Harlem’s 125th Street is a marker of 20th-century urban experience that encapsulates powerful stories of business and consumption, real estate and gentrification, glamourand entertainment, and political uprising. The book explores works and themes from a large roster of photographers and performance artists who have engaged with the Berenice Abbott, Khalik Allah, constant mutation of this street life.

The photographs in this book represent narratives of resilience and poems of survival against a rapid and sweeping movement of history across 125th street, where buildings and communities are periodically destroyed and built anew. The works shape a sense of belonging and identity that goes against the stereotyping and mystification of this neighborhood. It contributes to the writing of a new history of photography that is collective and collaborative.

Photographers:
Berenice Abbott
Khalik Allah
Alice Attie
Dawoud Bey
Kwame Brathwaite
Edward Diggs
Lola Flash
Isaac Hillel
Pope L
Hiram Maristany
Ozier Muhammed
Katsu Naito
Marilyn Nance
Ruben Natal San Miguel
Lorraine O’Grady
Gordon Parks
Jamel Shabazz
Coreen Simpson
Beuford Smith
Ming Smith
Morgan and Marvin Smith
Shawn Walker
Hai Zhang