UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — In celebration of Black History Month, we take a fresh look at New York’s Gay Harlem Renaissance.<\/p>\n
It’s all in the form of a new exhibition that highlights the Black LGBTQ+ artists, writers and performers who helped shape this cultural movement a century ago.<\/p>\n
The blues, art, fashion and literature are all of the workings of the iconic Harlem Renaissance.<\/p>\n
“Everything on this wall is signaling an important nightclub in Harlem,” said Allison Robinson of the New York Historical Society.<\/p>\n
Robinson is an associate curator for a unique exhibit at the New York Historical Society Museum and Library.<\/p>\n
“This was a moment where queer Black people were able to express themselves in ways that they’ve never had an opportunity before,” Robinson said.<\/p>\n
Robinson is talking about the Gay Harlem Renaissance.<\/p>\n
“Not only did they produce items that we still continue to read in school and are in our everyday lives today, but they’re inspiring artists of all kinds from filmmakers to performers in our present day,” Robinson said.<\/p>\n
The exhibit honors 30 individuals – household names like the writer Langston Hughes, and poet Countee Cullen, to popular American blues singers like Ethel waters and Gladys Bentley.<\/p>\n
Living in her truth, Bentley always wore a tuxedo and top hat.<\/p>\n
“Also put her personal relationships with women in the biggest part of her sharing her life with the world too,” Robinson said.<\/p>\n
The exhibit also highlights lesser known trailblazers, like the fashion work of Bonnie Clark, who was a drag performer.<\/p>\n
“Together through their work left a really lasting impact on American culture,” Robinson said.<\/p>\n
The exhibit opened in the fall, and many are taking advantage.<\/p>\n
“How people really shaped their identities and found ways to shape their identities here is really interesting,” said tourist, Sid Jambunathan.<\/p>\n
“It’s been really exciting, really cool, just learning about the history and the art,” said visitor, Barathi Aravindan.<\/p>\n
“We wanted to not only celebrate the nuances and complexities of the Harlem Renaissance but also teach our visitors that LGBTQ+ people were a crucial and foundational part of that movement,” Robinson said.<\/p>\n
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