengths and psychological capacity to overcome such hurdles and improve the quality of their existence and of their living environment. Thus, indeed, the conditions existing in Harlem were unworthy of a modern city in America. Still, the social and psychological environment which characterized the city did not allow the black population or any other minority group to financially emancipate. The rebirth of the Afro American society would only be achieved through political pressure and activism.

The politics of Harlem

Every nation or minority group must have its leaders and personalities who drive forward the community spirit and who are the voices of the grievances, the rights, and opportunities of the members of the respective group. In most cases, they are the most visible elements of the society they represent and the outside world most often identifies the group with the actions and activities of the leaders. This inevitable reality has a double effect. It can either be a benefic one, or, on the contrary, it can induce a negative perception of the group to the rest of the society to which they belong. In the case of the Harlem community, the existence of such leaders proved to have both effects, especially from the perspective of the majority of the white population. In this particular situation, taking into account the prevalence of the white spirit, it was only natural that the quantification of the role black and other minority leaders be expressed from the perspective of the white majority and with reference to the authorities such leaders entered in contact with. In this respect, throughout the history of the Harlem social and economic tensions between African-Americans and the white community, there were actions that led to positive outcomes, as well as instances which led to the deterioration of the image of the blacks in the eyes of the white authorities and population, which in turn justified their belief and labeling of Harlem as being a cancer in their city.

There have been numerous discussions over the actual role of Harlem, and most of the times they took into account the black population. Indeed it is without a doubt the fact that in the collective conscience the idea of Harlem is immediately associated with the African-Americans. However, it is important first of all to consider even the role other minorities had in framing a positive or negative view on Harlem. Dealing with the issue of the Spanish, Jewish, or Chinese minorities before discussing the African-American political activities in Harlem is perhaps more suited because while the latter were better represented in this area, the former were most of the times marked by more serious problems in terms of representation of their rights and grievances. Also, the presence of Latinos, Jews, or Chinese is somewhat limited in time and space, while the African-American community remains a permanent point of reference for Harlem as a social and cultural identity.

The Spanish presence in New York represented a phenomenon which started especially after the end of the Second World War and was led by mostly Puerto Ricans and Cubans. They settled in what would later be called East Harlem, yet this is not considered to be the first place of their establishment. Thus,

It became the de facto center of cultural life after large-scale displacement from Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, the Upper West Side, and more recently, Williamsburg and the Lower East Side.

Therefore, from the point-of-view of the historical placement, most Latinos found refuge in Harlem and established their cultural and social point in East Harlem. Nonetheless, despite the fact that they arrived later than black people did, their fate and their exposure to discriminatory behavior from the white majority group was no less important. As all the immigrants coming in America, and especially those willing to work for much less, Latinos were viewed by employers as a good means of reaching higher profits, and by their labor counterparts as subversive forces for the level of the wage value. Thus, from this point-of-view, they did not benefit from an easier treatment and were at times, even considered responsible for the wrongs taking place in the city.

In the 1960s Spanish Harlem, which had been previously an Italian corridor for the immigrants from Europe, began to feel the pressure and influence of the Negro borough due to the fact that the latter started to expand. Nonetheless, it was a predominant Puerto Rican and Negro area.

The Puerto Ricans are to this day an important element in the social structure of the New York population, but their influence is felt mostly in the Spanish Harlem, despite the fact that they are considered to be on the verge of a complete assimilation by the overall American society. Reports and opinions from ordinary people have shown that there is less and less the issue of the physical demarcation of the Spanish borough from the rest of the city and Spanish origin people are all the more inclined to reach out to achieve the American dream of prosperity and equal opportunities.

Despite this tendency to make a uniform society, free of economic and social barriers, even today, for the Spanish Harlem, the actual situation on the ground has barely improved. A relevant example in this sense would be the refusal of providing certain services as a result of the general perception of East Harlem as a dangerous place, "Taxi drivers sometimes dropped off passengers at 96th Street rather than venture farther north to what they considered to be a crime-ridden area. Some courier services also refused to cross the line. Even the row of upscale shops along Second and Third Avenues stopped just short of 96th Street."