City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works School of Arts & Sciences Theses Hunter College Spring 5-9-2017 The Breath Seekers: Race, Riots, and Public Space in Harlem, 1900-1935 Allyson Compton CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/166 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] The Breath Seekers: Race, Riots, and Public Space in Harlem, 1900-1935 by Allyson Compton Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Hunter College The City University of New York 2017 Thesis Sponsor: April 10, 2017 Kellie Carter Jackson Date Signature April 10, 2017 Jonathan Rosenberg Date Signature of Second Reader Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Public Space and the Genesis of Black Harlem ................................................. 7 Defining Public Space ................................................................................................... 7 Defining Race Riot ....................................................................................................... 9 Why Harlem? ............................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2: Setting