Harlem Corners

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  • Harlem, NY

  • 1936-1952

Images from Aubrey J. Weeks' photo albums.

Notes: For too many people, young Black men gathered on street corners is a sign of threat and nihilism. Likewise, far too many people see Black male sociality — Black men just kicking it with other Black men — as threatening as well. This vision of young Black men is often contrasted with the golden past of the “upstanding Afro-Americans” who would never chill on a corner. I like how these images suggest we might reconsider our assumptions of Black men, past and present.

Aubrey J. Weeks (back row, left) with stickball team, June 1936.
Aubrey (back row, right) with friends,1937.
August 15, 1937.
May 7, 1939.
Aubrey’s friend Milton, August 15, 1937.
Aubrey (right) with friend, April 1939.
May 1948.
Under the 'El', 1940
Aubrey (back row, right) with friends,1937.
Year 1937
Aubrey J. Weeks, February 1939.
Aubrey (left) with friend Clark, 1937.
May 1939.
May 1948.
November 1952.
Children, 1930s.
Aubrey (middle row, left) with friends,1937.
Negro or Italian?, 1937.
Aubrey (front right) with friends in long coats, February 1939.
April 1939.
8th Avenue.
May 1948.
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