08/08

A Rallying Cry for Harlem

On Wednesday, July 19th, 2006, the placards and signs said it all. CLINTON MOVED IN AND WE'RE NOT MOVING OUT. ..... DELANO VILLAGE. LENOX TERRACE. THE DUNBAR. RUTHLESS LANDLORDS TAKING HARLEM BY STORM. YOUR BUILDING NEXT..... HARLEMITES THIS IS THE LAST STOP ON THE "A" TRAIN. THERE'S NO WHERE ELSE TO LIVE.

I took my camera out on this hot, summer day, to document the activities of demonstrators gathered in front of 55 West 125th street, also known as the location of President Clinton's offices. They were there to bring attention to the plight of Harlem's longtime residents in some of Harlem's most famous residences. The demonstration was organized by the Harlem Tenants Council. According to Executive Director Nellie Bailey, "We are here as living witness to the displacement that is taking place in Harlem -- that so many longtime Harlemites are in fact losing their homes". And it was these long-time residents that took to the streets. The demonstrators were middle-aged, and the elderly who demonstrated their strength and will to fight for their piece of Harlem as they held their signs up in the beating sun and chanted refrains of protest recalling the civil rights era. This is the other side of the story of Harlem's current renaissance.

The Harlem Tenants Council hosts an upcoming Harlem Community Forum on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006 from 6 - 8pm. at St. Ambrose Episcopal Church at 9 West 130th Street. The Topic: "Gentrification, Displacement and the Survival of the Black Historic Metropolis of Harlem: An Analysis of Harlem's Second Renaissance"