Harlem Celebrates Its Rebirth after 50 Years

In the 1970s, a lack of community investment resulted in a large number of people leaving Harlem, a well-known New York City neighborhood in northern Manhattan.

在1970年代，由于社区投资的不足，大量的人离开了哈莱姆，这是纽约市北曼哈顿一个著名的社区。

Nearly 50,000 people, about a third of the area's population, left to escape violence, crime and poor living conditions. Among those who left was LeeSandra Moore's mother who moved to the state of Virginia. “It was a scary time,” said Moore, now 52 and still living in Harlem. “I couldn't blame her for that.”

将近5万人，大约是该地区人口的三分之一，离开了这里以逃避暴力、犯罪和恶劣的生活条件。离开者之一是LeeSandra Moore的母亲，她搬到了弗吉尼亚州。现年52岁、仍然住在哈莱姆的Moore说：“那是一个可怕的时期，我不能责怪她这么做。”

Those who stayed were mostly poor, Black families. They lived through unrest that followed the 1964 killing of an unarmed Black teenager and the killings of Black leader Malcolm X in 1965 and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

留下的大多是贫穷的黑人家庭。他们经历了1964年一名手无寸铁的黑人青少年被杀后的动荡，以及1965年黑人领袖马尔科姆·X和1968年马丁·路德·金牧师被杀的事件。

News reports described Harlem as a “sinking ship.”

新闻报道形容哈莱姆为“一艘正在下沉的船”。

Percy Sutton was president of the local Manhattan government at the time. As the city's highest-ranking Black official, he knew Harlem needed a lift and started a festival called Harlem Day in 1974.

当时，珀西·萨顿是曼哈顿地方政府的主席。作为该市最高级别的黑人官员，他知道哈莱姆需要振兴，于是在1974年发起了一个名为“哈莱姆日”的节日。

Sutton called up elected officials. He gathered actors, like Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, entertainers, including Tito Puente and Max Roach, and the poet Maya Angelou to celebrate the first Harlem Day. It honored Harlem's history and shows how the neighborhood became known as "Black Mecca” or the center of Black arts, culture and businesses.

萨顿召集了民选官员。他聚集了演员，如西德尼·波蒂埃和鲁比·迪，娱乐艺人，包括蒂托·普恩特和马克斯·罗奇，以及诗人玛雅·安吉洛，一起庆祝了首个“哈莱姆日”。它纪念了哈莱姆的历史，并展示了这个社区如何成为“黑人麦加”或黑人艺术、文化和商业的中心。

“It was such a successful day,” said Lloyd Williams — one of Harlem Day's co-founders and the current president of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce — that it became a week-long yearly event called Harlem Week.

“这是一个非常成功的日子，”哈莱姆日的联合创始人之一、现任大哈莱姆商会主席的劳埃德·威廉姆斯说，它后来变成了一个为期一周的年度活动，称为“哈莱姆周”。

The festival's 50th year

该节日的第50年

This year, Harlem Week celebrated its 50th anniversary with 18 days filled with free programming.

今年，哈莱姆周庆祝了其50周年，举办了为期18天的免费活动。

The celebration included food, Broadway performances, an Apollo Hour, and a tribute to entertainer Harry Belafonte. It offered financial education and career training, and for children, back-to-school backpacks.

庆祝活动包括食物、百老汇表演、阿波罗时光以及对艺人哈里·贝拉方特的致敬。它还提供了金融教育和职业培训，并为孩子们准备了返校背包。

One important part of Harlem Week was an effort to deal with Harlem's long-standing health crises. Medical volunteers checked blood pressure and tested for cancer and diabetes. People learned about drug use, HIV/AIDS and healthy aging.

哈莱姆周的一个重要部分是努力解决哈莱姆长期存在的健康危机。医务志愿者为人们检查血压并进行癌症和糖尿病的检测。人们还学习了关于药物使用、艾滋病和健康老龄化的知识。

Rev. Al Sharpton leads the National Action Network in Harlem. He said, "Harlem Week has been the constant line through the last 50 years of America's most historic Black neighborhood."

阿尔·沙普顿牧师在哈莱姆领导全国行动网络。他说：“哈莱姆周是过去50年来美国最具历史意义的黑人社区的持续脉络。”

Organizers and people say Harlem Week has brought new life to the area. The once-deserted neighborhood is now home to restored buildings, new businesses, and immigrants. The streets are filled with jazz, reggae, R&B, and gospel music traditions.

组织者和居民表示，哈莱姆周为该地区带来了新生。这个曾经荒凉的社区现在有了修复的建筑、新的商业以及移民。街道上充满了爵士乐、雷鬼乐、节奏蓝调和福音音乐的传统。

Big stores vs. small shops

大商店与小商铺的对比

Moore, the Harlem native whose mother moved to Virginia, watched as big national stores moved in. Sometimes they took the place of local shops and made rents go up. "Some of that is okay, but what about the small business where you can get that great sandwich?" she asked. Moore wants people to eat less fast food, so she teaches healthy eating and cooking to young local students.

Moore是那位母亲搬到弗吉尼亚州的哈莱姆本地人，她目睹了大型全国连锁店的进驻。有时这些商店取代了当地的小商铺，导致房租上涨。她问道：“有些事情是可以接受的，但那些你能买到美味三明治的小商铺怎么办呢？” Moore希望人们少吃快餐，所以她向当地的年轻学生教授健康饮食和烹饪。

At Harlem Week, Moore represented GirlTrek, a national movement of Black women supporting health through walking. She said, "I feel like I should have left a long time ago, but something about Harlem draws me back to it."

在哈莱姆周期间，Moore代表GirlTrek——一个通过步行支持健康的黑人女性全国运动。她说：“我觉得自己很早就应该离开，但哈莱姆有些东西吸引着我回到这里。”

Moore continued, "Harlem is my beginning. Harlem is my future. Harlem is a huge part of what makes me who I am."

Moore继续说道：“哈莱姆是我的起点。哈莱姆是我的未来。哈莱姆是塑造我成为我自己的重要部分。”