Harlem is a town in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a vital business, cultural and residential center for many minorities, but it is much more than that. It is a symbol of the many divergent cultures that have come together, that have grown together, called by the appeal of the legendary flame eternally held by the Statue of Liberty. It is a symbol of the melting pot known as America, a melting pot that has been cooking up a tried and true formula of Liberty for over 200 years. East Harlem is a symbol of the hope, determination, acceptance, and strength that have made America great.
Harlem was once an area of quiet farms, just like the original 13 colonies, full of agricultural immigrants who flocked to make a living. In Harlem there were communities occupied by a few Dutch, French Huguenots, Danes, Swedes, and Germans. For three decades, the Germans were the dominant cultural element in the district, with the Irish second in number and influence. The immigration waves of the 1880s and 1890s brought different cultural elements from Israel and Italy. Like the young nation itself, Harlem had attracted people seeking a fresh start and a fair chance from all four corners of the Old World. Then African Americans began to arrive in Harlem from the Central, South, and West Indies. By the 1930s, half a million people crammed into the greater New York area. There were too many people, too few places, too few resources, and Harlem became the largest slum in the nation. However, his people persevered.
As the young nation grew, so did Harlem, growing and defining its boundaries. The United States increased in size and population with the Louisiana Purchase, typically defining itself geographically, opening up more territory for those seeking freedom. This brought more immigrants and diverse cultures from around the world, most coming from New York City, many staying there and settling in Harlem.
To this day, Harlem’s boundaries include the following: The East Harlem/El Barrio area, known as Spanish Harlem, a community that stretches from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue, from East 96th Street to East 125th Street. Then there’s Central Harlem, which stretches from Central Park North to the Harlem River, as well as from Fifth Avenue to St. Nicholas Avenue. Comprising Hamilton Heights and Sugar Hill, West Harlem stretches from 123rd to 155th streets and also from St. Nicholas Avenue to the Hudson River.
East Harlem has been referred to as “German Harlem, Irish Harlem, Jewish Harlem, Italian Harlem, and Spanish Harlem”, also commonly known as “El Barrio”. It is a testament to the many diverse ethnicities that have made their home in microcosms of a Nation that has grown so large and overcome so many problems caused by cultural diversity, that a minority is its President. Today there is a considerable number of Central and South American immigrant population moving into the area, which has begun to match the large number of Puerto Ricans who have dominated the area for years. The ebb and flow of East Harlem’s diverse ethnic population has been of enormous historical significance and has been a microcosm of a nation forged by many diverse cultures, forming an interesting part of the early history of both New York City and the nation.
Immigration to the United States, from the 19th to the early 20th century, has been the focus of much attention, and for good reason. A great mass of immigrants coming from a myriad of diverse origins arrived in search of the “American Dream”, which symbolized for them democracy, equality, freedom, justice and, above all, material well-being. We are promised these opportunities in the Declaration of Independence, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” no matter who we are. There is no better testament to this promise than East Harlem.
Industrialization and the establishment of the factory system throughout the United States offered the promise of employment to the destitute masses of Europe. Most industrialists in the United States depended on cheap labor from Europe to run factories, not caring what happened to immigrant workers after they arrived. The masses flooded the market. With industrialization, great changes began to take place in the United States. This would eventually lead to both serious positive and negative consequences.
The effort of those who worked together, regardless of culture, as in Harlem, to resist and make a better life for themselves and their families have made America what it is today, the financial epicenter of the world. Whether they worked on farms, in factories, built railroads, bridges, towns, or cities, their rewards were greater than any nation could offer, they were given freedom and all the responsibilities that come with it. Those responsibilities include learning to accept and understand, and experience with, different cultures and ethnic groups.
During the 1800s, Harlem was developing all kinds of transportation projects in an effort to promote northward expansion. In 1831, the New York and Harlem Railroad Company was incorporated to build a railroad from the central part of the city to Harlem. This encouraged residents of lower Manhattan to move north to Harlem. With the construction of “els”, metropolitan development occurred extremely rapidly, precipitating the construction of apartment buildings and brownstones. All over the United States, at the same time, famous railroads were built. Channels formed. Like Harlem, the United States was expanding, growing, and integrating from one community to another. This availability of affordable housing and faster transportation allowed the work group to live in East Harlem and commute to their downtown workplaces.
In the West, railway construction projects at this time attracted many workers from Asia. In Harlem, these construction projects also attracted many immigrant wage workers, from many different ethnic cultures, primarily during the 1880s and 1890s. The constant flow of cheap labor from abroad fueled the industrial drive of the United States and Harlem. , and also gave ruthless businessmen a golden opportunity to profit off the sweat off the backs of the various minorities who came looking for a fair shot. Yet in Harlem, as in America, they endured and won, and that is what the American Spirit is all about. Hold on, seek, win, and move forward instead of back.
In San Francisco, the Chinese worked on the Pacific railroads, lived in slums, and worked for a pittance. In Harlem, the first group to go to work building America’s path to an industrial future were the German and Irish workers who laid the streetcar tracks and dug the subway tunnels. Because of East Harlem’s cheap housing rent and convenient public transportation system, many factory workers in Central and Eastern Europe were able to commute from the sweatshops of lower Manhattan. As a result of this construction, East Harlem became heavily populated with a hard-working Irish and Italian community.
East Harlem was also one of the main locations for Jewish residences at this time. It was the true melting pot of diversity that America prides itself on. During the 1920s, East Harlem had a Jewish population of about 177,000, to continue with its German, Irish, and Italian populations all living together, working to make Harlem, New York, and America a better place. At the time, Harlem was predominantly Jewish, and East Harlem had the largest Jewish section overall. As the population expanded, as African Americans and eventually Hispanics began to move into East Harlem, the district’s Jewish population began to decline.
With their small businesses thriving, the remaining Jewish merchants maintained strong connections with the people of East Harlem, further strengthening East Harlem’s diverse character.
Between 1915 and 1920, millions upon thousands of African Americans began to migrate to Harlem from the “economically depressed” rural South, still recovering from the Civil War 50 years earlier, to the thriving industrial cities of the North. Like all Americans, they wanted to benefit from urban economic opportunities in the steel mills, automobile factories, and packinghouses. They wanted to be successful and improve their lives. They wanted that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that was promised to them. Thousands of African Americans moved through the black ghettos of New York City, looking for work wherever and however they could get it. Since Harlem could not accommodate all of the many newcomers, the overflow migration of African Americans moved to East Harlem, just as Puerto Ricans began to settle in the district. The Roaring ’20s were a boom period for the US, and East Harlem was literally bursting at the seams.
A large number of southern Italians who came to New York during the last quarter of the 19th century from the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily also established their communities in East Harlem. In the 1930s, it was the largest Italian settlement in the city. The Italian community lived primarily around 106th Street, in the area east of Third Avenue to the East River, often housed in single-story row shacks that were built along the water because there simply wasn’t enough housing to support them. accommodate everyone. . They also endured.
Then it happened, everything started to fall apart. The Great Depression set in, and the United States and its people were truly broke. The Great Depression years hit Italian Americans hard, especially men who worked in the construction industry, as new construction ground to a halt across the country. Regular employment was hard to come by and it was almost impossible to support and feed large families. Wives often had to take on menial domestic work just to keep their families afloat. Even children were forced to work. Yet in Harlem, there was such a diverse culture that had already endured so much hardship, The Great Depression was just another rushed day to make ends meet. It was that courage, determination and sacrifice that helped save the fledgling Nation.
In the 1940s there were still a large number of unemployed Italians in Harlem, but the economy began to pick up in the 1950s, thanks in part to World War II. The nation began to recover, and improved housing and sanitary living conditions for many in East Harlem also improved.
Since the early 1990s, the face of East Harlem continues to change, as it always has, expanding its ethnic reach. With newcomers from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Central and South America, Harlem is once again forging a new and diverse personality. As America has grown and Hollywood has come of age, the Nation has occasionally needed a facelift to maintain its charm and beauty. In East Harlem, with a constant influx of new cultures, this always seems to be the case. Today you will find many immigrants from West Africa, the Caribbean, China and even Turkey, all working and living together, looking to find that elusive American dream. As long as America is seen as the land of opportunity, the constant ebb and flow of East Harlem’s endless ethnic succession will never cease to paint the pages of New York City’s rich and turbulent history with stories of sacrifice, toil, and hope. Likewise, these are the things that real dreams are made of.
