On the Streets of Harlem, a Sense of ‘Erase and Replace’
Dawoud Bey’s large-scale photos of Harlem show the legendary cradle of African-American life confronting speculation, displacement and gentrification.
Dawoud Bey’s large-scale color photographs of Harlem vividly document a bustling and rapidly transforming neighborhood: a verdant Marcus Garvey Park; construction sites popping up for more luxury housing; street vendors hawking hats and used clothing; posters of black women’s hairstyles in the window of a hair weave distributor adjacent to a vacant lot; faded paper covering the windows of the legendary — and shuttered — Lenox Lounge; and white tourists intent on hearing gospel music waiting outside the Abyssinian Baptist Church.