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The Signs Of The Times: Harlem Markers Project is twenty-five historic plaques, installed around the community by While We Are Still Here to honor events, people, and organizations that helped make Harlem so unique. The project includes notable figures, events, and organizations that helped make Harlem the Capital of the Black World.
Android and iPhone
Preserving the past
While We Are Still Here is a 501(c)(3) organization that includes long-term residents of 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue—the average number of years of residence is thirty. Non-resident members are interested in helping to preserve the grand history of these important sites.
When we began, in 2015, our work was, chiefly, focused on 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue, but, over time, due to the input of our neighbors, we broadened the scope to include Harlem, in general. And in including more of Harlem, we seek to expand the panorama of its historical narrative, because the lens continues to be tightly focused on the Renaissance of the 1920s; the ravages of 1960s/70s-era drug addiction and dealing (and later, the crack epidemic); the crime and poverty; and now gentrification—but Harlem, in reality, is so much more than all of these things.
We are not attempting to downplay or negate the realities of the preceding, but we are attempting to expand the perspective to reflect a resilient community of people, who lived, worked, thrived, and engaged in activities such as coaching little league teams, seeing to it that their children were educated, and who curated art shows in church basements and storefronts or on the sidewalk.
Marcus Garvey Day at Marcus Garvey Park,
August 17, 2019
The Harlem We Know: Oral Histories and Digitization Project
Your story matters. Your history matters. Join us in building a living archive of Harlem. Register today to reserve your time slot.
THE HARLEM WE KNOW: A DIGITAL ARCHIVE
• A $50 gift card as a thank-you for your participation
•A recorded oral history interview (approximately 1 hour)
• On-site digitization of photographs, documents, and small objects
• A digital copy of your materials to take home
While We Are Still Here invites you to participate in The Harlem We Know: A Digital Archive, a community-centered initiative dedicated to preserving Harlem’s living history through the voices, photographs, and personal collections of the people and organizations who know it best.
This oral history and digitization project focuses on Harlem residents and Harlem-based organizations. Through recorded interviews and on-site digitization, we document personal stories, family photographs, documents, and meaningful objects—from treasured portraits to everyday items that reflect Harlem’s rich cultural, social, and community life.
Many of these materials live in family albums, shoe boxes, organizational files, and personal archives. They are invaluable records of Harlem’s past, present, and future. This project ensures they are preserved and shared for generations to come.
Preserving Heritage: programming in the arts and humanities
In the Face of What We Remember
In the Face of What We Remember
In the Face of What We Remember
Racing against the dynamic forces of gentrification and time, the documentary, In the Face of What We Remember: Oral Histories of 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue tells the extraordinary history of two Harlem buildings that were, perhaps, the social, political, and cultural epicenter of the Black World.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
In the Face of What We Remember
In the Face of What We Remember
SIGNS OF THE TIMES: Harlem Markers Project is an initiative to install twenty-five historic markers in Harlem to pay homage to individuals, events, and organizations that imbue Harlem with its unique narrative. The markers will be installed this year.
