"Philip Payton: The Father of Black Harlem" Book Talk

275 Lenox Ave,New York NY 10027

13 July, 2021

Description

Join HBA on Tuesday, July 13 at 6:30pm for this sure to be engaging book presentation. KEVIN McGRUDER, Associate Professor of History at Antioch College (Yellow Springs, OH) and former co-owner of Harlemade Styleshop, will discuss his new book. In 1904, Philip Payton (1876-1917) incorporated the Afro-American Realty Company with a goal of providing Black New Yorkers with access to better housing in predominantly White Harlem. Over the next thirteen years he would become nationally known as a member of Booker T. Washington’s inner circle, but he would also meet fierce criticism, initially from White Harlemites seeking to prevent Black people from moving beyond Harlem’s Little Africa enclave (135th Street area), and eventually from some Black renters because of the higher rents he charged them. The Harlem Business Alliance, Inc., (HBA) was founded in 1980 by a group of prominent Harlem business leaders, and incorporated in 1990 as a class 402 501(c)(3) corporation. HBA has worked diligently to establish Harlem as an economically self-sustaining community. Over the years, HBA has developed cohesive public/private partnerships to assist existing and emerging businesses, community residents and youth.