What do you think the Harlem Cultural Festival meant to the Black community in 1969 and why? Cite evidence from the article below and add your own ideas in your response.
The Chambers Brothers quintet launched into "Uptown (to Harlem)" on June 29, 1969. By then, 50,000 people had already made their way to the New York City neighborhood. For six Sundays, in fact, crowds at the Harlem Cultural Festival listened and danced to a who's who of Black music greats. It was a jubilant celebration of Black lives at the end of a turbulent decade.
"That concert was like a rose coming through cement," reflected one attendee.
The 1960s had witnessed hard-fought wins for Black Americans. The civil rights movement had led to federal laws banning segregation. Another protected Black voting rights. Black cultural figures like writer James Baldwin and boxer Muhammad Ali had risen to national prominence. By 1969, the mottos "Black Pride," "Black Power," and "Black is Beautiful" were gaining momentum.
The "cement" of racism, discrimination, and poverty continued to weigh heavily on the Black community, however. And the assassinations of Malcolm X in 1965 and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. three years later landed like cinder blocks. Dr. King's murder had triggered civil unrest in more than 100 U.S. cities. New York City was among them. It was against this backdrop that city leaders supported the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Harlem has a long history as a center of Black culture. It was an ideal setting for a symbolic rose to bloom.
The result was a series of free concerts in Mount Morris Park. They featured music for everyone—gospel, jazz, blues, soul, funk, and rock. The pop group The 5th Dimension headlined the opening concert. The second Sunday was a gospel showcase starring the "Queen of Gospel Song," Mahalia Jackson. And the big names kept coming: Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Nina Simone, blues guitar master B.B. King, and more. There were also speeches by civil rights leaders. They called for Black unity and political action.
Over the course of the festival, some 300,000 people packed the park. In sunshine and rain, people stood shoulder to shoulder. Parents wearing dashikis brought babies. Kids climbed trees for better views. Teens danced wherever they found room.
The performers themselves knew they were part of something special. "I didn't expect a crowd like that," singer Gladys Knight recalled years later. "Something very important was happening. It wasn't just about the music."
When it was over, though, the Harlem Cultural Festival faded from memory. TV producer Hal Tulchin had filmed the concerts. But when he contacted TV networks, the response was indifferent. Hours of footage sat in a basement for nearly 50 years. It was almost discarded. Then, musician Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson learned of the footage and turned it into an award-winning documentary. Summer of Soul was released in 2021.
Now the festival has new life. Dorinda Drake, for one, is thankful. The concerts thrilled her when she was 18. Today, she remembers the overwhelming joy of the audience. "All the happy faces, the families…the crowds were just so happy," she told National Geographic. "And to see a bunch of happy Black faces like that…it was a beautiful thing."
