Harlem is a large neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Since the 1920s Harlem has been known as a major African-American residential cultural and business center.
During the early 1940s African Americans were fleeing from The South hoping for a better life in The North but when they got there it wasn’t what they had expected. In The North they were still treated with racism. When they went to town they would always have to wait until everyone passed by and then they could walk on the street, in some way African Americans were still suffering.
Take a look back at the neighborhood in the 1940s through 30 fascinating vintage black-and-white photographs below:
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| A double wedding in Harlem, 1940s. (Bettmann) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Couples dancing at Savoy Jazz Club, 1940s. (Bettmann) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Arm wrestling, 1940. (Andreas Feininger) |
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| Easter Sunday, 1940. (Weegee) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| A short man, wearing a zoot suit, stands on a chair to get a better view of the dance floor at the Savoy Ballroom, 1940s. (FPG) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| 1940. (Andreas Feininger) |
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| Ella Fitzgerald singing at a night club, 1940s. (Bettmann) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Baseball player Satchel Paige, lighting his cigarette while sitting on the front bumper of a large car, 1941. (George Strock) |
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| A couple kissing in the hallway, 1942. (John Florea) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| A group of affluent men standing on the street at night, 1942. (John Florea) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Patrons enjoying a club, 1942. (John Florea) |
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| 1942. (National Archive) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Two women leaving the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on Easter Sunday, 1943. (Weegee) |
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| A newsboy standing by his newsstand holding a magazine, 1943. (Gordon Parks) |
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| 1943. (Gordon Parks) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| A woman and her dog look out from their open window, 1943. (Gordon Parks) |
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| Two Marines walk down a street, 1943. (Roger Smith) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| A vendor showing his wares at a bookstall on 125th Street, 1943. (CORBIS) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| A young man falls asleep in a chair, 1945. (Weegee) |
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| Easter Sunday, 1947. (Henri Cartier-Bresson) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Dancing at the Savoy Ballroom, 1947. (Graphic House) |
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| Swing dancing at the Savoy Ballroom, 1947. (Archive Photos) |
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| 1947. (Al Fenn) |
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| Young girls play beside a flooded street drain, 1947. (Fred Stein) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| A young girl named 'Rebecca' and her family, 1947. (Morris Engel) |
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| 1948. (Gordon Parks) |
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| 1948. (Gordon Parks) |
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| A tenement block, 1948. (Erika Stone) |
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| A man takes a nap against a handcart, 1948. (Erika Stone) |
Fascinating Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Harlem in the 1940s
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| Parade participants marching, 1949. (Fred Stein) |
