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By Ryan Doan-Nguyen

The Associated Press

NEW YORK 鈥� In the 1970s, Harlem鈥檚 deserted streets and tumbledown tenements told the story of a neighborhood left behind. Disinvestment had taken its toll.

Violence, crime and poor living conditions had become the norm and nearly 50,000 residents 鈥� a third of the area鈥檚 population 鈥� left Harlem during the decade. Amid the exodus, a girl named LeeSandra Moore hugged her mother goodbye as she relocated to Virginia.

鈥淚t was a scary time,鈥� said Moore, now 52 and still living in Harlem. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 blame her for that.鈥�

Harlem and hardship were often seen as one, but in 1974, Percy Sutton, then the Manhattan borough president, launched a revitalization campaign. His brainchild, Harlem Week, shifted the spotlight from the neighborhood鈥檚 troubles to its legacy as a global Black mecca of arts, culture and entrepreneurship. Over the years, it helped bring back long-departed residents.

On Sunday, New York celebrated Harlem Week鈥檚 50th anniversary, capping off 18 days of free programming that showcased all the iconic neighborhood has to offer. Through challenges and changes, said the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Network is headquartered in Harlem, 鈥淗arlem Week has been the constant line through the last 50 years of America鈥檚 most historic Black neighborhood.鈥�

In the 1970s, considered the neighborhood鈥檚 darkest years by many historians, Sutton knew Harlem needed a resurrection.

Those who stayed 鈥� mostly low-income, Black families 鈥� turned on their televisions to see news reporters describe their home as a 鈥渟inking ship.鈥� They had lived through recent unrest, such as a 1964 riot in which an unarmed Black teenager was killed, Malcolm X鈥檚 assassination in 1965 and the turmoil after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 assassination in 1968.

Ahead of the first Harlem Day in 1974, Sutton called up elected officials. He gathered cultural icons, including James Baldwin, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Maya Angelou, Tito Puente and Max Roach.

Radio DJs Hal Jackson and Frankie Crocker staged a concert, and actor Ossie Davis cut a ribbon at 138th Street and Seventh Avenue, declaring the start of 鈥淪econd Harlem Renaissance.鈥� During that ceremony Seventh Avenue was renamed Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, in honor of the congressman who represented Harlem. It was the first time a New York City street took the name of a person of color.

鈥淚t was such a successful day,鈥� said Lloyd Williams 鈥� one of Harlem Day鈥檚 co-founders and the current president of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.

New Yorkers wanted to make it annual. Harlem Day then evolved into Harlem Weekend and eventually Harlem Week, which, before the pandemic, entailed a full month of festivities.

鈥淥nly in Harlem could a week be more than seven days,鈥� said Williams, whose family has lived in Harlem since 1919. 鈥淥ur development impacts communities of color in America and around the world 鈥� what we call a 鈥楬arlem State of Mind.鈥欌��

This year鈥檚 celebration involved hundreds of food and merchandise vendors and entertainment, from Broadway performances and an Apollo Hour to a tribute to Harry Belafonte. Residents engaged in empowerment activities: financial literacy workshops, career training and the Children鈥檚 Festival, where every child walked away with a backpack for school.

The air buzzed not only with celebration, but healing 鈥� a drive to address Harlem鈥檚 long-standing health crises. During hip-hop artist JSWISS鈥� performance at the State Office Building, white-coated volunteers wheeled a cart to take concertgoers鈥� blood pressure. And during a Black health summit, people attended lectures on drug misuse, HIV/AIDS and healthy aging.

Cynthia Bailey, 57, a model and 鈥淩eal Housewives of Atlanta鈥� star, attended this year鈥檚 Harlem Week as a celebrity speaker, sharing her journey with fibroids and her mother鈥檚 with cancer.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much fear,鈥� Bailey told The Associated Press. 鈥淢y mom was terrified when she found out that she had breast cancer, and that keeps us from going into screenings. These types of events are super important because it just helps us understand that your life is more important than the fear.鈥�

Malik Yoba, 55, born in the Bronx and raised in Harlem, says he spent his childhood playing in the dirt of vacant lots. But as an actor, Yoba brought Harlem鈥檚 story to screens nationwide, and now, he fights the housing inequality he experienced.

鈥淲hen you grow up in disenfranchised and divested communities, you can鈥檛 see the forest through the trees,鈥� said Yoba, who was another featured speaker at Harlem Week. 鈥淵ou can grow up believing that walking by burnt-down buildings is your birthright, as opposed to understanding that building is a business.鈥�

Harlem Week organizers and residents credit the event with spurring revitalization: restored buildings, new enterprises, and immigrants who add to an already vibrant melting pot. Harlem鈥檚 streets sing with local jazz, reggae, R&B, and gospel traditions.

Since Seventh Avenue was renamed 50 years ago, other streets now bear names such as Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam Way and Ann Petry Place, in honor of bygone trailblazers. While hope abounds, there鈥檚 also unease over ongoing issues like diabetes and rising gentrification.

Moore, the Harlem native whose mother moved to Virginia, watched as big chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joe鈥檚, and Old Navy moved in, sometimes displacing local shops and driving up rent prices. 鈥淪ome of that is okay, but what about the small business where you can get that great sandwich that doesn鈥檛 cost an arm and a leg?鈥� she asked.

鈥淔ast food is just about on every corner,鈥� added Moore, who is a chef. She advocates for healthy eating and teaches culinary classes to local K-12 students. She rattled off the locations of local McDonald鈥檚: two within an eight-minute walk along 125th Street.

During Harlem Week, Moore represented GirlTrek, a national movement of Black women promoting health through walking. Taking a break from handing out flyers, she said, 鈥淚 feel like I should have left a long time ago, but something about Harlem draws me back to it.

鈥淗arlem is my beginning. Harlem is my future. Harlem is a huge part of what makes me who I am. I will rep Harlem forever. I will, no matter what.鈥�