Harlem Cultural Festival facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harlem Cultural Festival
Genre	Rock music, R&B, soul music, jazz, pop music, gospel
Dates	June 29 – August 24, 1969
Location(s)	Mount Morris Park in Harlem Manhattan New York City
Founded by	Tony Lawrence

The Harlem Cultural Festival was a series of exciting events. These events, mostly music concerts, happened every year in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. They took place between 1967 and 1969. The festival celebrated African American music and culture. It also helped promote the idea of Black pride. The concerts in 1969 were the most famous. People started calling them Black Woodstock. This festival later became the focus of the 2021 movie Summer of Soul.

How the Festival Started

The idea for a Harlem Cultural Festival first came up in 1964. The goal was to bring more life and energy to the Harlem neighborhood. Around the same time, in the mid-1960s, a singer named Tony Lawrence began working on community projects in Harlem. He first helped local churches. Then, starting in 1966, he worked with New York City Mayor John Lindsay. He also worked with Parks Commissioner August Heckscher.

In 1967, Tony Lawrence helped create the first Harlem Cultural Festival. This festival offered many free events all over Harlem. These included a "Harlem Hollywood Night," boxing shows, and a fashion show. There was also a go-kart race and the first "Miss Harlem" contest. Plus, there were concerts with soul, gospel, calypso, and Puerto Rican music.

In 1968, the second yearly festival took place. It featured a series of music concerts with famous performers. These included Count Basie, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Tito Puente, and Mahalia Jackson. A filmmaker named Hal Tulchin recorded parts of this festival. Some clips were shown on WNEW-TV in New York.

The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival

Tony Lawrence also led and directed the 1969 festival. It was held in Mount Morris Park. The concerts happened on Sundays at 3 PM, from June 29 to August 24, 1969. Companies like Maxwell House Coffee helped pay for the festival. The City of New York's Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Division also supported it.

Lawrence brought together many amazing performers. Some of them were Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, and the 5th Dimension. Other stars included Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Mahalia Jackson. The famous Woodstock rock festival also happened in August 1969. Because of this, the Harlem festival became known as the "Black Woodstock."

Community leaders and activists also took part in the festival. One of them was Jesse Jackson. The festival had six free concerts in total. Nearly 300,000 people attended these events. For the concert with Sly and the Family Stone on June 29, 1969, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) did not provide security. Instead, members of the Black Panther Party helped keep everyone safe.

Filmmaker Hal Tulchin used five portable video cameras to record the festival. He captured over 40 hours of footage. Most of this video has not been released to the public. However, CBS broadcast a one-hour special on July 28, 1969. It showed performances by the Fifth Dimension, the Chambers Brothers, and Max Roach with Abbey Lincoln. Another hour-long special aired on ABC on September 16. This one featured Mahalia Jackson, the Staple Singers, and Reverend Jesse Jackson. Five more TV specials were planned but never happened.

The Summer of Soul Movie

Over the years, people tried to turn Hal Tulchin's videos into a TV show or movie. Tulchin himself tried in 1969. Another attempt was made in 2004, but it stopped when money ran out. During this time, Tulchin called his project Black Woodstock. He hoped this name would get more people interested.

In 2019, it was announced that Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson would direct a new movie. This film, called Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), was a documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival. Questlove's movie was released on July 2, 2021. It was shown in theaters and on Hulu. The film received great reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, it got a score of 96 out of 100. This meant it received "universal acclaim." On March 27, 2022, Summer of Soul won the Best Documentary prize at the 94th Academy Awards.

50th Anniversary Celebration

A special event took place from August 14–17, 2019. This celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. It was held in Harlem and hosted by Future x Sounds and City Parks Foundation Summerstage. The event featured music performances by artists like Talib Kweli and Cory Henry. Freddie Stone, who performed at the original festival, also played. The event also included talks with important people like Jamal Joseph and Felipe Luciano.

See also

In Spanish: Festival Cultural de Harlem para niños