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Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood
 
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Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood [Hardcover]

Craig Marberry (Author), Michael Cunningham (Author), Gordon Parks (Foreword)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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From Publishers Weekly

The duo responsible for Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats pay homage to a grand and quickly changing neighborhood. Local teachers, doctors, lawyers and journalists tell their own stories, as do artists, musicians, hatmakers, dry cleaners, literary agents, fencers, barbers, chess players and street vendors, illustrated by 52 on-site portraits. While the photos are largely conventional, many of the personal histories deserve their own books. Brett Cook-Dizney, a graffiti artist, briefly explains the "apprenticeship structure" of graffiti, "where someone usually shows you technique and style and then you fill in their lines for a while." Sy Oumoukoulshome, a hair braider, relates the honored place that braiders hold in her home country. "It's a tradition that some families in Senegal specialize in doing braids. They call them griots. It goes from generation to generation.... In Senegal, hair braiders have respect from people. But not in Harlem." The sequencing of stories and portraits is thoughtfully done. In one sequence, Kevin Taylor, the producer of Black Entertainment Television, precedes Robert Garland, a choreographer at Dance Theatre of Harlem, followed by Noah Stewart, who broke tradition by singing a spiritual at his Juilliard audition. He is in turn followed by Alice McClarty, a singer for the Sounds of Glory Choir, who herself precedes saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Marberry visited Harlem as a young boy and became fascinated with the legendary neighborhood, a community that figures prominently in African American history and culture as the site of the renaissance that marked the growing awakening and definition of the African diaspora in the U.S. He teamed with photographer Cunningham to interview Harlem residents to get a view of the history of the neighborhood and of its present, filled with anxiety about urban decay and gentrification, and what changes may be on the horizon for this most famous of black American communities. Their subjects are a cross section of Harlemites who capture the vibrancy and diversity of the neighborhood: a 51-year-old real estate broker, a 45-year-old historian, ministers and activists, artists, store owners, teachers, a Japanese gospel singer, an Olympic fencer, a choreographer, and a few newcomers, part of the gentrification trends. More prominent residents include Calvin O. Butts, pastor of the famous Abyssinian Baptist Church, and Isabel Powell, Adam Clayton Powell's first wife. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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5.0 out of 5 stars Spirited Account of a Historical Neighborhood, Jun 22 2004
By 
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood (Hardcover)
SPIRIT OF HARLEM: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood
by Craig Marberry and Michael Cunningham is a beautiful book filled with two page pictorial accounts of famous and not so famous people and places that make up Harlem USA. Places such as the famed Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Harlem Hospital, to the Harlem YMCA, the Dance Theatre of Harlem to Hats by Bunn. It also serves as a historical account because the author and photographer delve into the heart and soul of Harlem's past that made it the elite capital it was for African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. SPIRIT OF HARLEM opens with a foreword by Gordon Parks, which sets the tone for this collection, and is followed by the author and photographer's insight into their first glance of Harlem. This collection of narrations also provides a sequencing of accounts by current and former residents of all ages and nationalities with candid black and white photographs of the subjects highlighted. Most photographs include a building, which serves as a backdrop or a tangible item that is featured in the story that follows. The first person accounts are encouraging, heartfelt and humorous as well as dismal and oppressive.

SPIRIT OF HARLEM showcases traditional and non-traditional professions such as a former activist, an art dealer, artists, a bookstore owner, a chess player, Chief Executive Officers, a choreographer, a nun, an opera singer, a real estate broker and a social worker. Other professions include a fencer, funeral parlor owners, an Asian gospel singer, a Caucasian graphic designer, hair braiders, historians, a journalist, a literary agent, a law firm partner, medical doctors, ministers and church deacon, a photographer, a restaurant owner and spa owners, along with a myriad of other professions.

One of my favorite narrations is by Isabel Powell, the first wife of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. The former Mrs. Powell tells a humorous short story of their meeting, her occupation, his father's rejection of her and finally, her feelings upon their divorce. Another is Kevin Taylor, a producer for Black Entertainment Television and his recollection of the Harlem Shake, a gyrating dance that took the teens of Harlem and the country by storm. Finally, Ron Clark, a Caucasian, southern, male teacher who moved from the South to teach in Harlem; his tactics for winning parental involvement and the buy-in from his students.

Some people have a distorted perception of this island within an island but SPIRIT OF HARLEM validates the fact that historically and currently there is much to see, do and learn about Harlem. SPIRIT OF HARLEM is a treasured collectible that provides a journey into a rich past.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

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5.0 out of 5 stars definitely worth buying, Jun 12 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood (Hardcover)
This book has fascinating stories of ordinary and extraodinary people. For each person interviewed, there is a picture or 2 and a story told by that individual. The writer did an excellent job at capturing these stories in first person...i felt like I was actually sitting in front of these people and listening to them tell me about a moving incident, their childhood, reflections on life... Some of these stories made me laugh and some made me cry. It was a neat experience to "meet" all these interesting people. The photography is beautiful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing but the Best, Jan 13 2004
This review is from: Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood (Hardcover)
As a Native New Yorker, It does me proud to see fellow New Yorkers talk about Harlem, past,present and future. I have enjoyed this book as well as Crowns(I own them both),and it is such a treasure to see Harlem at its finest. This book is highly recommended.
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