Welcome to Heavenly Harlem
Though it wasn’t on the plan, Tom and I went to Harlem, NY. We had made our way into the city and were waiting for the ‘A’ train, which would take us to 86th street and Central Park. The train arrived, we boarded, sat down, and were waiting for it resume. Suddenly, Tom jumps up and says: Follow me! We exit the train opposite of where we got on and went into another train. This train was an ‘A’ train as well, but an express. It didn’t make as many stops in between where we were and where we wanted to be.
The doors closed and we were off sailing through the darkness, the occasional light flashing by at high speed. It seemed that we’d been rocking and rolling along for a while. Suddenly, in the light, I saw a station flash by, 106th street. We had passed our intended disembarkation point, 86th street. When the train finally came to a stop, we were at 125th Street, the beginning of Harlem. Tom asked if I wanted to go up and have a look. I most certainly did. It was a nice ‘mistake’, if you believe in those types of things, but since I don’t believe in mistakes, I was supposed to see this. 
I must admit, forthwith, that my mind is as polluted as the next person’s with the Hollywood portrayal of Harlem, or anything else for that matter. Make no bones about it, this used to be a rough place, very rough; however, after New York’s good fortune to have two back-to-back good mayors, the city as a whole is in much better shape and is demonstrably safer. If I believed what Hollywood showed me, I would have exited to a city that was filled with drug dealers, heroin addicts, pimps, and all manner of criminal activity with each and every face being black.
This was not what I saw when I exited the subway. The subway exit is at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. I had never been here before, but knew about it. It seemed familiar in name. I’d heard a few raps back in the day that mentioned that particular corner. Turning the corner, looking to the right, I could scarcely believe my eyes. There it was, the Apollo Theater. One of the most well-known black venues in the world. So many famous people have graced the halls of this theater: James Brown, Fat Joe, Michael Jackson, Lauren Hill, Gladys Knight, Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Dave Chappelle, just to name a few. I could certainly go on about those who have been born here, lived here at one time or another, or that live here currently, but you get the picture!
The streets were alive. There were all types of street vendors selling oils, African jewelry, all manner of clothing, and even bootleg videos and music. The sidewalks were filled with the sounds of old-school hip hop as well as R&B. No longer is Harlem a black-only thing; there were people represented from all races, each going about their own business.
Harlem has gone through many cycles, some good, some bad. Right now it is at the beginnings of gentrification. Yuppies are moving in, buying property, putting up expensive stores that the local residents have no interest in or cannot afford. This causes the property values to rise as well as the associated property taxes. Further, rents start to rise. Soon, the people who’ve lived there all of their lives can no longer afford to. The face of Harlem starts to change. There are some groups who are trying to fight it, yet, others who applaud it.
It was very difficult to choose one photo out of the many that I took that represented my feelings about Harlem, complex though they were; however, the photo at the top of this post seems to do the trick. Pictured are:
Malcolm X
Barack Obama
Nelson Mandella
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Each, a hero in the black community. Each offering a ray of light, hope, and strength. In case you cannot read it, the banner says: Welcome to Heavenly Harlem.
Note: These images mark a first for me in a few ways:
- This was my first trip to Harlem
- This was my first time using Ilford HP5 (ISO 400). I shot it at 800.
- Naturally, this was my first time developing HP5+. I really liked the results!
- I didn’t use the Leica for this. I shot all of my Harlem images using a Olympus 35 LC from 1965 or so.
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4 Responses to “Harlem”
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That was a highlight. But I just know you have a few more of this street to develop/post/write about. What a great memory.
@Tom: Oh, you bet that I do. I’m still forming thoughts on that other thing. I’ve been looking at the images, remembering the conversations, and thinking about my impressions. Maybe I’ll post it tomorrow. I’ll let this one settle and get responded to, first.
I worked with a black theater group in the 1970′s (at the time, I had developed a reputation of lighting black actors very well — it is much harder to light a black actor on the stage well than a white actor, and it’s not just the tonality of their skin), and they toured and did a couple shows at the Apollo. Even then, the neighborhood wasn’t too bad.
Paul: I used to shoot nothing but FP4, but I really think that HP5 is now my favorite Ilford film, and I really like it at either 400 or 800.
Can’t wait to more of your images, gents.
Wonderful images, especially #1 which should look excellent as a print with lush blacks. And it was probably a wise decision to rely on the small and unobtrusive Oly – the more normal you look the less interest you attract.