Harlem Nocturne

Farah Griffin, African-American studies professor at Columbia University, talked about her book, Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists & Progressive Politics During World War II, in which she examines Harlem, New York in the early 1940s and the progressive politics that marked the era, which, according to the author, set the groundwork for the Civil Rights movement. In her book, Ms. Griffin especially focuses on the efforts of three African-American artists, Ann Petry, Pearl Primus, and Mary Lou Williams, whose work challenged the social and political status quo of the time. Farah Griffin spoke with author and historian Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. close