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Harlem Between Heaven and Hell, by Monique M. Taylor. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002. 205 pp. $56.95 cloth. ISBN: 0-8166-4051-3. $18.95 paper. ISBN: 0-8166-4052-1.
From the first page, Harlem Between Heaven and Hell brings the reader into a world of art and ethnography that blends into a comprehensive study of the effect of the symbolic significance of this historic neighborhood on contemporary urban life. Utilizing analyses of decades of cultural artifacts associated with the neighborhood, from the Harlem Renaissance to such modern movies as the 1989 Harlem Nights, Taylor addresses the unique importance of Harlem as the cultural center of black America. She then addresses issues of race, social class, and gentrification with abundant interview data that exposes the diversity of experience and opinion found in this African American neighborhood.
The history of Harlem and its significance for African American culture is discussed throughout the book. Harlem, symbolic of the African American experience, is presented as both a heaven and a hell for its residents. For Taylor, Harlem's cultural tradition, rooted in the Harlem Renaissance, poses an almost spiritual significance for an oppressed population. This spirituality is juxtaposed against the reality of poverty and exclusion experienced by so many of...