15 Rarely-Seen Photos of Harlem During the Summer of 1970

In July of 1970, French photographer Jack Garofalo, took a series of captivating photographs for Harlem Paris Match magazine’s October issue. Garofalo’s assignment was to document the changes after the series of rent strikes broke out in the neighborhood in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Led by local activist Jesse Gray, together with the Congress of Racial Equality, Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited (HARYOU), and other groups, the strikes were to “force landlords to improve the quality of housing by bringing them up to code, to take action against rats and roaches, to provide heat during the winter, and to keep prices in line with existing rent control regulations.”

By the end of the 1960s, many Harlemites moved out of the crime ridden neighborhood in search of safer streets, better school systems, and more livable homes. But there were still those who chose to stay, and Garofalo was there to document them. “A snapshot in time we’ll never see again.”

Jack Garofalo

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Jack Garofalo

Credit: Jack Garofalo │ Via Dangerous Minds