VOA文化艺术2024--Harlem Celebrates Its Rebirth after 50 Years

In the 1970s, a lack of community investment resulted in a large number of people leaving Harlem, a well-known New York City neighborhood in northern Manhattan.

Nearly 50,000 people, about a third of the area's population, left to escape violence, crime and poor living conditions. Among those who left was LeeSandra Moore's mother who moved to the state of Virginia. "It was a scary time," said Moore, now 52 and still living in Harlem. "I couldn't blame her for that."

Those who stayed were mostly poor, Black families. They lived through unrest that followed the 1964 killing¹ of an unarmed Black teenager and the killings² of Black leader Malcolm X in 1965 and Rev³. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

News reports described Harlem as a "sinking ship."

Percy Sutton was president of the local Manhattan government at the time. As the city's highest-ranking Black official, he knew Harlem needed a lift and started a festival called Harlem Day in 1974.

Sutton called up elected officials. He gathered actors, like Sidney Poitier and Ruby⁴ Dee, entertainers, including Tito Puente and Max Roach, and the poet Maya Angelou to celebrate the first Harlem Day. It honored Harlem's history and shows how the neighborhood became known as "Black Mecca" or the center of Black arts, culture and businesses.

"It was such a successful day," said Lloyd Williams - one of Harlem Day's co-founders and the current president of the Greater Harlem Chamber⁵ of Commerce - that it became a week-long yearly event called Harlem Week.

The festival's 50th year

This year, Harlem Week celebrated⁶ its 50th anniversary with 18 days filled with free programming.

The celebration included food, Broadway performances, an Apollo Hour, and a tribute to entertainer Harry⁷ Belafonte. It offered financial education and career training, and for children, back-to-school backpacks.

One important part of Harlem Week was an effort to deal with Harlem's long-standing health crises. Medical volunteers checked blood pressure and tested for cancer and diabetes⁸. People learned about drug use, HIV/AIDS and healthy aging.

Rev. Al Sharpton leads the National Action Network in Harlem. He said, "Harlem Week has been the constant line through the last 50 years of America's most historic Black neighborhood."

Organizers and people say Harlem Week has brought new life to the area. The once-deserted neighborhood is now home to restored buildings, new businesses, and immigrants. The streets are filled with jazz, reggae, R&B, and gospel music traditions.

Big stores vs. small shops

Moore, the Harlem native whose mother moved to Virginia, watched as big national stores moved in. Sometimes they took the place of local shops and made rents go up. "Some of that is okay, but what about the small business where you can get that great sandwich?" she asked. Moore wants people to eat less fast food, so she teaches healthy eating and cooking to young local students.

At Harlem Week, Moore represented GirlTrek, a national movement of Black women supporting health through walking. She said, "I feel like I should have left a long time ago, but something about Harlem draws me back to it."

Moore continued, "Harlem is my beginning. Harlem is my future. Harlem is a huge part of what makes me who I am."

Words in This Story

scary- adj. causing fear

rank - v. to place (someone or something) in a particular position among a group of people or things that are being judged according to quality, ability, size, etc.

festival - n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

4 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。