Two Black males, in tuxedos, clasp arms and dance in a smoky foreground in a scene from “In search of Langston,” the 1989 movie that reevaluated homosexual and lesbian contributions to the Harlem Renaissance.
A map of Manhattan with a boundary drawn round Harlem, simply north of Central Park.
A map exhibits the borders of Harlem, which, south to north, extends from the highest of Central Park to the realm above 145th Avenue, and, west to east, from St. Nicholas Park to Fifth Avenue.
A black-and-white {photograph} of Ma Rainey’s Georgia Jazz Band. Ma Rainey, in a costume and headband, is surrounded by 5 Black male musicians enjoying, from left, trombone and trumpet.
JP Jazz Archives/Redferns
On Stage and Off
Many L.B.G.T. performers and entertainers of the Renaissance used their artistry to precise their sexuality. Others went to nice lengths to maintain their personal lives hidden. Solely not too long ago have students been capable of unpack their sophisticated lives, offering a brighter, clearer imaginative and prescient of who they have been.
A map highlighting numerous factors in Harlem.
A map of Harlem with a location labeled “Ma Rainey on the Lincoln Theater” close to one hundred and thirty fifth Avenue and Lenox Avenue.
Map with location labeled “Gladys Bentley on the Clam Home” close to one hundred and thirty fifth Avenue.
Map with location labeled “Bessie Smith at Lodge Olga” within the northernmost a part of Harlem.
Map with a location labeled “Jimmie Daniels” on 116th Avenue, and {a photograph} of Jimmie Daniels Restaurant.
Map with a location labeled “Ethel Waters” close to Colonial Park in northwest Harlem, and {a photograph} of 580 St. Nicholas Avenue, the place she lived for a time.
Map with a location labeled “Edna Thomas” in south Harlem, and {a photograph} of 1890 Seventh Avenue, the place she lived.
Map with a location labeled “Georgette Harvey” south of 116th Avenue.
Map with a location labeled “Alberta Hunter” north of one hundred and thirty fifth Avenue, and {a photograph} of 133 West 138th Avenue, the place she lived.
Patrons of the Savoy Ballroom dancing the Lindy Hop and different dances.
Out and About
Because the interval flourished, so did the variety of public and semi-public areas for L.G.B.T. life — theaters, lodges, cabarets, salons, nightclubs, parks, bathhouses, streets — developed, mentioned Shane Vogel, a professor of English and African American Research at Yale College and the writer of “The Scene of Harlem Cabaret: Race, Sexuality, Efficiency.”
Every location “created areas for individuals in Harlem to expertise new sorts of social contacts and erotic prospects that weren’t as broadly obtainable within the a long time earlier than the Harlem Renaissance,” he mentioned.
Patrons of the
Map with a location labeled “Hamilton Lodge at Rockland Palace” on the very prime of Harlem, and {a photograph} of 280 West one hundred and fifty fifth Avenue, the place the venue was situated.
Map with a location labeled “Ubangi Membership” at 131st Avenue and Seventh Avenue, and {a photograph} of the constructing the place the venue was situated.
Map with a location labeled “Swing Avenue” at West 133rd Avenue, operating between Lenox and Seventh Avenue, and {a photograph} of The Nest, one of many nightlife venues on that block.
Map with a location labeled “The Cotton Membership” at 142nd Avenue and Lenox Avenue, and {a photograph} of the outside of the membership, with a big marquee and vehicles within the foreground.
Map with a location labeled “Clam Home” at West 133rd Avenue, close to Seventh Avenue, and {a photograph} of the outside of the membership, with an awning, flanked by two vehicles.
Map with a location labeled “Savoy Ballroom” on Lenox Avenue, between one hundred and fortieth and 141st Streets, and {a photograph} of the outside of the membership, with a big marque that reads “SAVOY.” Pedestrians stroll within the foreground.
Map with a location labeled “Mount Morris Bathhouse” at 28 East a hundred and twenty fifth Avenue, simply outdoors the east parameter of Harlem, and {a photograph} of the constructing, with a person crossing the road within the foreground.
Map with a location labeled “Harlem Y.M.C.A.” at 180 West one hundred and thirty fifth Avenue, close to Seventh Avenue, and an illustration of the constructing, which rises excessive above its neighbors.
Map with a location labeled “Lodge Olga” at Lenox Avenue and 145th Avenue, and a photograph of the constructing.
Map with a location labeled “Lafayette Theater” at 2247 Seventh Avenue, and a photograph of the outside of the theater, with a marquee, arched home windows and an indication or flag hanging above them.
Robert W Kelley/The LIFE Image Assortment, by way of Shutterstock
The Sensible Set
Whereas race was generally explored among the many artists, thinkers and writers of the Renaissance, some overtly broached the topic of sexuality, which was considered as scandalous. For others, any references could have been rigorously coded and harder to detect.
Map with a location on the far backside of the map labeled “Alain Locke,” “Washington D.C.” and an icon pointing down.
Map with a location labeled “Nella Larsen” at 236 West one hundred and thirty fifth Avenue, close to Eighth Avenue.
Map with a location labeled “Langston Hughes” at 20 East 127th Avenue, north of Mount Morris Park, simply outdoors the parameters of Harlem.
Map with a location labeled “Countee Cullen” at 104 West 136th Avenue, close to Lenox Avenue.
Map with a location labeled “Richard Bruce Nugent” at 267 West 136th Avenue, close to Eighth Avenue.
Map with a location on the far backside of the map labeled “Carl Van Vechten,” “150 West fifty fifth Avenue” and an icon pointing down.
Map with a location labeled “Harold Jackman” at 7 West 134th Avenue, simply outdoors the east perimeter of Harlem.
Map with a location labeled “Maurice Hunter” at 254 West one hundred and thirty fifth Avenue, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
Map with a location labeled “Claude McKay” at 147 West 142nd Avenue, between Seventh and Lenox Avenues, and {a photograph} of the outside of the constructing.
{A photograph} of the Alexander Gumby E-book Studio, with a semi-circle of individuals sitting and chatting or studying.
Alexander Gumby assortment, Uncommon E-book & Manuscript Library, Columbia College
Behind Closed Doorways
Personal areas in Harlem — primarily houses and flats — opened doorways to the form of intimate socializing and sexual experimentation that would not exist at giant nightclubs or segregated venues. Away from the general public eye, these areas held invite-only soirees or lease events that have been primarily unfold by means of phrase of mouth.
Map with a location labeled “A’Leila Walker and the Darkish Tower” at 108 West 136th Avenue, on the far east aspect of Harlem, and {a photograph} of the outside of the constructing.
Map with a location labeled “Wallace Thurman” at 267 West 136th Avenue, close to Eighth Avenue, and {a photograph} of the block, with a automotive coming towards the digicam.
Map with a location labeled “Iolanthe Sydney” at 267 West 136th Avenue, close to Eighth Avenue.
Map with a location labeled “Alexander Gumby E-book Studio” at 2144 Fifth Avenue, on the far east aspect of Harlem.
Map with a location labeled “409 Edgecombe Avenue” on the far north part of Harlem, and {a photograph} of a cluster of three high-rise buildings.
Harlem in 1938.
Trying Again, Via a Contemporary Lens
Efforts to reexamine Harlem’s queer historical past have helped audiences reimagine Renaissance-era areas and rejoice elements of its on a regular basis life that have been underground.
