15 Rarely-Seen Photos Of Harlem During The Summer Of 1970

By | June 9, 2016

In July of 1970, French photographer Jack Garofalo, took a series of photos for Harlem Paris Match magazine's October issue. He was to document the changes after several rent strikes broke out in the neighborhood during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Led by local activist Jesse Gray, together with the Congress of Racial Equality and other groups, HARYOU or Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited, the strikes were to "force landlords to improve the quality of housing by bringing them up to code, to take action against rats and roaches, to provide heat during the winter, and to keep prices in line with existing rent control regulations."

By the end of the 1960s, a lot of Harlem residents moved out of the crime-ridden neighborhood in search of safer streets, better school systems, and more livable homes. But some Harlemites chose to stay, and Garofalo was there to document them.

<span style="font-style: italic">"A snapshot in time we’ll never see again."

 
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Jack Garofalo

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Credit: Jack Garofalo │ Via Dangerous Minds