By Lisa James

Lillian Williams, a professor in the Department of Women’s Studies, served as the historian consultant for the Black Capital: Harlem in the 1920s exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany. The permanent exhibit, which is the first to portray the creation of the American community of Harlem as a Black Capital in the 1920s, offers an overview of everyday life in Harlem and an exploration of Harlem as a place that fostered education and self-improvement.

The exhibit features historic images, archival material, vintage newspapers and other artifacts that capture Harlem’s vitality in the 1920s as a neighborhood that typified for African Americans the dreams of freedom and prosperity shared by all Americans at the dawning of the 20th Century. Featured for a short time in the exhibition will be the Fredrick Douglass Pulpit.

The pulpit, which is on loan from Mother A.M.E. Zion Church in Harlem, dates back to the 1800s and has been in use for much of the Church’s 200 year existence. The Church, once a stop on the Underground Railroad, has numbered among its congregation Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Paul Robeson.

Williams was hired as a consultant to look at the content of the exhibit, help locate items, and make sure it was historically accurate. "It was important to display that Harlem at that time was more than just great jazz and literature. We wanted to show what everyday life was like," Williams said. "I think this exhibit will help to teach the public about the social and economic consequences of migration and urbanization on this population as well as contribute to the on-going national dialogue on race."

Black Capital: Harlem in the 1920s will be on permanent display at the NYS Museum beginning February 4. It is the first new permanent exhibit the Museum has mounted since 1992.

Leonard Slade of the Department of Africana Studies led a Harlem excursion on Saturday, Feb. 7. The trip began with a presentation by Slade on the bus en route to the famous Apollo Theatre, a focal point of African American entertainment since the 1930s. The group learned about the Theatre’s history and heard stories of famous entertainers who got their start there.

For lunch, they stopped at Sylvia’s Restaurant, renowned for its soul food. The last stop was a self-guided tour of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the leading fine arts museum in the U.S. dedicated to African American art.