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March 21, 1924
The emergence of the Harlem Renaissance. Civic Club Dinner, sponsored by Opportunity, bringing black writers and white publishers together. This event is considered the formal launching of of the New Negro movement. -
January 1925
The New Negro anthology, edited by Alain Locke, introduces the work and ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. -
January 1925
The exciting new musical form known as jazz is showcased in the "First American Jazz Concert" at Aeolian Hall in New York. -
March 1925
An entire issue of Survey Graphic devoted to the Harlem literary movement. Under the editorship of Alain Locke the "Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro" number of Survey Graphic hit the newsstands. -
1926
Langston Hughes's first volume of poetry, The Weary Blues, is published. -
1927
Harlem Globetrotters established. The Harlem Globetrotters are a basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. They adopted the name Harlem because of its connotations as a major black community. -
1929
Wallace Thurman's play Harlem opens on Broadway, becoming the most successful production of its time by a black author. -
April 1931
Scottsboro trial: April to May. They were convicted of alleged gang rape of two white girls by nine black teenagers on the Southern Railroad freight run from Chattanooga to Memphis. -
1933
A number of Harlem Renaissance writers and artists find employment with the Works Project Administration, a government-sponsored program designed to put Americans back to work. -
March 19, 1935
Harlem Race Riot was sparked off by rumors of the beating of a teenage shoplifter. Three died, hundreds were wounded and an estimated $2 million in damages were sustained to properties throughout the district, with African-American owned homes and businesses spared the worst of the destruction.