In 1923, the Renaissance Casino and Ballroom, or “The Renny,” opened on 2341-2359 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. between 137th Street and 138th Street. The Renny was built by the black-owned Sarco Realty Company and included a department store on the bottom level. It also became the place to see professional basketball games in Harlem, where patrons could dance to the house orchestra between games. Harlem’s own Renaissance Big Five (a.k.a. the Harlem Rens) was the first black-owned, full-salaried, black professional basketball team in history. The Rens played every Saturday at the Renny and would win every game, except for one, against the (white) Original Celtics. Such “race games” were a popular occurrence in Harlem.
We invite you to read and compare these two reports. One side is arguing for a more “faithful reconstruction of the past” and the other for a “radical modernization for the future.” Which side would you pick? Is it possible to reconcile these two views? Vote in the poll below and see what other positions are in this debate.
WHEREVER IN THE WORLD
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The conflict between ‘Development’ and ‘Conservation’ is a world-wide problem. In most parts of the world, people face the same question: What part of our past should we preserve? Our modern world, in its seemingly unstoppable race towards ‘the future’ sometimes forgets to look back. ‘Sites of Memory’ disappear, one after the other, consumed by ‘Progress’ and ‘Modernization’. We invite you to explore this issue in your own town or city. Do some research about particular places in your community that have disappeared and replaced by more ‘modern’ buildings. Go to your public library, search in the press and internet or ask your parents, teachers and friends. What were the reasons given for this? Who were the actors involved? What kind of memories were part of that place? Do you think they are definitely lost? If you want to, write a report about it at the end of your research. Who knows… maybe in the process you find this is something that’s happening right now. And maybe you still can do something to prevent it. |