Manhattan's little village is all grown up

Two hundred years ago, Harlem was a day's trip north of the hustle-bustle of New York City.  Harlem was just a small village at the time but even then, City developers saw the enormous potential in attracting residents and businesses to this quiet part of town.  So the City of New York set about building what became 125th Street, to link the East and Hudson Rivers and become a main thoroughfare across the island of Manhattan.  The train network followed and Harlem became an attractive spot for day trippers, but it wasn't until the late 19th Century that European immigrants moved in, mostly from Germany, Ireland, and Italy.

After World War 1, employment opportunities across the United States opened up and spurred what became known as "The Great Migration".  Thousands of African-American families moved out of the rural south and up into the urban north.  Many families were attracted to Harlem for its affordable accommodation, natural landscape, and a safe and welcoming environment.   Just like the Europeans before them, the African American families brought  their churches, their food, their culture and their music with them.  As a result, the area experienced what history calls "The Harlem Renaissance".  By the 1920s, with the formal establishment of entertainment venues like the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club, Harlem had officially blossomed into New York's hub of multicultural music, arts, and commerce.

I headed uptown to the east side of Harlem today, to visit The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, an affiliate of the New York Public Library.  Throughout the year the center hosts art classes and exhibitions for children and adults alike.  But they also maintain an excellent online and hardcopy reference library of books, periodicals and other resources that catalogue the experiences of African-American and African expatriates in the neighbourhood.

There are a number of exhibitions currently on display throughout the Schomburg Center but the one I particularly came to see is called "Motown: The Truth Is A Hit" and it has been on my wish-list for a little while.  Motown music was always playing in my house growing up, and I still love it now.  So when I walked into the exhibition hall, and "The Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson was playing, I felt immediately at home.

You're not allowed to take photos in the exhibition, but you are given a great little pamphlet to take away which talks you through the history of the Motown sound; that soulful pop music that appealed to white and black listeners alike.

On the display boards around the room there are some great photos of Berry Gordy, the founder of the Motown record label and, incidentally, best mates with Smokey Robinson.  The exhibition takes you through Gordy's work to establish Motown, which he fondly claimed was comprised of "rats, roaches, soul, guts, and love".  From these humblest of grassroots, Gordy built up his cadre of artists and songwriters, and also ended up close to Dr Martin Luther King as the civil rights movement exploded across America's south and then beyond.  The exhibition says that at such a terrible time in US history, "Motown gave black Americans a sense of pride to see themselves in the spotlight" and it has become such an amazing and enduring legacy.

Magpie that I am, I was totally attracted to the sparkly silver dress once worn by Diana Ross, and I marvelled at just how tiny she must have been (and probably still is) to have poured herself into it.  I learned that in the early days of Motown, The Temptations were called "The Primes" and The Supremes were known as "The Primettes".  And I snort-laughed when I saw the cover for Stevie Wonder's 1963 album, "Talking Book".  You have to see it - he's so adorable and soulful and there's a caftan involved.  Click here for details.

The exhibition concludes with a bit of a plug for the current Broadway musical called Motown, which I'm really annoyed that I haven't seen yet.  Cheap ticket website, I'm coming for you.

By the time I left the Schomburg Center I was definitely ready for lunch, and ten blocks away is Red Rooster Harlem, one of my favourite haunts in the city.  The restaurant serves up amazing soul food and American classics, and indeed my catfish sandwich went down an absolute treat today.

Red Rooster is a critically-acclaimed restaurant on East 125th Street.  It is run by Marcus Samuelsson, who is an Ethiopian-born Swedish-raised Chef, who is one of the most vocal and recognisable advocates for Harlem that you'll ever see.

Red Rooster is always popular, so it's a good idea to make a reservation rather than just show up.  In the short time that I've lived here, the restaurant has grown beyond a dining establishment to become a bustling venue with a diverse event calendar, both in the main dining room and also downstairs in Ginny's Supper Club.  But you can get the same great menus (and a mean cocktail) in the front bar area too, so don't discount that as an option.

But the thing that made me smile the most today is when I went to the bathroom (bear with me) where I saw this wonderful hand-written letter in a frame on the wall.

Written in 2011 by a third grade student from a school in the neighbourhood it reads,

"Dear Marcus Samuelsson, thank you for bringing Red Rooster to our community.  I really enjoyed the potatoes and carrots.  They were the best thing I ever had in my life.  I hope you come back soon.  Your friend, Ataliyah"

I don't know if Ataliyah ever got to eat those potatoes and carrots again, but I sure won't be a stranger to the Red Rooster dining room.