Harlem
is one of the most famous black
neighborhoods in the United States and has a great
importance for black history, black culture and the civil
rights movement in America. Harlem is located in Manhattan,
north of the Central Park.
In the early 20th
century Harlem became an African-American neighborhood.
During the time of the civil rights movement Harlem played
an important role: Martin Luther King Jr. was the most
respected black leader in Harlem, as well as Malcolm
X, the leader of the Black Muslim Movement, who was
assassinated in Washington Heights in 1965. Today Malcolm X
Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Harlem
remind people of those important figures in history.
Harlem has always been
the center of African-American culture and in the 1920s this
movement
became known as the Harlem Renaissance. Jazz players, such
as Duke Ellington, played in one of the numerous jazz clubs.
People in Harlem have always been and still are very
religious, and many churches were built in Harlem. On
Sundays churches are full of people, the gospel choirs are attracting also people
from outside Harlem. The most famous church, the Abyssinian
Baptist Church, also attracts many tourists.
On the other hand,
Harlem has always been known as a slum and a ghetto. Only
since the 1990s this began to change. Before that, Harlem
was seriously struggling with poverty, crime and drug
epidemics, and the City of New York didn't seem to be able
to do anything against it for more than half a century. This
period of misery fortunately began to end, and since maybe
ten years Harlem is again a place worth living in, crime
rates have dropped and drug abuse is decreasing.
Personally I love
Harlem and its very friendly residents. Still many white
people can't be seen in Harlem and tourists only go there
with organized tours, but it's a shame because it's
definitely worth to visit Harlem on your own, that way you also
get in contact with people from there.
More Photos of Harlem >>
Color Photos of Harlem >>
Photos of people in Harlem >>
