Harlem
Okay, so you ask anyone about Harlem, and they will tell you “Oh, it’s sooooooo safe now. I mean, it’s totally gentrified.”
Not to make any judgements (as if that ever stopped me before), but most of these experts are white and have never been to Harlem. Or, if they have, they have never been past 125th (the main drag).
Yeah, Harlem has Clinton’s office, a few blocks of redone apartments and a Starfucks (which, by the way, is virtually empty at all times)…. but the times I’ve gone I’ve found it very lacking in multiculturalism (meaning, I was one of the few white faces I saw). That is, except for this day outside the Apollo Theatre:
It was like a white, 50 year-old convention. Turns out, Elvis Costello was playing.
Otherwise, this is the Harlem I usually see:
And this is the Wall of Michael Jackson outside the Apollo:
Keep the legacy alive. Buy t-shirts!
i admit I zoomed in and poured over these messages
Harlem is great. It has an amazing, chaotic, throbbing energy to it. People hang around the streets chatting, laughing, selling African jewelry and t-shirts at stands.
People fall in love in Harlem
And seriously, not to be clichéd, but the best Soul Food I’ve ever had.
I loved this picture that was for sale, so I got a photo:
I’m still trying to figure out who everyone is, so I zoomed in…I got most of ‘em, but some are still a mystery…guesses? Steve Sanders? C’mon, use that Jeopardy brain for me…
PS I got totally busted for taking this pic. This lady accosted me and screamed I was trying to steal her ideas! When I told her I was taking the pic ‘cause I really liked the piece, she was not having my exuses. “Erase it!” she said. I pretended to erase it then ran away like the pussy I am ‘cause I knew this chick could totally kick my ass…and I did it all for you, my BFF’s! Afterwards, it occurred to me that a lot of designers and scouts from big corporations probably do come to Harlem to steal ideas.
PSS Harlem ain’t all roses and icing either…unhappy Harlem moment: A homeless lady spots me and jumps to her feet. She says, gimme some money white girl! I respond, I’d like to, but I don’t have any. She says: Fuck you! Then she flips me off.
