The Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood [Anglais] [Relié]

The duo responsible for Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats pay homage to a grand and quickly changing neighborhood. Local teachers, doctors, lawyers and journalists tell their own stories, as do artists, musicians, hatmakers, dry cleaners, literary agents, fencers, barbers, chess players and street vendors, illustrated by 52 on-site portraits. While the photos are largely conventional, many of the personal histories deserve their own books. Brett Cook-Dizney, a graffiti artist, briefly explains the "apprenticeship structure" of graffiti, "where someone usually shows you technique and style and then you fill in their lines for a while." Sy Oumoukoulshome, a hair braider, relates the honored place that braiders hold in her home country. "It's a tradition that some families in Senegal specialize in doing braids. They call them griots. It goes from generation to generation.... In Senegal, hair braiders have respect from people. But not in Harlem." The sequencing of stories and portraits is thoughtfully done. In one sequence, Kevin Taylor, the producer of Black Entertainment Television, precedes Robert Garland, a choreographer at Dance Theatre of Harlem, followed by Noah Stewart, who broke tradition by singing a spiritual at his Juilliard audition. He is in turn followed by Alice McClarty, a singer for the Sounds of Glory Choir, who herself precedes saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood.
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Marberry visited Harlem as a young boy and became fascinated with the legendary neighborhood, a community that figures prominently in African American history and culture as the site of the renaissance that marked the growing awakening and definition of the African diaspora in the U.S. He teamed with photographer Cunningham to interview Harlem residents to get a view of the history of the neighborhood and of its present, filled with anxiety about urban decay and gentrification, and what changes may be on the horizon for this most famous of black American communities. Their subjects are a cross section of Harlemites who capture the vibrancy and diversity of the neighborhood: a 51-year-old real estate broker, a 45-year-old historian, ministers and activists, artists, store owners, teachers, a Japanese gospel singer, an Olympic fencer, a choreographer, and a few newcomers, part of the gentrification trends. More prominent residents include Calvin O. Butts, pastor of the famous Abyssinian Baptist Church, and Isabel Powell, Adam Clayton Powell's first wife. Vanessa Bush
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?The minute you step out your door, everything in Harlem is in your face. There?s a beauty and a poetry in all that . . .You can?t feel Harlem if you?re driving by. But if you walk, you?ll see all kinds of thing.?
?Lana Turner


? ?A spa in Harlem? You really want to open a spa in Harlem?? That?s what everybody asked my husband and me. A lot of people flat out said, ?It ain?t gonna work.? ?
?Dr. Cynthia Grace


?In February of 2000, I was on a beach in Mexico with my daughter, Lise. I said, ?You know what, Lise? I?m moving to Harlem.? She said, ?You?re what?? I said, ?I?m moving to Harlem.? She said, ?Can we finish our vacation first?? ?
?Clara Villarosa

The creative team behind the smash hit Crowns:Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats returns with a glorious tour of the spirit of Harlem—a collection of fifty stunning black-and-white photographs and unforgettable interviews that capture the heart and soul of one of the most famous and vibrant neighborhoods in the world.
Harlem, long known as the epicenter of black cultural life in America, is undergoing a radical change. An unprecedented infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars in development capital is revitalizing the community and transforming a cityscape marred by decades of poverty. In a striking show of exuberance, upscale shops are materializing in once-abandoned buildings, new homes are popping up in vacant lots, and sheets of glass twinkle in place of grim, boarded-up windows. The economic renewal has lured a host of new people to the neighborhood—doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, and even a former president. But it has also posed a threat to many residents who have lived through the worst of times and now fear that they will lose their homes and livelihoods as boom times sweep in.
Spirit of Harlem documents this extraordinary period of transition through the words and faces of newcomers and longtime residents alike. There are reminiscences of Harlem during the 1920s through the 1960s, stories of friends and families gathering at churches, in local shops, and on the streets, and thoughts on what the future holds for the neighborhood.
Millions of tourists visit Harlem each year, and many people in the United States can trace their roots to this legendary area or have read about its remarkable history and impact on American life and culture. In more than fifty stunning portraits and essays, Spirit of Harlem brings all its splendor, rancor, drama, and glamour vividly to life.

The voices of Spirit of Harlem:

“The minute you step out your door, everything in Harlem is in your face. There is a beauty and a poetry in all that . . .” —Lana Turner, real estate broker


“Bubba and me thought Harlem was Heaven, all the lights and the sights. I asked my aunt, ‘Where do all the white people live?’” —Rev. Betty Neal

“When I came up from the subway, I said, ‘Oh man, I'm lost!’ But then I saw the Apollo and it blew me away. I said, ‘Wow, this is it! I’m in Harlem!’ I had never been to Harlem before, but I just knew I belonged here.” —Bryan Collier, author and artist

“The minute you step out your door, everything in Harlem is in your face. There’s a beauty and a poetry in all that . . .You can’t feel Harlem if you’re driving by. But if you walk, you’ll see all kinds of thing.”
—Lana Turner


“ ‘A spa in Harlem? You really want to open a spa in Harlem?’ That’s what everybody asked my husband and me. A lot of people flat out said, ‘It ain’t gonna work.’ ”
—Dr. Cynthia Grace


“In February of 2000, I was on a beach in Mexico with my daughter, Lise. I said, ‘You know what, Lise? I’m moving to Harlem.’ She said, ‘You’re what?’ I said, ‘I’m moving to Harlem.’ She said, ‘Can we finish our vacation first?’ ”
—Clara Villarosa

CRAIG MARBERRY conducted the interviews and wrote the essays that appear in Spirit of Harlem. A former television reporter who has written articles for the Washington Post, Essence, and the Harlem-based newspaper the Amsterdam News, he is the owner of Info Video, an award-winning video production company. MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM is the photographer of Spirit of Harlem. He is the owner of Michael Cunningham Photography, whose clients include Coca-Cola USA and the Sara Lee Corporation, and his photographs have been featured in the New York Times, Ebony, and other national publications.