A James Van Der Zee photo from 1929 show the diversity of the Jewish community established uptown. Before the roaring 20s, most of the synagogues uptown would have been built by the predominantly white community that set up roots in the new Harlem. As Central Harlem became the destination for the African American community, small storefront temples of worship would have been established like the one depicted on a tenement block at 127th Street. The building still stands today but there is little left to indicate its prior use and thus this photo is an important record of how Harlem has transitioned many times over the decades.
Great photo, lots of suits, boaters and history of course. I think the address reads 127 West 137.
ReplyDeleteThe writing on the left side of the banner is in Yiddish (it means "Zion Moorish Temple"), which is interesting, because most "Black Jews" did not identify with the norms of Ashkenazic Judaism--no doubt at least in part because they were not generally welcome in Ashkenazic communities. Then again, most congregations that were traditional enough to use Yiddish would not have used the word "temple," which is associated with the Reform movement.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the letters in the frame above the banner are reversed--which can't be a matter of a reversed negative, because the rest the writing is correct.
My prize student, David Stranders, tells me that the writing in the background is reversed because it must have been meant to be seen from the inside of the building looking out.
ReplyDeleteIt's not entirely accurate that Black Jews did not identify with Ashkenazic Jewish norms, nor did some of them shun Yiddish. According to Ruth Landes, "The Negro Jews of Harlem" (Jewish Journal of Sociology 9, Dec 1967), Arnold Ford, former associate of Marcus Garvey and one of the first leaders of a Black Hebrew congregation, took the step to ban Yiddish among his followers, an indication that there was interest in the language among them. Moreover, Landes notes that a group of Ford's Jamaican followers left his congregation and sent their children to European Jewish Hebrew schools, where, at at least one of them, their children graduated as valedictorians.
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