NYC News in the Chicago Defender
The eleventh post in our series on Black New York, 1921, for Black History Month
One hundred years ago today … A Black woman named Sarah Mead was crushed by an elevator in the building where she worked as a housekeeper, 206 West 106th Street. That same day, Dr. Louis T. Wright (see our post for September 4, 1920) performed successful surgery on Eliza Jackson of 633 Lenox Avenue.
The tragedy and the triumph were reported in the “New York and Brooklyn News” page of the Chicago Defender. Local news and society events of Black New Yorkers were summarized weekly in the Defender, mostly under its sections, “New York City Briefs,” “New York Society,” and “A Digest of Brooklyn Happenings.”
Chicago Defender, 26 February 1921, p.3. Library of Congress.
The page catalogued fires, deaths, parties, club events, travels and visits of Black New Yorkers.
Chicago Defender, 26 February 1921, p.3. Library of Congress.
Because of the Defender, we know that one hundred years ago today, the Golden Democratic Club opened at 42 West 133rd Street, with “an elaborate program, including several prominent speakers, a jazz band, and plenty to eat and drink.” The report continues:
The feature of the program was a lengthy speech by Juke Alfred J. Talley (White) of the Court of Special Sessions. He was paid many compliments by the speakers and guests for his recent attack against the Ku-Klux Klan. Harry A. Patton of the board of directors presided... Women were out in large numbers, and, although the club can only seat a few hundred, 2.000 people came out and went in intervals.
The Defender’s NYC page included NYC-relevant advertisements, such as for B.C. Lunch, and for the Hotel Olga at 696 Lenox Avenue at 145th Street.
Chicago Defender, 26 February 1921, p.3. Library of Congress.
The Hotel Olga, opened in 1920, is remembered as a historic LGBTQ location. The business shut down long ago, but the building was still standing in August, 2019.
Google Street View.
Google Street View.
Perhaps of greatest interest: an ad for a legendary Harlem nightspot, the Old Lybia Club, as it was “making big preparations” for Jack Johnson’s upcoming appearance. Johnson had a vaudeville act he would perform between boxing bouts, but he was at the moment still serving his sentence in Leavenworth Prison. (See our post for December 27, 1920.)
Chicago Defender, 26 February 1921, p.3. Library of Congress.
– Jonathan Goldman, February 25, 2021
TAGS: Black history, African American society, gossip, health, death, accident, newspapers, media, advertising