Harlem's Roots

Here in Harlem includes characters that make many references to Harlem's long and distinguished history. Although the district of Harlem occupies a large part of the northern island of Manhattan in New York City, it has no fixed boundaries as a neighborhood. It may generally be said to lie between 155th Street on the north, the East and Harlem rivers on the east, 96th Street (east of Central Park), 110th Street, and Cathedral Parkway (north and west of Central Park) on the south, and Amsterdam Avenue on the west. Harlem played such a prominent role in African American history and culture that it is easy to forget its origins. In 1658, the Dutch governor of New Netherland established a settlement named after the town of Haarlem in his native land. The site of a famous battle of the Revolutionary War, Harlem remained largely an agricultural area through...