Proposal for a 350th Anniversary

From its very beginning, Harlem has had a rich cultural and historical legacy closely tied to the African-American community. In 1658, enslaved Africans working for the Dutch built the original village of Nieuw Haarlem, just a few miles north of Nieuw Amsterdam.

The influx of large numbers of African-Americans in the first decades of the 20th century transformed Harlem into an epicenter of African-American art, music, and culture. Much of the Harlem Renaissance was centered in the Central Harlem area, attracting and nourishing such artistic pioneers as the writers Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, musician-composers Count Basie and Duke Ellington, and singer-performers Paul Robeson and Billie Holiday. Central Harlem became home to several vitally important cultural and historic institutions, including the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Apollo Theater, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the restored Lenox Lounge, Minton’s Playhouse, and many other jazz clubs and cultural organizations.

The celebration of Harlem’s 350th Anniversary this year offers an unprecedented opportunity to recognize and preserve this area’s historical, artistic, cultural, and architectural legacy. The Harlem Preservation Foundation (HPF) is seeking financial backing for a year-long celebration of Harlem’s unique place in American history and the creation of a Jazz/Cultural Historic District that will preserve this legacy for future generations.

Council of Urban Professionals Gala. Recognizing the importance of this anniversary and the need for renewed investment in Harlem, the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) has agreed to partner with the Harlem Preservation Foundation to use the CUP Gala on April 3, 2008 as the kickoff for the 350th anniversary celebration.

Bust of Juan “Jan” Rodrigues Installation. Juan “Jan” Rodrigues, the first known Black-Hispanic in the Hudson Valley, was instrumental in developing the successful Dutch Fur Trade with the Indians. Hudson River-125^th Street Pier Park.

African Diaspora Art Exhibits. Exhibitions at various Harlem locations, where the work of artists, such as Eli Kince, Lorenzo Pace, and others, would be on exhibit perhaps through the end of 2008.

Harlem Literary Salon. In collaboration with the annual July Harlem Book Fair, the salon would feature book signings and readings from new works by acclaimed authors such as Maya Angelou, Rosa Guy, Louise Meriwether, Toni Morrison, and Walter Moseley.

St. Clair Bourne Film Festival. This tribute to the recently deceased, Harlem-born activist and documentarian St. Clair Bourne will showcase Bourne’s work, the Black Documentary Collective Films and other Historic and Historical films celebrating Harlem/New York, and the African Diaspora. Multiple venues.

Caribbean Festival- Featuring Afro-Latin Jazz, Reggae, and Reggaeton Artists.

Harlem Hip Hop Tribute- A tribute featuring those who led the way/broke the mold in perpetuating the African Oral Tradition of social conscience and political consciousness for a “Positive Uplift.” Noted artists, e.g. DJ Kool Herc, Grand Master Flash, Doug E. Fresh, KRS One, Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, Public Enemy, et al, would perform and be honored.

Jazz Tribute- A musical tribute to living and also past jazz legends, including Louis Armstrong, Mary Lou Williams, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, and Nina Simone.

The festival could take place at multiple Harlem locations, including the Apollo Theater.

Harlem Historic Walk of Honor. The proposed Walk of Honor, for notable Harlem residents, would follow 125th Street from the Apollo Theatre to the Victoria.

Other possible events include a fashion show and education/curriculum panel discussions about the “Atlantic Creoles,” the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, North American slavery; the state and impact-negative or positive-of Hip Hop today; and the impact of the New York African Burial Ground and other archeological evidence of early African-Americans.

The creation of historic districts has emerged as a valuable way to preserve housing stock and the character of communities facing significant new development. These districts also help preserve the cultural history and legacy of their communities. Both individual buildings and entire blocks of architectural or historic interest worthy of preservation can gain landmark status, which range from recognition at the city level to a listing on the National Parks Service’s National Register of Historic Places, which is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.

Working with Columbia University’s Center for Technology, Innovation and Community Engagement (CTICE), HPF will identify culturally, architecturally, and historically significant

buildings and streetscapes in Central Harlem (see map at right) for inclusion in a proposals to city, state, and federal government for landmark protection.

CTICE student volunteers will research the regulatory structure (city, state, and federal) governing the creation of historic districts; compile a list of buildings that have already won landmark recognition; and compile a list of buildings and blocks worthy of preservation.

The ultimate objective is to guarantee the survival of Harlem’s rich heritage through landmarking significant portions of Central Harlem at the city, state, and federal levels.

Area under consideration for Jazz/Cultural Historic District

The Harlem Preservation Foundation (HPF) was founded to help save and preserve Harlem’s rich historic and cultural heritage as well as support educational, economic, and cultural resources in the Harlem community. HPF has been involved in preservation efforts throughout Central Harlem, organizing volunteers, enlisting elected officials and community leaders, and marshaling community resources to preserve and enhance the Harlem community.

Founded in 1988, Neighborhood Artists, Inc. is a Harlem-based not-for-profit organization that provides services to homeless and indigent families, seniors and artists. Originally focused on providing support for local artists, the organization expanded its mission as a result of the drastic increase of homeless families and individuals in New York City. Currently, among Neighborhood Artists accomplishments is a 20 units permanent housing complex including offices and congregant space for ongoing counseling services including an intergenerational, creative arts program and workshops.