Harlem Renaissance

Looking back into history, the 1920s was a time marked by intense racial and sexual discrimination. In the South, Jim Crow laws were in full effect, leaving African-Americans as second class citizens. Throughout the country, KKK membership…

In honor of Black History Month, we take a dive into the pivotal people, places, and events that have kept lasting impressions on the culture of America. The Harlem Renaissance was one of the monumental events in history that altered the…

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" is a book that I will never forget. The heart-wrenching narrative of Cudjo Lewis, the only living survivor of the transatlantic slave trade at the time of its writing in 1931, offered a…

In honor of Black History Month, we look at those whose significant contributions in their life that have transformed the way gender and class are looked at today. One of these early pioneers of journalism, poetry, and activism was Alice…

In continuation of NYS Music’s series celebrating the Harlem Renaissance in its centennial years, it is important to highlight the Cotton Club which was instrumental in displaying Black talent. Before it was the Cotton Club, the…

Langston Hughes, full name James Mercer Langston Hughes, was born around February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He was raised by his mother and grandmother, and grew up in a series of towns across the United States midwest, showing a…

As part of NYS Music's continuing series looking at the Centennial years of the Harlem Renaissance, we turn to activist Marcus Garvey, leader of the Pan-African movement, the first American Black nationalist movement. Marcus Moziah…

In Western New York, you'll find plenty of music history, but none so unique as the Colored Musicians Club in Buffalo, on the edge of Willert Park. The only Black-owned and operated music club of its kind in America, the venue has played…

On August 4, 1901, Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans. Until the age of five, Armstrong's grandmother was his caregiver. At the age of six, he attended the Fisk School for Boys, an all black school in New Orleans. While performing odd…

Eleanora Fagan was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia. As a child, she started going by Billie Holiday, Billie from Billie Dove and Holiday from her dad. She began listening to records by Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. Her mother…