Sara Boutorbi
Tara Phillips
1-2pm
Nightlife in Harlem
At the peak of the roaring twenties, the premiere night club in New York City emerged on Lenox Avenue in the heart of Harlem. Conceived by the white gangster Owney Madden, The Cotton Club materialized in the form of a "mock plantation" and it’s kitschy decor stayed true to the club’s moniker (Pierpont 3). The walls were trimmed with murals of slave quarters and weeping willows, and a stage, flanked by white columns in a style reminiscent of southern architecture, presented theatrical revues of black savages and threatened handmaidens accompanied by tunes from the likes of “Jungle Blues in Harlem” by Duke Ellington (Pierpont 3). The customs of the antebellum south were not limited to the social dichotomy of the club. With a segregation policy more strictly enforced than any other club in New York City, all of the management and clientele were white with the rare exception of a prominent black figure like Louis Armstrong or Langston Hughes and all performers were black or in the case of female performers, tan (Pierpont 3).
Ultimately, the club was a hit. Men and women from New York’s elitist crowds flocked to harlem ready to be dazzled by the house band, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and performances by a chorus of light-skinned dancers marketed as “tall, tan, and terrific" in the club’s advertisements. The set-up was ideal for the upper middle-class who wanted to dip their toes in the zeitgeist of Harlem. Perhaps, even, the influx of white patrons in Harlem was a means of taming, if not asserting one’s dominance in a milieu where an incredible rich culture was sprouting without their assistance or participation. Either way, the club provided a taste of Harlem from a comfortable distance. There, one could indulge in the advent of jazz, and take part in the excitement in a carefully contrived jungle environment with clearly enforced boundaries separating the audience and the performers.
Obviously, the idea of black artists entertaining white patrons in a room filled with slave iconography was problematic. Moreover, it represented a compromising situation for black musicians like Ellington who wanted to ascend the ranks of the music industry, share their music, and establish their name in a society dominated by white men. Ellington maintained his composure and continued to create and perform music with his classic stride piano style. Ultimately, however, it was the Cotton Club that bolstered Ellington’s career by live-streaming his music on their national radio through CBS and NBS networks. Moreover, the club gave Ellington free reign to compose and arrange music for a breadth of "dancers, singers, miscellaneous acts, entr’actes, and theatrical revues on his own "(Pierpont 3). By 1930, Ellington had transgressed the club circuit, providing the score for Amos n’ Andy’s in Hollywood, and performing in major theaters across America.
The Cotton Club represented on a subset of the Harlem nightlife. The social realm of Harlem was immense, ranging from literary talks in Jessie Fauset’s home to decadent mansion parties hosted by Al’eia Walker. The daughter of ex-slave croppers, Walker inherited a large fortune from her mother, who had started a hair-straightening empire “Madame Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower” marketed for black women. There, blacks and whites, raconteurs and royalty, homosexuals and lesbians, and writers and singers intermingled (Watson 1). Describing Walker’s parties, The novelist Mark Ewing said to his parents:”You have never seen such clothes as millionaire Negroes get into. They are more gorgeous than a Ziegfeld finale. They do not stop at fur coats made of merely one kind of fur. They add collars of ermine to gray fur, or black fur collars to ermine. Ropes of jewels and trailing silks of all bright colors” (Watson 1).
The nightlife of Harlem encapsulated the contradictions of the 1920s. Fundamentalism and prohibition were met with controversial modernist ideals and bootlegging; everything seemed to be a reaction against the other. And just as center of originality and creative growth burgeoned in Harlem, empowering the black community, gentrification began to encroach on Harlem. In his autobiography, The Big Sea poet Langston Hughes refers to the Cotton Club as “the jim crow club for gangsters and monied whites” ("The Collected Works of Langston Hughes" 176). He describes the influx of whites towards Harlem after sundown, crowding the bars and cabarets, “where formerly only colored people laughed and sang, and where now the strangers were given the best ringside tables to sit and stare at the Negro customers- like amusing animals in a zoo” (176). Hughes notes that the Harlem night light soon became utterly commercial and dull, without the luster it once had. Hughes wrote the following poem about the nightlife in Harlem:
Harlem Night Club
Sleek black boys in a cabaret.
Jazz-band, jazz-band,–
Play, plAY, PLAY!
Tomorrow….who knows?
Dance today!
White girls’ eyes
Call gay black boys.
Black boys’ lips
Grin jungle joys.
Dark brown girls
In blond men’s arms.
Jazz-band, jazz-band,–
Sing Eve’s charms!
White ones, brown ones,
What do you know
About tomorrow
Where all paths go?
Jazz-boys, jazz-boys,–
Play, plAY, PLAY!
Tomorrow….is darkness.
Joy today!
Discussion questions:
- How do you interpret “Harlem Night Club”? Is it a poem that supports racial integration, or does it have more critical undertones?
- The quest for identity is a central theme in the novels we have read. For Ellington, he worked within an oppressive system in order to establish himself as an acclaimed musician. Did his success come at the expense of his individuality?
Works Cited
"“Harlem Night Club” — a Poem by Langston Hughes." Jerry Jazz Musician. N.p., 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
Hughes, Langston. "The Collected Works of Langston Hughes." Google Books. Ed. Joseph McLaren. N.p,. n.d Web. 24 Oct. 2016, pp. 176
Pierpont, Claudia Roth. "Black, Brown, And Beige." The New Yorker. N.p., 10 May 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
Watson, Steven. "Bibliography." American Studies @ The University of Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/blues/bsb.html>
I find it interesting how artists such as Ellington might have felt conflicted performing at such clubs such as the Cotton Club. It reminds me of the dilemma of passing the characters in Larsen's novel face. They ultimately have to tolerate some racist aspects in order to advance themselves in society.They gave up parts of their black cultures to "pass" as white. Ellington had to do a similar thing in performing in a segregated club. He became a bystander to the racism while advancing his own career.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! I think it is very interesting to examine the contrasts that the Cotton Club emulates: black versus white; society versus nature; rich versus poor. It's important to examine the "shades" of these contrasts, as they reveal underlying themes and assumptions present in the early 20th century society, similar to how characters like Clair and Irene embody the concept of the 'tragic mulatto'--living shades who are truly here nor there.
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ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to analyze the jungle environment of the cotton bar and how this might emphasize a wild or erotic social construction of the other/ blackness. Also, I feel like this relates to white people and Clare's desire to go to the black dances.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting how this sort of shows how people were intrigued by and attracted to black culture. Pulling them Jazz clubs in Harlem but at the same time everyone is dirrentiated from one another they're mixing but it's still Jim Crow the poem shows this by making sure to identify the race of the people at the Harlem Night Club.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was intriguing how this poem calls forth not just black culture, but also the white response to it. I like how you analyzed the reasons for the richer white segments of the community coming to the Harlem bars- to get a taste for the culture that was sprouting independently and assert themselves in it. Indeed, it seems as if the poem you added in echoes just that- although the poem seems to view it in a more harmonious light than the way you initially described. I don't get a feeling of tension from the poem, just integration.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to also note Harlem's night and jazz scene have big influences in San Francisco and NY in general; in my opinion it's less about black culture and more about counter-conformism and assertion of independence.
ReplyDeleteWhich leads me to the question asked: is the Harlem Night Club promoting racial integration?
In my opinion, indirectly so - but the main goal was an assertion for the creation of a unique identity in a racially biased era; there are confirmed reports of a few Caucasians being integrated into the lifestyle as well. Granted, this is an exception but it also lends support to the theory that not just "sleek black kids" were in favor of a unique identity - a diverse group of ethnicity, color, and socioeconomic background played a role.
I think it was interesting when you touched on how The Cotton Club was a hit because rich white folk could appreciate black culture while still maintaining their superior status for the club itself was segregated. I think this aspect of club brings to light the issue of cultural appropriation – the individuals who frequented this club were taking from black culture without understanding, or condemning the years of pain that this culture had, and continues, to endure. The issue of culture appropriation is still relevant to this day, and I think it would be interesting to analyze what parts of our own entertainment scene could be considered as cultural appropriation.
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ReplyDeleteI do believe that unfortunately, Ellington's success was at the expense of his individuality. As I read your post, I became curious about why a black person would perform in this type of venue, but Ellington's decision to share his work rather than protect his identity explains why anyone would wish to perform in the Cotton Club: to use performance in an effort to find success and eventually leave.
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ReplyDeleteSorry for the late post.Your presentation was great and definitely introduced a new topic concerning how "The Cotton Club" was introduced into Harlem to cater mainly Whites ,as you mentioned, in a place where African American culture was being celebrated.Ellington did create his own success through his expression of music and , as you mentioned,through the opportunity of being part of The Cotton Club that was able to promote his music to a larger audience.However,I do think his individuality was forsaken because he did play for a white audience ,as you noted in the blog post, and he as an entertainer that entertained the white audience could be tied back to the representation of slavery as you mentioned before too.So,I do think Ellington was able to create an identity concerning his music but he had to sacrifice his individuality. However in terms of music, Ellington still had a sense of individuality because as you mentioned he still kept his own compositions so he did preserve his individuality as a musician.
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