Harlem Street Scenes and Queensbridge Projects Construction 1939

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  • Опубликовано: 25 ноя 2016
  • From National Archives RUclips Channel. Restored outtakes from METROPOLIS 1939. This rare footage shows Harlem street scenes, residents of the Harlem River Houses, and construction of the Queensbridge Houses, circa 1939. Assumed to be in the public domain. Original post can be found here • Outtakes from "Metropo...
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Комментарии • 1,5 тыс.

  • @TonyPanama
    @TonyPanama 7 лет назад +933

    I get the sense that we had more dignity back then.

    • @loverainthunder
      @loverainthunder 7 лет назад +56

      It isn't the freedom - its the trick of wanting to be someone else, and having the option to pretend. Fantasy destroys cooperation. Easier to overlook whats important and seek validation from opinions of outsiders. Running from and slandering self.

    • @sevenwinters8420
      @sevenwinters8420 7 лет назад +19

      #I Am Israel. I am glad someone else sees it, the civil rights movement was an invention of the whites and they sent the Trojan hoarse aka black man to deliver the booby prize.

    • @VJBlues
      @VJBlues 6 лет назад +9

      Because is part of the master plan to keep hate alive and the people hating each other regardless of ethnicity. I am not Black but I am very aware of the truth.

    • @thecraplordsell4575
      @thecraplordsell4575 6 лет назад +12

      blackplaque617 You people are a joke, blacks do have freedom today. They just mess it up just too get back at whites and started believing lies of the media about whites. You blacks are only oppressing y’all self with that mindset. If y’all want to succeed than y’all must stop blaming whites and stop viewing them as your oppressor and come together and move on and rebuild just like all these other races in this country are doing. The only enemy here to blacks are people like you with that hateful mindset that would lead to nothing but chaos.

    • @democripsrebloodlicans1459
      @democripsrebloodlicans1459 6 лет назад +33

      Because we did. We were more self sufficient. We relied on each other more and therefore were more proud. We were also better educated and our culture hadn't degraded to the point where it is now.

  • @REGALITY4LIFE
    @REGALITY4LIFE 5 лет назад +163

    As a black man looking at this video it truly is bittersweet. I often rolled my eyes when my Grandma and even Mother would tell me how it was when they were younger and what the community “used” to look like. This is what the black community was before it was destroyed by drugs, and ultimately gentrification. I long for these days just to experience what it may have been like to live during that time.

    • @ericgardnerii8658
      @ericgardnerii8658 2 года назад +6

      As well ✍🏿💯💯

    • @skybarwisdom
      @skybarwisdom 2 года назад +7

      Destroyed by Democrat policies to incentivize fatherless households and single mothers raising their kids alone plus schools that push illiterate uneducated students along through graduation with no hope for a middle class wage. You're Welcome.

    • @phantompixie7164
      @phantompixie7164 2 года назад +10

      You can't force drugs on ppl. It was destroyed by drugs bc ppl CHOSE to do them

    • @lavendermilk3010
      @lavendermilk3010 2 года назад +4

      @@phantompixie7164 no not necessarily

    • @thequietrevolution3404
      @thequietrevolution3404 2 года назад +20

      @@phantompixie7164 Actually, you can. (1) Eliminate quality water (as was done to Detroit). (2) Eliminate decent paying jobs and promote only low wage paying jobs with no opportunity for advancement. (3) Introduce drugs into the neighborhood. People feeling they're in a hopeless situation will eventually use drugs to numb themselves. (4) Increase the price of drugs knowing addicts will steal and even kill to meet the dealer's price. (5) Displace residents via gentrification and increased prices. Those who are unable to meet new prices will eventually become homeless. This was Richard Nixon's actual playbook used for destroying Black neighborhoods.

  • @EricaYE6
    @EricaYE6 7 лет назад +1078

    Wow. Everyone dressed so nice when leaving the house. No butt cheeks hanging out, sagging pants or raggedy clothes.

    • @billshea6657
      @billshea6657 6 лет назад +64

      EricaYE6................... Yea, and black music was cool and nice , today they sing about hate, put it this way it sucks.......

    • @alidi13
      @alidi13 5 лет назад +44

      I know right! Dude, the other day, I saw a man sagging (there were stains on his underwear...).

    • @sandybeaches3950
      @sandybeaches3950 5 лет назад +20

      @@alidi13 Ohhhh Nooooooo😂😂😂

    • @buckeyewill2166
      @buckeyewill2166 5 лет назад +10

      ​@@alidi13….Ugh

    • @mellajoe
      @mellajoe 5 лет назад +29

      EricaYE6 and no dudes rubber knocking drooling talking about how phat a woman’s but was

  • @mariekatherine5238
    @mariekatherine5238 6 лет назад +131

    I notice everyone is well-dressed and has a certain dignity about them. The streets are clean. Not for a long time now has Harlem been like this.

    • @jeffaholics2289
      @jeffaholics2289 2 года назад

      Harlem has been gentrified for years, with expensive boutiques and high end corporate retail stores. You’re holding on to some image from 1986.

    • @mariekatherine5238
      @mariekatherine5238 2 года назад

      @@jeffaholics2289 😅 The image in my mind is of the late forties through the early sixties, long before it became gentrified.

    • @jeffaholics2289
      @jeffaholics2289 2 года назад

      @@mariekatherine5238 Well if you go back now you might like it. It’s expensive and trendy.

    • @mariekatherine5238
      @mariekatherine5238 2 года назад

      @@jeffaholics2289 😂🤣😂 No thanks! If I want chain stores and chain restaurants, I can go to any mall or shopping center in the rest of USA.

    • @jeffaholics2289
      @jeffaholics2289 2 года назад

      @@mariekatherine5238
      Yeah, Harlem has really changed.

  • @denisemitchell8477
    @denisemitchell8477 5 лет назад +233

    As a Elder born in Harlem Hospital
    It was magical
    Full of Pride unity harmony
    Dad had a small eatery on 136 and Lenox
    Gone are those days big businesses destroyed Harlem along with the Clintons

    • @bernadettescott7578
      @bernadettescott7578 5 лет назад +11

      Denise Mitchell Hey Denise as an young elder, I am born at Harlem Hospital too and a sister of mine in Yonkers. 8/7/19. (Wed.) 2:09 a.m. 🌟

    • @bigbyn8032
      @bigbyn8032 5 лет назад +7

      What black person in their right mind gives a flying fuck about the Clintons?

    • @denisemitchell8477
      @denisemitchell8477 4 года назад +27

      First of all I am not a Bitch
      Your family members may be
      But then I realize I am dealing with folks would ..who don't have the knowledge keyboard warriors
      Let me educate you the Clintons plan open a office in Harlem gain the black vote across the country for Killary
      With the support of Al and Charlie the political powerhouses who both supported Clinton
      BIG businesses WERE RECRUITED rents went sky high.Harlem was SOLD ..but Obama popped up and destroyed Killarys dream
      Thank you Obama
      she passed the stop and search law here in NYC
      all the small mom and pop stores and the village of Harlem no longer compete with the big retail stores
      Harlem is white..that was the plan
      Walk in the African American parade every year ..Killary wanted our votes but did not even walk in the parade her office was in Harlem.
      Clinton's destroyed Harlem it's called gentrification.
      Clinton was a regular visitor to Epsteins palace ..UHMMMMMMMMM
      Next..

    • @denisemitchell8477
      @denisemitchell8477 4 года назад +3

      @@bigbyn8032 agree totally ..
      Killary..

    • @meemee5660
      @meemee5660 4 года назад +11

      @@denisemitchell8477 - Thanks for educating those (hopefully)young, disrespectful, and unknowledgable individuals...."My people perish for lack of knowledge.

  • @monkayjunkay
    @monkayjunkay 6 лет назад +168

    Wow that sign says "THE LAW- keep your sidewalk clean, never sweep ,refuse, into street." Just look at how our people carried themselves, with pride and dignity. Not a single person sloppily dressed. And wow there's black people actually working the carts and booths outside and not another race. Dang what happened to us?! Gosh those projects are ginormous! What a great vid!

    • @bigvalley4987
      @bigvalley4987 5 лет назад +13

      Ms Kitty Kitty
      We Americans ADOS paved the way for other ethnicities and groups to become vendors and the like. Never forget this. ADOS have always been used as a template for the LBQT communities as well. And I still can not equate why. When Black Folk passage did not originate like their plight. Similarities for what they were striving to overcome, but an entirely different passage.🤔

    • @bitchilookgood5911
      @bitchilookgood5911 5 лет назад +7

      @@bigvalley4987 that's why it's up to us to fix it. The older generation dropped the ball, but the younger generation can fix it.

    • @unfreeze18
      @unfreeze18 4 года назад +7

      Drugs changed everything,

    • @unfreeze18
      @unfreeze18 4 года назад +1

      Drugs changed everything,

    • @ronn3988
      @ronn3988 6 месяцев назад

      Politics and drugs the greatest menace to black people everywhere.

  • @Love4me34
    @Love4me34 7 лет назад +258

    WOW! This is AMAZING to see rare footage of life in historic Harlem African American community!

    • @briannapiersr.3026
      @briannapiersr.3026 5 лет назад +6

      Derrick Phelps We’re not Africans

    • @Beetwate305
      @Beetwate305 4 года назад +12

      Brian Napier Sr. I never hear Latin Americans say “we’re not Latin” only black folks like you try to erase the African ancestors that runs through your blood

    • @enigma7276
      @enigma7276 4 года назад

      Many of them were West Indians and Black Africans, not all Black Americans.

    • @Kalik8000
      @Kalik8000 4 года назад +3

      @@briannapiersr.3026 woww

    • @Kalik8000
      @Kalik8000 4 года назад +3

      @@briannapiersr.3026 not all of us are indigenous to the land that is now called North and South America

  • @Michelle-jz8vl
    @Michelle-jz8vl 6 лет назад +612

    When women dressed respectable.
    Men dressed presentable and children were children.
    Those days long long gone.

    • @sopaman1234
      @sopaman1234 5 лет назад +27

      Exactly because back then your parents or grandparents would wipp you behind if you misbehaved..Jewamerica destroid all that with thier liberal views.And we have been paying for it ever since...

    • @drwlpwasright5132
      @drwlpwasright5132 5 лет назад +21

      And back then they didn't look like fat disgusting slobs either.

    • @PonderthePath100
      @PonderthePath100 5 лет назад +10

      America destroyed us

    • @leshagayle5991
      @leshagayle5991 5 лет назад +3

      Real Talk

    • @turtleblazer3310
      @turtleblazer3310 4 года назад +2

      So true.

  • @greenbyrd3665
    @greenbyrd3665 6 лет назад +303

    Everything looks so peaceful! A real community. How do we get this back?

    • @Goat1481
      @Goat1481 6 лет назад +12

      green byrd this is a perfect question, I work at it everyday.

    • @thecraplordsell4575
      @thecraplordsell4575 6 лет назад +53

      By coming together and rebuilding

    • @tavettewinter3404
      @tavettewinter3404 6 лет назад +11

      Take TVs always cell phones with sounds

    • @summerdays3919
      @summerdays3919 5 лет назад +25

      Respecting eachother

    • @thephoenix2176
      @thephoenix2176 5 лет назад +11

      Speaking of my own suggestion - Connect with those you can trust. . .and keep it moving. . .most of us are too far gone. . .and I am ok with that. . .

  • @matrox
    @matrox 6 лет назад +250

    Very little equality but so much more respect back then for each other.

    • @c.calliecoleman1531
      @c.calliecoleman1531 4 года назад +7

      Our parents were perfect role models. I guess some of us starting picking the wrong role models. Get back to basics.

    • @locks4
      @locks4 4 года назад +1

      @Anahata Healing yes, but at least the dollar circulated alot within the community

    • @kirkyoung6962
      @kirkyoung6962 4 года назад

      That’s an oxymoron

    • @aldofhister6859
      @aldofhister6859 4 года назад +1

      @@c.calliecoleman1531 do you mean your personal parents or parents in general ?

    • @c.calliecoleman1531
      @c.calliecoleman1531 4 года назад +2

      @@aldofhister6859 Mine and most of the grownups I was raised around.

  • @RETROGEMS
    @RETROGEMS 7 лет назад +79

    My grandpa and grandma lived in Harlem during the war years...always was curious about what it was like back then. Thank you for sharing this priceless video.

    • @janjISMYname
      @janjISMYname 4 года назад +5

      dwone jones - I think she knows that. 🤣

  • @40teeve
    @40teeve 5 лет назад +91

    Thank you for keeping the history alive.❤️❤️

  • @hazeleneyoung9183
    @hazeleneyoung9183 5 лет назад +94

    I'm nearly 70 years old and the previous. Comment hit the nail on the head. We did have more self respect and dignity back then women always carried them selves like ladies at all times and the men were proud hardworking gentelmen.

    • @YSLRD
      @YSLRD 4 года назад +7

      I'm( mostly) white. Our people have gone downhill, too. It's partly the drugs, but I think more an overall lack of respect.

    • @bdadolph
      @bdadolph 4 года назад +2

      There was extreme poverty back then, it was the depression. This was before race riot of 1943 in HArlem and Detroit where there was overcrowding and job discrimination inhousing, wartime jobs and unionization. A great description of the era was in the Autobio of Malcolm X.

    • @ruthsherman2507
      @ruthsherman2507 2 года назад +3

      I remember those people in my East Texas neighborhood as well...they presented themselves w/ dignity and always spoke carefully around children.

    • @michie1luv
      @michie1luv Год назад

      @@ruthsherman2507 "Those people?" IDIOT.

    • @peekaboo3968
      @peekaboo3968 5 месяцев назад

      Not true

  • @nahseemx7527
    @nahseemx7527 5 лет назад +351

    B4 drugs ravaged our communities

    • @jlg5798
      @jlg5798 5 лет назад +12

      That’s a cop out ! People on drugs ravaged our communities

    • @OrbitFighter
      @OrbitFighter 5 лет назад +31

      those drugs were not even native to this continent. i wonder how they got here....
      the sabotage of our people is real and needs to be disussed heavily.

    • @jenuwinmoore9258
      @jenuwinmoore9258 5 лет назад +7

      JL G
      Nd you're deluded. Where do you think the drugs came from? Can't wait to see you expose more of your ignorance...

    • @ree6553
      @ree6553 4 года назад +9

      @@jlg5798 Drugs were set but no one had to fall for the bait.

    • @eprahs1
      @eprahs1 4 года назад +14

      Before integration

  • @5518sw
    @5518sw 5 лет назад +730

    We should’ve stayed segregated look at all those black business

    • @jkdortch2308
      @jkdortch2308 5 лет назад +41

      RIGHT IT WAS ABOUT THE DOLLAR
      THE EQUALITY

    • @3alarm247
      @3alarm247 5 лет назад +168

      It’s hard to stay segregated and prosper when the clan and others kept destroying towns that were thriving like Black Wall Street.

    • @H4wgBEright
      @H4wgBEright 5 лет назад +45

      @@3alarm247 after enough bullshit we would of came with our own similar mobs that would have crashed the klan,but we definitely would be better off if we didn't segregate with the land 😈

    • @aprillhall5760
      @aprillhall5760 5 лет назад +16

      I totally agree

    • @africaisrising1535
      @africaisrising1535 5 лет назад +6

      @@3alarm247 at least the black wall street rebuilt after the destruction caused by clans.

  • @clivemoses2467
    @clivemoses2467 6 лет назад +320

    From miami but love this footage of NY Harlem. BLACK PEOPLE ALWAYS WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE BEAUTIFUL

    • @kaylao.3326
      @kaylao.3326 5 лет назад +9

      Clive Moses
      I’m from Miami too 🤗 and I agree. Harlem has so much history, I would love to go and visit there one day

    • @moretrap3631
      @moretrap3631 4 года назад

      Cap

    • @uknw1952
      @uknw1952 4 года назад

      💯

    • @diandremosley
      @diandremosley 4 года назад

      We will will recreate this by practicing group economics. - Dr Claud Anderson -

  • @nicolewatson2032
    @nicolewatson2032 6 лет назад +254

    Beautiful Black people.

    • @carstellamoore8863
      @carstellamoore8863 5 лет назад +9

      @@billshea6657 and what are you?

    • @PaulGreen11
      @PaulGreen11 5 лет назад +3

      Beautiful, indeed.

    • @SoSoPrettyMS21
      @SoSoPrettyMS21 4 года назад

      bill shea what do you look like?

    • @theinfinitytruth7387
      @theinfinitytruth7387 4 года назад +2

      @@billshea6657 You were describe your mother again shame on you she's ugly and fat true enough but do you have to tell the whole world such a bastard

    • @thecraplordsell4575
      @thecraplordsell4575 4 года назад

      William Kirksey is he wrong though

  • @BruceBigDaddyWayne1
    @BruceBigDaddyWayne1 7 лет назад +152

    This footage is amazing! I was raised in Harlem!

    • @denisemitchell8477
      @denisemitchell8477 5 лет назад +5

      Born Harlem Hospita
      Lived 136 and Lenox
      The good old days when Harlem was the mecca..
      Lenox Lounge!

    • @smokescreenFromThe6ix
      @smokescreenFromThe6ix 4 года назад +1

      @brice landy I was thinking the same thing. This footage is very clear for being from the 1930''s!

  • @40amule16
    @40amule16 7 лет назад +424

    Back when men walked with THEIR PANTS UP! BEAUTIFUL 😊👍

    • @brianswartz5674
      @brianswartz5674 7 лет назад +34

      40 & a mule yes & females had clothes on too

    • @sumarcumar8772
      @sumarcumar8772 6 лет назад +8

      40 & a mule she said nothing about race or put anybody down american men are very very very sensitive

    • @larryblack2981
      @larryblack2981 6 лет назад +6

      I still do. Always have.

    • @oscarmorada2659
      @oscarmorada2659 5 лет назад +1

      40 & a mule 24 or as news

    • @oscarmorada2659
      @oscarmorada2659 5 лет назад

      24 or as news

  • @decendantfromaslave342
    @decendantfromaslave342 7 лет назад +49

    Born and raised on 125th. street in Harlem the best cultural experience ever. Inspite of the hidden oppresion

  • @ShawnC.T.
    @ShawnC.T. 5 лет назад +38

    I enjoy seeing archival videos such as this of our people, it's like you're being placed in a "time machine", and getting to see how it was before you were even thought about, wonderful footage, R.I.P. to all of the souls from this...

  • @andrewmacdaniels212
    @andrewmacdaniels212 7 лет назад +157

    Everyone in suits and dresses.

  • @jessicarichards9540
    @jessicarichards9540 5 лет назад +13

    Wow what a safe time, that little girl was walking alone. Truly care free

  • @janjISMYname
    @janjISMYname 5 лет назад +326

    "Projects construction" = The beginning of the end.

    • @ertfgghhhh
      @ertfgghhhh 5 лет назад +16

      I agree

    • @GiddySage
      @GiddySage 5 лет назад +16

      Exactly....smh🤦🏾‍♂️ Wow, interesting how that beautiful walk down memory lane ended with what you said, “the beginning of the end”. Did the person filming 80 yrs ago have any idea of that???😳🤔

    • @weotalks2810
      @weotalks2810 5 лет назад +39

      Projects Weren't Bad 50,40 years ago, PROJECTS BECAME HAVEN FOR CRIME WHEN CRACK was PUSHED BY THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION ,CIA TEST.. GOOGLE... MAJORITY OF FOLKS IN PROJECTS WORKED HARD, 2 JOBS TO PROVIDE,YR COMMENT is CONDESCENDING, GOOGLE THE HISTORY OF AMERICA PROJECTS.

    • @jmac1698
      @jmac1698 5 лет назад +8

      The scene wen the kids was running around gave me a glimpse of a African village 😔

    • @leshagayle5991
      @leshagayle5991 5 лет назад +1

      Your right about that

  • @original1stmother
    @original1stmother 5 лет назад +33

    That housing project looks like a prison I hate it.....We are such strong beautiful graceful people♥️

    • @sydneywebbe7737
      @sydneywebbe7737 3 года назад +2

      Looks like they wanted all Black people to live in one area.

  • @thedubbman4453
    @thedubbman4453 5 лет назад +39

    WAIT, 1:31 first brutha to hitch a free ride off the back bumper of the bus... love my history baby😂😂😂

    • @locks4
      @locks4 4 года назад

      It was called bus " surfing"

  • @NiiRose
    @NiiRose 7 лет назад +116

    this is so freaking cool!

    • @heatherhodge8396
      @heatherhodge8396 6 лет назад

      Nia Rose WHATS So FUCKING Coooool oh I know your a asson LOL 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😊😊😊😊😊😊😂😂😂😂😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😊😊😊😊😊😊😂😂😊😊😊

    • @Ken-iu2zp
      @Ken-iu2zp 5 лет назад

      Nia Rose You from NYC?

    • @theinfinitytruth7387
      @theinfinitytruth7387 4 года назад +2

      @@heatherhodge8396 Russia bot go back to Russia slimy bastard

  • @michellesingleton8344
    @michellesingleton8344 5 лет назад +24

    I miss harlem i was born in raised there from the late 60s.We didnt have much but we were proud in happy.

    • @kcorn12kc
      @kcorn12kc 3 года назад +1

      You're so right about the being happy part...you ever noticed that the haves seems to be more angrier than the have nots.I used to hear my older relatives say that they made things happen with very little...and didn't really complain about what they didn't have.

  • @lovingmyself1008
    @lovingmyself1008 5 лет назад +147

    I’m loving all the beautiful black people that I see here 💕💕💕

  • @MemoGrafix
    @MemoGrafix 6 лет назад +33

    This was made the year My Mother was born in Harlem in Harlem Hospital.

  • @moerich6254
    @moerich6254 5 лет назад +16

    This was everything to see our people back then.... and conducting themselves so dignified

  • @nola06
    @nola06 7 лет назад +80

    You present good stuff as always! I'm in awe at how clean the streets of Harlem were! I love the way our people dressed. Everyone seemed to take pride in their appearance then.

    • @nola06
      @nola06 7 лет назад +1

      Willie Gordon Me too. I believe immigrant white Irish and Italian held those jobs.

    • @jerryharrell1543
      @jerryharrell1543 5 лет назад +1

      So true

    • @ruthsherman2507
      @ruthsherman2507 2 года назад +6

      I love the modesty of the women...

    • @lavendermilk3010
      @lavendermilk3010 2 года назад

      @@ruthsherman2507 bro what

    • @aGwEENapple
      @aGwEENapple 2 года назад +3

      @@lavendermilk3010 do you not speak English?

  • @jasminehall9542
    @jasminehall9542 4 года назад +11

    Even though they were poor they still had some level of class!

  • @DWilliam1
    @DWilliam1 5 лет назад +34

    No empty storefronts. Business was booming.

  • @robinafrica3456
    @robinafrica3456 4 года назад +7

    My Mother was born in Harlem in 1931, I like these videos because I always hope to get a glimpse of her as a young girl.... She’ll be 89 this year and she still roller skates!!❤️😁

  • @nightcoder2633
    @nightcoder2633 5 лет назад +24

    This is beautiful, like I aways say “they did a number on us”

    • @couldyoupassthesaltplease.2006
      @couldyoupassthesaltplease.2006 4 года назад +2

      They really did. It's all a social experiment that certain other Countries have taken noticed on, believe that.

  • @terrigurganus3720
    @terrigurganus3720 5 лет назад +20

    1920s and 30s beautiful Harlem films I wish I had a time machine!

  • @gluehigh416
    @gluehigh416 4 года назад +13

    The way it should be! The people looked sharp. The streets were clean. Everybody had their chin up! I love history!

  • @memikchik3820
    @memikchik3820 3 года назад +5

    Back in the day when kids could safely play in the streets. Thank you for sharing this piece of history.

  • @weotalks2810
    @weotalks2810 5 лет назад +102

    INTEGRATION killed HARLEM, YOU BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND 20 BLACK BUSINESSES, that are NOT a Barbershop & a RESTURANT in HARLEM.BLACK POWER RIP!

    • @jkdortch2308
      @jkdortch2308 5 лет назад +5

      START A BUSINESS

    • @charissew4798
      @charissew4798 5 лет назад +3

      I agree

    • @roderickstockdale1678
      @roderickstockdale1678 5 лет назад +13

      Tyrone norfleet Norfleet no, GENTRIFICATION killed Harlem! There was no welcome we let nobody in. It was when those greedy land developers and realtors started burning and buying our buildings and raising the rates so high we had to move out that white people started moving in! Before Harlem was indeed black, my brother.

    • @lscarver5
      @lscarver5 5 лет назад +8

      Harlem started to deteriorate when law enforcement, and the politicians looked the other way when the Mafia crime families flooded the community with heroin. This happened after WW2. The second wave of destruction came in the 60's with more heroin. And then came the crack epidemic in the mid 80's. The final nail in the coffin was when the " Empowerment Zone" was created, to start up new businesses and housing. That's when Harlem became gentrified and super expensive so the long time residents couldn't afford it. A damn shame.

    • @roderickstockdale1678
      @roderickstockdale1678 5 лет назад +2

      Leslie Scarver yeah, heroin did play a huge part in it but the real destruction came from those greedy landlords who burned down their buildings to gain profit from their policies and didn't care how many people they killed or put on the street. The more of the buildings they burned, the more people they put on the street to be driven into heroin and to crime!

  • @c.t.2252
    @c.t.2252 7 лет назад +68

    Styles were nice. Men looked good in suits and fedora hats. Women wore stylish, feminine clothing. There seemed to be a relaxed enjoyment on the part of the people. By 1939 the country was coming out of the depression years. Maybe they were feeling a sense of relief, as if the worst was over and there were better days ahead.

    • @bigvalley4987
      @bigvalley4987 5 лет назад +5

      C. T.
      I ask my Mother (RIP) y did she not share the experiences of the depression. She stated, that they were so poor that they did not know that it was a depression. I gathered that it was just a part of life for them. However, they share their food. Someone had the meal. The other person raised and slaughtered hogs. Others raised chickens. It was a Co-op before it became trending.

    • @roderickstockdale1678
      @roderickstockdale1678 4 года назад +2

      VALERIE BLOUNT she must’ve been raised in the country.

  • @nasomggamerboytv3212
    @nasomggamerboytv3212 7 лет назад +43

    THIS IS AN NOSTALGIC ERA,IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND HISTORY!!! GOOD TIMES!!!

  • @staffygrrl
    @staffygrrl 4 года назад +3

    I love how they stand tall, going about their day. Some even with smiles on their face..

  • @Joshua-nc1be
    @Joshua-nc1be 7 лет назад +23

    This video took me back, saw someone riding the back of a bus... Ol skool'd

  • @meemee5660
    @meemee5660 4 года назад +8

    "The night is beautiful,
    So the faces of my people.
    The stars are beautiful,
    So the eyes of my people.
    Beautiful, also, is the sun.
    Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people."
    Langston Hughes

  • @user-wl1hw2ul6f
    @user-wl1hw2ul6f 5 лет назад +5

    @ 2:58 I noticed the lady selling ices...my father use to sell the same (peragwa) in Brooklyn RIP...miss you

  • @maclac48
    @maclac48 5 лет назад +15

    This is amazing footage. It was so different back then. I was was also thinking about how young my grandmother & grandfather were during the time this footage was shoot. I think about where some of the people were going & or coming from. I think about a whole bunch of things watching this video.

  • @Enki_369
    @Enki_369 5 лет назад +37

    Queens Bridge (Project) was looking like a Huge Prison System to prepare for the Real Prison system that my people are still be Farmer into...

    • @roderickstockdale1678
      @roderickstockdale1678 5 лет назад +5

      Om Ra yeah it does look a lot like a prison.....

    • @cjjaxxon
      @cjjaxxon 4 года назад +5

      We said that about the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago. The way the front looked it looked like a prison.

    • @powerplay4real174
      @powerplay4real174 4 года назад +5

      That's what they was preparing blacks youth for subliminally with the new living conditions that they would only see in hindsight 20/20.

    • @romeg4534
      @romeg4534 4 года назад +2

      Yes sir, building so-called black people prison cells to live in back then but now the whole world is a ghetto so it doesn't matter.

    • @DETmichigan-yy6lf
      @DETmichigan-yy6lf 4 года назад

      Yeah,they lock black people up for no reason at all huh?

  • @m.l7091
    @m.l7091 5 лет назад +5

    My beautiful people , have to get back to this😢🌷

  • @bernadettescott7578
    @bernadettescott7578 5 лет назад +5

    Year my mom is born, she's in a nursing home right now with some health challenges. We live in Harlem too. God bless you forever mom, keeping getting better and stronger and be filled with joy and happiness. 8/7/19. (Wed.) 1:33 a.m. 🌟

  • @mrcead
    @mrcead 2 года назад +4

    Giving out roses to ReelBlack once again! This isn't taught in schools or at home but it needs to be. Thanks for the collection of positive historical black images instead of focusing on black pain like the mainstream

  • @87alock
    @87alock 5 лет назад +3

    Love these old videos. Amazingly how it's so clear.

  • @donjonesmusic860
    @donjonesmusic860 5 лет назад +7

    Wow the making of queensbridge

    • @bigh9884
      @bigh9884 5 лет назад +1

      Unfortunately that Queensbridge is gone.

    • @peekaboo3968
      @peekaboo3968 5 месяцев назад

      ​@@bigh9884where'd it go?

  • @virgo7956
    @virgo7956 5 лет назад +4

    Wow!! My grandparents lived in Harlem. This is amazing

  • @seanwright8786
    @seanwright8786 5 лет назад +106

    Reading the comments it is unanimous that we want some of the old culture to return. The respectably dressed men and women, the black businesses, the evident self-respect that can be noticed on a silent video. How do regain these jewels back?
    A) God has to enter back into the family. Regardless of whether the family is a single parent household or not.
    I didn't say religion. I said God
    B) Men have to be taught how to be the heads of their household or take care of the children that they produce... without being bitter at the mother.
    Women must be better examples of womanhood to their daughters and well as their sons. No dressing in the freak clothes that comes out of the mind of white people. Dress with dignity so our daughters can emulate that dignity.
    Fight like hell to keep the families unified. No ADULTERY(emphasis on the brothers).
    C) strong push at home for EDUCATION. We've been pushing but we have to push a little more. Get our youth in college! With the importance of coming back to the community to help edify the community and not flee from the community. We have to blame ourselves to some extent for GENTRIFICATION. It's happening all over the country. It ain't 100% the white man's fault. Some of it is ours.
    D) The knowledge of ourselves and our history(beyond slavery!!!)
    E)Unity starting at home; extending to the church, the mosque, the temples then into the community.
    F) Strong promotion of financial literacy to as many black families that will listen to the information.
    **in my humble observation, these are some important things that we're missing in the 21st century that the black community may have possessed or was working toward possession at the date of this video. I dont have all the answers and I ask any of my people to forgive me if I seem to come across arrogant or self-righteous. I love black people and I hurt when I see where we are at today which is why I've been working hard at helping us get out of this condition that we're in today.

    • @reelblack
      @reelblack  5 лет назад +11

      Well put. Thanks for sharing

    • @schadellconnor7891
      @schadellconnor7891 5 лет назад +6

      All truth brother!!🤔

    • @Natalia-hf3et
      @Natalia-hf3et 5 лет назад +4

      Great points.

    • @PanessaMitchell
      @PanessaMitchell 5 лет назад +7

      Amen! God bless you in being apart of the answer and it hurts me too
      I still choose a black man by my side because they're historically the strongest men on the planet.

    • @taresaweil7570
      @taresaweil7570 4 года назад +4

      Sean Wright wish i could u waayyyy more upvotes for this comment💯

  • @deanguando1335
    @deanguando1335 5 лет назад +15

    We have definitely moved backwards in today's society.

  • @shawngamble1025
    @shawngamble1025 6 лет назад +12

    This is awesome footage!

  • @janetpitts7302
    @janetpitts7302 4 года назад +11

    I love old footage like this! Look how everyone dressed so well just for everyday life, suits and nice dresses its ashame what our world has turned into, I'd love to turn back time and start over!!! That's when people had morals, dignity and cared how they were acting and living!! ✌

  • @MissJhane
    @MissJhane 7 лет назад +63

    I saw theblack police officer. I love this

    • @amandaplease3007
      @amandaplease3007 6 лет назад +9

      Jeanica2Natural but he was only aloud to arrest blks...

    • @BigChefthefoodreviewer
      @BigChefthefoodreviewer 6 лет назад +10

      That was the law at that time.

    • @fernicusmaximus9282
      @fernicusmaximus9282 6 лет назад +10

      Very true. If he were to arrest a white person he would lose his job.

    • @mellajoe
      @mellajoe 5 лет назад +8

      Fernicus Maximus blacks were not aloud to touch whites or use the same facilities as whites. This is a time of segregation

    • @jtika1978
      @jtika1978 4 года назад

      Modest One there were lots of white people in this video

  • @Lamont24012
    @Lamont24012 5 лет назад +11

    I wonder how many black brothers ,and sisters from this footage are still alive today .

  • @welfaredad
    @welfaredad 7 лет назад +52

    music from the era would go nice with this

    • @ertfgghhhh
      @ertfgghhhh 5 лет назад +3

      They were addicts. It was vulgarity all along. If u listen to the words, they were highly sexual too.

  • @belladionne
    @belladionne 4 года назад +3

    They all were dressed to a tee! Love the style....

  • @christophersherman5404
    @christophersherman5404 Год назад +1

    This is truly beautiful and cool to be able to see day to day life back then. I love nostalgic footage. Priceless 🙂

  • @summerfalls1998
    @summerfalls1998 4 года назад +4

    My beautiful people had so much love for them selves and others back then.

  • @baronsaturday9560
    @baronsaturday9560 5 лет назад +4

    This Is Priceless!

  • @geraldrembert8321
    @geraldrembert8321 5 лет назад +17

    no sound. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Most of the businesses in my neighborhood were Black own.

  • @DominiqueMagnin
    @DominiqueMagnin 6 лет назад +3

    This film is fantastic, thank you very much.

  • @loisedwi
    @loisedwi 6 лет назад +4

    Wow!Wonderful testimony!Wish there would be sound also.Thank you for sharing😊

  • @carlatoppins8567
    @carlatoppins8567 4 года назад +3

    Whoa! Harlem World Back in the Day. Truly Black Folks Business Mecca. Ty for the Awesome Nostalgic Throwback.👍💜😉

  • @reneemartin2954
    @reneemartin2954 5 лет назад +11

    SO MANY BEAUTIFUL COLORS!!!
    1 THING IN COMMON THEIR ALL BLACK & GORGEOUS!!!👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑

  • @sblizzy
    @sblizzy 4 года назад +3

    All I saw a was class! Sharp suits, sharp dresses. A proud community.

  • @kirijones3778
    @kirijones3778 4 года назад +2

    Wow just amazing to watch. Everyone looked so Dapper! Fabulous

  • @ManPursueExcellence
    @ManPursueExcellence 6 лет назад +27

    Watch 2:14. It seems the man is not happy and refuses the product. It seems the lady tries to convince him but, he waves his hand as he walks away. He’s not having it 😆

  • @totsmini3105
    @totsmini3105 5 лет назад +16

    Yes - Weren't they the Good 'ol days!... When People knew the Basics!!....

  • @sparx180
    @sparx180 5 лет назад

    Amazing footage. Thank you!

  • @stillwill2215
    @stillwill2215 5 лет назад +6

    And the neighborhood is clean.

  • @triggb71
    @triggb71 5 лет назад +24

    I love viewing these videos and I often wish that I was around to be a part of that time. Things were a lot different at that time but it certainly wasn't all roses as many of us know. There were hustlers, pimps, thieves, prostitutes, killers, etc back then but some people here see a short video from that time and act as if these things didn't exist at that time and they somehow only came about in the last 30-40 years. After viewing some of the comments I have to say, and with all due respect to everyone speaking on how people dress and behave now a days as oppose to back then, we have to blame the generations who came many years before the "now a days people". My point is that there has been a lot of ball dropping over the years to get to this point. Complacency, lack of respect for self and others, etc didn't begin in the 80s & 90s. I'm just calling it how it is.

    • @TrudyPatootie
      @TrudyPatootie 2 года назад +3

      Al B. Respectfully. I don't believe any of us think back to that time as our Utopia. This shows a small slice of us interacting with each other during the day. We appear to be respectful of each other and we dressed nice for ourselves and others.
      Of course the realities of the day certainly included all that you expressed, but what they saw on a daily basis up and down the streets of Harlem was shown on this clip. Nighttime? Much different. But I'm positive we all know that. 🤔

    • @damnglo6531
      @damnglo6531 2 года назад +1

      Wow

    • @damnglo6531
      @damnglo6531 2 года назад +1

      @@TrudyPatootie Oh

  • @keishathompson1577
    @keishathompson1577 7 лет назад +9

    thank you!

  • @malikabrown7439
    @malikabrown7439 5 лет назад

    This was great to see!! Love it!! The man getting a free ride on the outside of the bus was interesting .

  • @petedog1017
    @petedog1017 4 года назад

    And here we are 90 years later watching these old generations on RUclips, who would have a thought ...... Amazing

  • @StephLdavoski
    @StephLdavoski 5 лет назад +44

    We looked more civilized back then

  • @raynereigns290
    @raynereigns290 5 лет назад +13

    LOOK AT THE KIDS INNOCENTLY PLAYING OUTSIDE THERE BUILDING NOT WORRYING BOUT GUNSHOTS OR TERRORIST COMING THROUGH THERE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOK LIKE SO MUCH FUN HERE AT 4:15!!!!

  • @ladytoi1980
    @ladytoi1980 4 года назад +2

    Love this and in the projects was so clean and the kids playing looks like a pool too

  • @williamscharr8699
    @williamscharr8699 4 года назад

    Awesome footage, nice and clear easy on the eyes. Thanks for a job well done 👍!

  • @reywell5515
    @reywell5515 5 лет назад +3

    Fascinating! Seeing their dress, movements, actions. I love it!

  • @uptownkal3046
    @uptownkal3046 5 лет назад +5

    LOL @ 2:22 whatever price she said he was not trying to hear it.

  • @fefe917
    @fefe917 4 года назад +1

    One year before my parents were born. Dad's passed on, but mom is still here!

  • @mkAYY825
    @mkAYY825 Год назад

    kudos to whoever shot this footage its amazing !!

  • @Unknown-qy3dx
    @Unknown-qy3dx 5 лет назад +7

    It's sad and melancholic to know that most of the children here are either dead or senile at the nursing homes.

  • @michaelduggan1890
    @michaelduggan1890 5 лет назад +18

    These people were respectable and went about their business without bothering people . Nice to
    see . Where did this go ? To Bad .

  • @classiql
    @classiql 4 года назад +1

    Thanks for this

  • @aGwEENapple
    @aGwEENapple 2 года назад +1

    It's amazing seeing these places on video. Lenox & 130th st! Pretty cool to see and compare to what it is now. And seeing the project buildings makes me wonder how many times they've had renovation on them since 1939.

  • @thequietrevolution7390
    @thequietrevolution7390 5 лет назад +21

    _No fast food places, no liquor stores, no Chinese or Arab businesses, no pimps, no street gangs, no drug dealers or addicts, no prostitutes, no questionable genders. Just black men, women and children going about their day. People conversing and conducting themselves with self respect, dignity and pride. Film in B&W yet the skies STILL seem clearer and bluer._

    • @montbrink4700
      @montbrink4700 5 лет назад +13

      It's nice to have nostalgia..... buts let be clear..... there were definitely gangs ..pimps.. prostitutes ...drug dealers and addicts......

    • @montbrink4700
      @montbrink4700 5 лет назад

      @John Kimber I agree

    • @pagethreemodel
      @pagethreemodel 4 года назад +8

      You're naive if you think drugs, prostitution and crime weren't rampant back then. Heroin for one, was a popular choice of drug. I wish people wouldn't get so stuck on how they dressed. A conservative attire doesn't say anything about a person's character.

  • @TinaTate00
    @TinaTate00 3 года назад +3

    We've strayed so far from this type of humanity that this feels like a movie.

  • @jabbarjd5731
    @jabbarjd5731 4 года назад +2

    That's my town and my other town of my grandparents. Wow, things change 80 years later and that's cool.

  • @Sherayx
    @Sherayx 4 года назад

    Thank you for sharing 💕

  • @NYC1927
    @NYC1927 6 лет назад +8

    Awesome! Anyone else see the man hanging/riding on the back of the bus at 1:30? LOL!

  • @hope2165
    @hope2165 5 лет назад +5

    Even the street vendors dressed with dignity.

  • @youngestson6537
    @youngestson6537 4 года назад

    Absolutely EXCELLENT footage. 👍🏾💯

  • @nancymichaliska9593
    @nancymichaliska9593 5 лет назад +2

    I wish it had sound! Awesome video