The “Walk to civil rights sites in Harlem tour” is exhilarating, magnificent in its historical context and very emotional at times. Neal is a wonderful person with passion, knowledge and a great sense of humour. He is a man gifted with a plethora of information. Neal welcomed us in his atelier where we were shown his new designer t-shirts ‘Made in Harlem’. Obviously having earned the trust and respect of many passers-by we were introduced to many of his business partners, friends and family all hailing from the same part of town. We started with an intro on Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Elija Mohammed, their different strategies within the framework of to the civil rights movement. During the tour Neal pointed out all the landmarks of important speeches, marches and events at the time. We visited several memorable places such as the celebrated Apollo where we were invited on stage! (unfortunately the theatre was empty during that time of day!) We had a drink in the extraordinary Paris Blues jazz club a joint that we visited later in the evening for some excellent jazz. A must. We also met people from the Senegalese community in Harlem and were given the lowdown on the demographical changes that took place and still do take place in this part of Harlem. The complete walk normally lasts 2,5 but we were so interested in everything Neal showed us we had a total walk of 4 hours filled with details about music, history and lots of architecture. While walking we listened to great songs the lyrics of which were so appropriate. We had a wonderful afternoon and will soon return. Thank you very much Neal for this extraordinary tour!
Photo: AL the man on stage in Appolo