In “The Making of Harlem,” in Survey Graphic by James W. Johnson, negroes gradually moved from a corner of Lower Manhattan to 53rd St and then ultimately to Harlem because there were a construction of better houses. As there was a shortage of labor, there was of course a hefty amount of work available and more negroes are able to work, now being able to find work easier and at higher rates than what they’ve received ever in their lives. Also, property value for some foreclosures went to its cheapest point since lending companies have been holding vacant the “handsome dwellings,” with normal selling figures such as $15,000 (around $210,000 in today’s dollars) or $20,000 (around $281,000) selling at one-third of their normal asking price, ex: 5,000 (around $70,000). It was said that negroes in Harlem had owned more than $60 million dollars of land/property. It was safe to say at the time that the “negro colony” Harlem was owned by negroes. He calls Harlem, “the greatest negro city in the world.” (‘Making of Harlem’, p.635)
But could they keep Harlem? I’ve already mentioned that there were pockets of negro communities before, so given the pattern before could it therefore repeat again, but at a larger scale? James Weldon Johnson claims that “when colored people do leave Harlem, their homes, their churches, their investments and their businesses, it will be because the land has become so valuable they can no longer afford to live on it.” (“The Making of Harlem”, p.638) This bold prediction holds some weight as according to the Urban Prediction Project, which maps which areas are affected/will be affected by gentrification, Harlem in its entirety is at “risk of gentrification”, has ongoing displacement of low-income individuals, and has “ongoing gentrification.” Although Harlem remains one of the cheaper neighborhoods in Manhattan, the substantial rent increases makes the neighborhood unaffordable to some who’ve lived here their whole life. As reported by Property Shark, a site that states real estate market trends, the median price for a home in Harlem is about $800,000, an 11% increase from last year, and a MUCH higher price than the aforementioned $210,000 or $70,000 price for a home in early 20th century Harlem.
This may be a silly question but when Johnson claimed that the land has become so valuable they can no longer afford to live on it, I question were the lower class and middle class colored people leaving and being replaced by upper-class colored? Earlier in the text it was mentioned that a lot of whites left Harlem (white flight) because it felt like they were being invaded. Given that negroes in Harlem were more exposed to individual, entrepreneurial jobs and now have more financial freedom than ever before, now buying up properties and properly managing their finances, this was their biggest chance of retaining an area (in which they own themselves) within this time of US history. Is gentrification a race related issue or is it a class related issue? Regardless, a high-society and posh Harlem (does sound enticing) would strip away values like community, talent and culture, and also, literally, people who help construct this place they are now forced to leave. When I look at the pictures in the “making of Harlem,” the large crowds and communities seem like they are all socializing, mingling, there is an overall feeling of togetherness. Today, at least to me, maybe it’s just a city thing, there are occasional socializing like small talk with a person on the train or hotdog stand but overall everyone is so distant and minding their own business. One group calls it gentrification, while the others call it the 2nd Harlem Renaissance. Harlem in the 1980s and the 1990s had put a stain on Harlem’s illustrious history, with the crack situation running rampant within its community. Harlem was in disarray. Crime was then at its peak. The New York Times had even stated in “Harlem Battles over Development Project,” “since 1970, an exodus of residents has left behind the poor, the uneducated, the unemployed. Nearly two-thirds of the households have incomes below $10,000 a year.” It is not just whites who were leaving it was the people who provided stability to Harlem who were leaving. Was the second renaissance or gentrification necessary to save Harlem?