The Harlem section of Manhattan, which covers just three square miles, drew nearly 175,000 African Americans, giving the neighborhood the largest concentration of black people in the world. Harlem became a destination for African Americans of all backgrounds.

What was Harlem and why was it important?

The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point in Black cultural history. It helped African American writers and artists gain more control over the representation of Black culture and experience, and it provided them a place in Western high culture.

Why was Harlem important in the 1920s?

In the 1920s and 1930s, Harlem became a symbol of the African American struggle for civil and economic equality while emerging as a flourishing center of black culture, art and music.