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The Beginning of the Harvest Moon Ball and the Myth of the Harlem Riot in 1935 As the Reason for It

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The Beginning of the Harvest Moon Ball and the Myth of the Harlem Riot in 1935 As the Reason for It 1 The Beginning of the Harvest Moon Ball and the Myth of the Harlem Riot in 1935 as the Reason for It Harri Heinilä, Doctor of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki February 12, 2018 On March 19, 1935, thousands of Harlemites protested intolerable social and economic conditions by rioting for one day. They attacked mainly white-owned stores and broke hundreds of windows. The riot resulted in 1-2 dead and 64-100 injured1. Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia launched an investigation into reasons for the riot by appointing the research commission which found discrimination and poverty as the base for Harlem’s problems. The possibility of a new uprising because of the intolerable conditions convinced Mayor LaGuardia to better Harlem’s government services and infrastructure2. One of the improvements is claimed to be the Harvest Moon Ball dance contest which, depending on the version, supposedly either Mayor LaGuardia and the New York Daily News designed together for calming down frustrated Harlemites3, or the Daily News and the Savoy Ballroom authorities agreed on because of the social unrest after the riot4. The Daily News-sponsored Harvest Moon Ball was the New York metropolitan area-wide dance contest between 1935 and 1974, which included dances like the Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Tango, Rumba, and the Lindy Hop. All profits from the contest were donated to underprivileged children in the New York City. Its finals were organized yearly in the Madison Square Garden, except for preliminaries to the finals, which were held in various ballrooms like the Savoy Ballroom around the New York Metropolitan area. Savoy Lindy Hoppers who 1 Harri Heinilä, An Endeavor by Harlem Dancers to Achieve Equality – The Recognition of the Harlem-Based African-American Jazz Dance Between 1921 and 1943 (Helsinki, Finland: Unigrafia, 2015), pp. 371 – 372. Cheryl Greenberg, ‘The Politics of Disorder – Reexamining Harlem’s Riots of 1935 and 1943’ in Journal of Urban History, August 1, 1992, pp. 407-408 and 417. 2 Greenberg 1992, pp. 413 and 418. 3 Christopher J. Wells, “Go Harlem!” Chick Webb and His Dancing Audience During the Great DePression (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: the University of North Carolina, 2014), p. 99. 4 Delaney Moran, ‘ “Never Looking at Your Face, Only at Your Feet:” Race Relations at the Savoy Ballroom: 1926 - 1958’ in the Concord Review, Volume 24, Number Three, Spring 2014, p. 23. 2 represented Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom participated in the contest between 1935 and 1958. They competed very successfully in the Lindy Hop/Jitterbug Jive/Rock and Roll division (the name of the division changed during the years) losing the championship only twice.5 When considering how the Daily News explained the beginning of the Harvest Moon Ball contest, the 1935 Harlem riot and Harlem overall as the origin of the contest were not mentioned even in passing. As the Daily News stated in its articles, the Daily News employees, Miss Mary King originated the idea, Richard Clarke gave the name for the contest, and William F. Fritzinger conducted the project. The Lindy Hop, at which Harlemites excelled, was added afterwards to the already planned contest when an officer for the Parks Department saw the Colonial Park dance in Harlem where almost 15,000 did the Lindy Hop. He suggested to the paper that the Lindy could be added to the contest, and his idea was accepted.6 Thus, according to the Daily News, the Lindy Hop was an addition to the contest which was originated earlier. Christopher J. Wells, who did a doctoral dissertation on Chick Webb, has dedicated a chapter in his dissertation for the idea of the 1935 Harlem riot as the reason for the Harvest Moon Ball which Mayor LaGuardia with the Daily News planned for frustrated Harlemites7. Similarly, Delaney Moran in her article of the race relations at the Savoy Ballroom has suggested that the social unrest after the riot was the reason for the contest8. Both Wells and Moran use Savoy Lindy Hopper Norma Miller’s account as the source for their claim. Miller participated in the Harvest Moon Ball contest as of 19359. She discusses the first Harvest Moon Ball contest and its beginning in her memoir in 199610. When reading her statement of the beginning, it becomes clear that she does not claim that the contest was originated because of the Harlem-related reasons. Actually, her statement can be read the way 5 Heinilä 2015, pp. 189 and 196-197. See also Terry Monaghan’s article of the Harvest Moon Ball which was published in www.savoyballroom.com that is not working anymore. I have a copy of the article. For the donations of the contest see Joel Dinerstein, Swinging The Machine – Modernity, Technology, And African American Culture Between The World Wars (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2003), p. 270. 6 Heinilä 2015, pp. 189-190. See also Dinerstein 2003, pp. 270-271. 7 See the chapter, ‘The Riots of 1935: Racial Anger and the Harvest Moon Ball as “Social Insurance”’ in Wells 2014. 8 See Moran 2014, p. 23. 9 Wells 2014, pp. 99-100. 10 For the beginning of the contest see Norma Miller and Evette Jensen, Swingin’ at The Savoy – The Memoir of A Jazz Dancer (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996), pp. 53-56. 3 that she suggests that the Savoy Ballroom was invited to participate in the ready-made contest. Her statement of the beginning of the Harvest Moon starts with a description of the riot and its background. Next, she brings out Mayor LaGuardia’s statement for Harlemites in which LaGuardia desperately appealed for calm without any reference to the Harvest Moon Ball or any dance contest. Then she explains that the Savoy Ballroom was closed for the damages caused by the riot. According to Miller, that caused anxiety in the Harlem community, even so that Harlem politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was worried about the closing. The situation supposedly led into a discussion between the members of the Savoy management, Moe Gale, Charles Buchanan, and Herbert White. They decided that something had to be done for boosting Harlem spirits after the riot. Miller states that Buchanan and White met with two men from the Daily News who “wanted to sponsor” the dance contest “as their contribution to boosting morale after the riot”. The two men explained that they wanted the Savoy to participate in the “city-wide” contest which included the aforementioned dances and the Lindy Hop11. Thus, implying that the contest was ready-made when they asked Savoy’s participation in it. As the Daily News in its articles did not refer to the Harlem riot as the reason for the beginning of the contest, the two men’s statement was the kind of pep talk which they used for persuading the Savoy management to participate in the contest after hearing the management’s worries. However, it should be noted that the closing of the Savoy Ballroom because of the damage, Adam Clayton Powell’s concern about the closing, and the meetings between the Savoy representatives and the two men from the Daily News cannot be verified by other sources12. That is entirely based on Norma Miller’s account of the events. There is no evidence of a long- term closing of the Savoy because of damage caused by the rioters in 193513 After the riot, 11 Miller and Jensen 1996, pp. 53-56. 12 I have not found any references to the events, but Norma Miller’s statement. 13 I have not found any mention of the closing of the Savoy. 4 The Eight Bright Lights of Elkdom Social Club and The Happy Hour Social Club had dances at the Savoy: the former either on March 29 or April 5, and the latter on April 1014. Also Mayor LaGuardia’s statements at the time do not support that the Harvest Moon Ball was originated from the 1935 Harlem riot. LaGuardia had a speech when the first Harvest Moon Ball contest was opened in the Madison Square Garden on August 29. He did not mention or imply that he was connected to the idea of the contest, and the Harlem riot was the reason for it. Actually, LaGuardia acknowledged the Daily News when he congratulated the paper for bringing out a big crowd for the contest15. Before that, he had a speech in Harlem when the remodeling plans for the Colonial Park were revealed on August 8. As he talked to 10,000 Harlemites who had gathered in the park for a dance, he made it clear that the officials of the City of New York had intensively studied conditions in Harlem for months, and the park was the right location for the “recreation centre” with a swimming pool, playgrounds, and “a mall for dancing and concerts”. The new center was a present to Harlemites.16 Probably, it was one of the actions which LaGuardia carried out in the aftermath of the riot17. The Colonial Park redevelopment was part of the large recreation program for the City of New York, which Mayor LaGuardia visualized18, and which was constructed with the Works Progress Administration funds19. LaGuardia did not mention or referred to the Harvest Moon Ball or any dance contest in the speech he made to Harlemites in the park20. 14 The article in The New York Amsterdam News explains that The Eight Bright Lights of Elkdom Social Club gave the dance ”last Friday night” which could have either March 29 or April 5 because the paper was published on April 6. See ’Club Chats’, The New York Amsterdam News, April 6, 1935, p. 12. See also ‘Club Chats’, The New York Amsterdam News, April 13, 1935, p.
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