Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Woman crossing street in Harlem at West 125th Street and Eighth Avenue, 1939" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1939.

A Ballad for Harlem

A Ballad for Harlem examines several strands of Black placemaking in the 20th century, offering views of residents and institutions committed to community, innovation, education, fervent political engagement, cultural affirmation, global perspectives, and creativity. Exhibition highlights include the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the Speakers Corner, items from the recent acquisitions of artist and activists Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis and author Ann Petry, artwork by contemporary Nigeria-based artist Modupeola Fadugba featuring Harlem Honeys and Bears, Harlem's daughter and tennis champion Althea Gibson, sculptures by Augusta Savage, and street scene photography of 1930s Harlem. Over the century that the Schomburg Center has borne witness to Harlem's evolution, A Ballad for Harlem offers contemplation now in the midst of gentrification as new comers and long-time residents navigate the liminal space--a transition between what was and what is to come.

Schomburg Exhibitions have broad appeal for diverse, inter-generational audiences, present information in new and innovative ways, and provide new perspectives on contemporary issues. Exhibition Public Programs are planned for the second half of 2019 to enhance understanding of the exhibition and explore ideas informed by A Ballad for Harlem.

A Ballad for Harlem is part of the Schomburg Center’s Home to Harlem initiative, highlighting materials and collections that tell the stories of those for whom the neighborhood has both personal and cultural significance. The exhibition is sponsored in part by the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus, and with exhibition and corresponding public programs sponsored in part by Gucci, and the publication, Dapper Dan’s Harlem.

Visit Digital Schomburg to explore related online exhibitions:

Harlem 1900–1940

This exhibition presents various elements of the history of the urban experience in Harlem's early days as the Cultural Capital of African Americans. This history education portfolio provides a timeline and lesson plans.

Black New Yorkers

In May or June 1613, Jan Rodrigues, a free sailor from Hispaniola (in what is today the Dominican Republic), who worked for a Dutch fur trading company, was left on Manhattan Island to trade with Native Americans. A black man, he was the first non-Native American to settle on the island. Starting with Rodrigues’ arrival, Black New Yorkers, an exploration of 400 years of African-American history in New York, tells the story of sixteen generations of New Yorkers in essays, prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, tables, and newspapers.

Open now. Ends December 31st, 2019. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture