This Was Harlem: A Cultural Portrait, 1900-1950 Hardcover – January 1, 1982 by Jervis Anderson
 
This Was Harlem: A Cultural Portrait, 1900-1950 is a must read. It's an important essay in American cultural history. The Harlem of which Anderson writes was an outpost of America optimism, a gathering place for the avant-garde in music, dance, and democratic interracial relationships. It was our own homegrown version of Paris. Today, that Harlem is gone. Anyone who want to grasp what this nation has lost in Harlem's decline can find it here.
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