Good Morning POU!
Harlem today, was Philip Payton and John Nail’s dreams realized?
Since New York City’s revival in the late 20th century, Harlem has been experiencing social and economic gentrification. Harlem’s black population peaked in the 1950s, but the neighborhood is still predominantly people of color, though not necessarily African American.
Within the past ten to twenty years, African Americans have been moving out of Harlem. According to the United States Census, in 2008, for the first time since the 1930’s, less than half of the residents in Harlem were of African descent, compared to the 70% it reached in the mid-20th century. This percentage has been decreasing and will continue to decrease due to gentrification and the influx of upper middle class New Yorkers.
Unlike the cultural and literary renaissance of the 1920’s, the current rebirth of Harlem is based more on economic development than cultural preservation. A brief walk through any section of the community will reveal the sights and sounds of construction crews at work developing properties. Even former President Bill Clinton established his office in Harlem.
Real estate broker Norman Horowitz of Halstead Property’s Harlem office notes that gentrification isn’t necessarily new in Harlem.
“All real estate goes through cycles,” said Horowitz. “ I think that Harlem is definitely gentrified. Twice, actually within the last 20 years, but keep in mind if you go back 400 years Harlem has been gentrified 10 times and in between those times there have been wars, depressions, and illnesses. It’s how it goes.”
An article on the effects of gentrification in Humanity in Action puts it succinctly in terms of food:
Originally, soul food restaurants were the dominant diners here in Harlem but traditional dishes such as butter beans, country fried steak, and oxtail soup are becoming increasingly hard to find. Historical eateries such as 22 West, where Malcolm X used to do radio broadcasts, along with many others have been forced to close down in recent years, due to a lack of customers and an increase of rent.
According to a recent New York Times article, contemporary Harlemites are more interested in ‘healthier options’ such as ‘soul-food-light,’ Thai or Chinese food, and although at first one might see no wrong in these alternate dietary preferences, it is not as simple as another community succumbing to the current health craze. Soul food’s popularity is not declining in Atlanta, Georgia or even in Queens, New York. The closing down of Harlem restaurants is a product of the influx of wealthy younger, non-natives into Harlem, forcing soul foods’ traditional customers to leave the neighborhood. It is just one instance of a greater dilemma in Harlem—the fact that gentrification breeds displacement.
And then there was the fight to preserve the home of the legendary poet and writer Langston Hughes before it too, was lost to gentrification. Fortunately the home of one of the most influential intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance was saved and restored as a salon for young writers to continue his legacy.
So perhaps the dreams of Philip Payton and John Nail were not physically realized, but as has been stated, more than anything, and maybe just as important, Harlem is a state of mind.