Black History Bootcamp. S6. Day 9.
Day 9
The Address: Edgecombe Avenue, Harlem, NY
The Story: There should be a sign as you drive up Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem that reads, “Black excellence started here.” A place of royalty. The home of Black Kings and Queens.
Known as “Harlem’s House of Celebrities,” residents of Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood included W.E.B DuBois, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, poet James Weldon Johnson, boxer Joe Louis, and musicians, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Lena Horne, just to name a few.
Their apartments were a place of aspirations. A place of respite in a world that was hostile to Black folks who were audacious enough to expect more from life than struggle and sacrifice.
Their community was a place where an artist's dreams could come to life and where a revolutionary could come to incubate ideas.
Edgecombe Avenue housed the hopes of so many Black people who changed the world that it should be an essential stop on anyone’s visit to NY.
Today we take you there, into the homes and into the stories of this special place.
Meet us in the Streets: Grab your earbuds, put on your sneakers, and join co-founders Morgan and Vanessa for Black History Bootcamp, a walking podcast powered by GirlTrek. We can’t wait to talk…
Catch up on Spotify podcasts.
Episodes are available after 48 hours.
The Neighborhood Call to Action
Listen: Edgecombe Ave: A Neighborhood Playlist, Spotify
Support: While We Are Still Here
Read: Down Under in Harlem, Langston Hughes, The New Republic
Organize: Do you live in New York? Start a Crew in your neighborhood and help GirlTrek take over the streets with superhero blue healing. Download our Field Guide here or email Keturah Queen at northeast@girltrek.org for help getting started.
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