Movie: The conclusion of the 1939 musical "Paradise in Harlem" in which comedian Lem Anderson, whose long-awaited chance to act dramatically vanishes when he witnesses a mob killing and is forced to leave town. Lem becomes a wanderer, then an alcoholic. Finally a chance to play Othello draws him back to Harlem.

Movie: In the 1939 musical "Paradise in Harlem" comedian Lem Anderson, whose long-awaited chance to act dramatically vanishes when he witnesses a mob killing and is forced to leave town. Lem becomes a wanderer, then an alcoholic. Finally a chance to play Othello draws him back to Harlem.

This episode is a recording of the song "St. James Infirmary" recorded in 1930 by the Harlem Hot Chocolates, directed by Duke Ellington. This particular recording was taken from a cardboard record.

Movie: The conclusion of the 1937 film "Dark Manhattan." A low-level gangster named Curly (Ralph Cooper) determines to let nothing stand in the way of his gaining control of the numbers rackets in Harlem.

Movie: In the 1937 film "Dark Manhattan" a low-level gangster named Curly (Ralph Cooper) determines to let nothing stand in the way of his gaining control of the numbers rackets in Harlem.

In this episode Slim Gaillard and his Boogiereeners (consisting of two pianos and bass) wander around Harlem doing what can only be described as a rap in this recording of "Sightseeing Boogie" dating from September 1945.

This episode is a map of Harlem night life illustrated by pioneering commercial artist E. Simms Campbell, the first African-American cartoonist to be published nationally (in Esquire, Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker and Playboy, among others). Originally published in 1932 for Manhattan Magazine, this map is focused on the area of Harlem just north of Central Park during both prohibition and what came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Movie: The conclusion of the 1946 film "Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A." Gertie LaRue (Francine Everett) is a nightclub entertainer from the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. She arrives on the Caribbean island of "Rinidad" to perform as the headliner in a revue at the Paradise Hotel. Gertie has earned the nickname "Dirty Gertie" for the casual nature in which she entices and then humiliates men.

Movie: In the 1946 film "Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A." Gertie LaRue (Francine Everett) is a nightclub entertainer from the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. She arrives on the Caribbean island of "Rinidad" to perform as the headliner in a revue at the Paradise Hotel. Gertie has earned the nickname "Dirty Gertie" for the casual nature in which she entices and then humiliates men.

This episode is a recording from the original 78rpm disk. Pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Rock Dale Park, Atlanta, Georgia, Rev. J.M. Gates and congregation perform a "sermon with singing" on the theme "Death's Black Train Is Coming", recorded April 24, 1926.