Big Apple History . New York Living . Pride and Prejudice


	A Harlem street scene

Due to many African Americans' financial and artistic prosperity during the 1920s, Harlem became known as "the Negro Capital of the World." However, it is important to keep in mind that many African Americans who lived in New York faced poverty and hard times.

Finding work was often difficult, as racial discrimination barred blacks from many professions. Many poor African Americans had to seek work in so-called "Negro jobs," as doormen, hotel bellmen, maids, laundresses, and seamstresses. Prejudiced whites ran many stores in Harlem's shopping district on 125th Street and as a result, African Americans were barred from being hired as salespeople in their own neighborhood. In response, the National Urban League started a boycott against Harlem stores run by whites -- using the slogan "Don't buy where you can't work."

In the world of entertainment, many of the nightclubs that featured African-American performers -- including the renowned Cotton Club -- forbade African-American customers from attending them.

Illustration: Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.