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Cafe Society, The Wrong Place for the Right People
…only racism but sexism. (L to R) Count Basie, Teddy Wilson, Hazel Scott, Duke Ellington and Mel Powell at Café Society (ca. 1940) Café Society welcomed some of the biggest…
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A Civil Rights Activist and the Café Society
…taken at the Cafe Society, courtesy of Josh White Jr. The Café Society jazz nightclub opened in 1938 in the basement of 1 Sheridan Square by Barney Josephson as the…
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Strange Fruit at Cafe Society, Once Again: The Dances of Pearl Primus
…dance interpretation of the poem by Abe Meeropol was performed by trailblazing dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist Pearl Primus at Cafe Society in April 1943, only four years after Billie Holiday’s…
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Women’s History Month Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society
Women’s History Month Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society You’ll have three chances to join Village Preservation as we take a walk through history in our own backyard. Co-sponsored…
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Women’s History Month Afternoon Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society
Women’s History Month Afternoon Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society You’ll have three chances to join Village Preservation as we take a walk through history in our own backyard….
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Women’s History Month Midday Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society
Women’s History Month Midday Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society You’ll have three chances to join Village Preservation as we take a walk through history in our own backyard….
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Women’s History Tour A: Greenwich Village – Jefferson Market to Café Society
…impact this location has had on women’s history in New York City. We’ll end at Café Society, celebrating Billie Holiday and her courageous performance of Strange Fruit at that location….
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Women’s History Month Afternoon Walking Tour: Jefferson Market to Café Society
…end at Café Society by celebrating Billie Holiday and her courageous performance of Strange Fruit at that location. (Meeting location will be shared upon registration.) In between, we’ll learn about…
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Catherine Clivette and the first Greenwich Village Historical Society
…family lived at No.1 Sheridan Square, which would later become the home of Cafe Society. The family lived upstairs while the first floor became a gallery for Merton’s paintings. Their…
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The Hallowed Music Halls of the Greenwich Village Historic District
…groundbreaking venues within the Historic District – Café Society. Café Society, remembered as the first racially integrated nightclub in New York City, opened in 1938 at One Sheridan Square and…
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Ella Fitzgerald in the Village
…performed on a more intimate stage in the Village at Cafe Society alongside other future stars. Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917….
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Roots of Jazz Run Deep in Greenwich Village
…and Mel Powell at Cafe Society Café Society, the first racially integrated nightclub in New York City, was a groundbreaking institution. Opened in 1938 on Sheridan Square, the existence of Café Society was possible…
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Tour the Musical Sites of Producer John Hammond’s World
…and lyrics, and would go on to offer him his first recording contract. Cafe Society Cafe Society at 1 Sheridan Square Hammond was an investor in Café Society, Barney Josephson’s club…
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13 places in Greenwich Village where the course of history was changed
…for press coverage in the 21st century. 4. First racially integrated nightclub in New York Al Casey and Eddie Barefield at Cafe Society, between 1946 and 1948. Via Wiki Commons. Café…
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Dissent and “Strange Fruit” in the Village
…its longstanding history of progressive politics and social justice. Billie Holiday at Cafe Society, 1939. Billie Holiday sang “Strange Fruit” in public for the first time right on Sheridan Square…
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15 Sites of Critical African American History in Greenwich Village
…speech following the Emancipation Proclamation. Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” for the first time at Cafe Society; photo via Library of Congress 8. The First Racially-Integrated Nightclub in New York City/First…
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Billie Holiday: Jazz Legend & Greenwich Village Icon
…Cafe Society opened in 1938, it was the first racially integrated nightclub in the entire city. Patrons came to Cafe Society to mix and mingle among people who may be…
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The March on Washington and the Village
…Village connections. As described in a previous Off the Grid post, Rustin was deeply involved with Cafe Society, a somewhat ironically named establishment located in the West Village’s Sheridan Square…
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31 Literary Icons of Greenwich Village
…devoid of racism and after a couple of years they decided to move to Paris. While living in the Village, however, Wright was a patron of the famous Cafe Society…
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Cultural Innovation Emanates From One Sheridan Square Throughout the Decades
…supper club in the space which he called Cafe Society. He invited neighborhood artists to paint murals on the walls in exchange for a $250 bar tab. He also employed…
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31 Literary Icons of the Greenwich Village Historic District
…of years they decided to move to Paris. While living in the Village, however, Wright was a patron of the famous Cafe Society nightclub, along with Walter White, Ralph Bunche,…
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GVHD50 and Stonewall50 – LGBTQ Sites of the Greenwich Village Historic District
…rights movement beginning in 1969. From Left: the cover of Terry-Trilling Josephson’s memoir (she was Barney’s wife); Billie Holiday singing at the Cafe Society, where she first performed the anti-lynching…
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March 2024 Programs: Black History in Greenwich Village, Berenice Abbott, Jane Jacobs, and More
…legendary Village club Cafe Society. We’ll look at how events and locations in Greenwich Village helped to keep a spotlight on civil rights and the great societal strides made in…
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Landmarks of a Capital of Jazz
…Charlie Parker. While some landmarks are gone, only to live on in recordings – like Cafe Society, the Cinderella Club, or the Five Spot (which inspired this GVSHP panel, including…
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Exploring Virtual Village Voices, Part 5: Billie Holiday, Edward Hopper, and Jane Jacobs
…song Strange Fruit at Cafe Society, located at 1 Sheridan Square, between West 4th Street and Washington Place. The song was originally written as a poem by Abel Meeropol in…
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John Hammond: Villager & 20th Century’s Most Influential Producer
…Union Square. Billie Holiday Hammond was an investor in Café Society, Barney Josephson’s club at 1 Sheridan Square, the country’s first integrated nightclub. Folk singer Pete Seeger remarked that “Jazz became…
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Black History in Greenwich Village: Session 4 – Evolution of Arts, Culture, Activism and The Fight for Civil Rights 1950 – 2020
…and politically charged environment at legendary Village club Cafe Society. We’ll look at how events and locations in Greenwich Village helped to keep a spotlight on civil rights and the…
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Fall Auction: A First for Village Preservation
…10th Street, since demolished), the first racially integrated night club (Café Society) — the list goes on and on. While we at Village Preservation have created a few firsts of…
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Black History in Greenwich Village – Winter 2023 Series
…who began his life as an activist after being exposed to the radically integrated and politically charged environment at legendary Village club Cafe Society. We’ll look at how events and…
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Black History in Greenwich Village: Session 4 – Evolution of Arts, Culture, Activism and The Fight for Civil Rights 1954 – 2020
…Washington, who began his life as an activist after being exposed to the radically integrated and politically charged environment at legendary Village club Cafe Society. We’ll look at how events…
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A Vibrant Tapestry: African American History in Our Neighborhoods
…a beacon of hope, resilience, and cultural exchange for African Americans throughout history. Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” for the first time at Cafe Society; photo via Library of Congress The…
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VILLAGE VOICES: Billie Holiday
…state-sanctioned violence. Cafe Society, where Holiday sang, was located at 1 Sheridan Square, between West 4th Street and Washington Place. Narrated by Necar Zadigan Music: “Strange Fruit” sung by Billie…
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VILLAGE VOICES II Launches September 18th
…our website. The twenty-four art installations include ones dedicated to writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, jazz singer Billie Holiday, Café Society (a club created to showcase African-American talent and the first…
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VILLAGE VOICES: A New Interactive Art and History Exhibit
…on our website. Click here The twenty-one art installations include ones dedicated to writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, jazz singer Billie Holiday, Café Society (a club created to showcase…
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Honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
…the Harlem Renaissance and the careers of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurtson, Countee Cullen, and many others. Billie Holiday at Café Society It’s where groundbreaking campaigns against Jim Crow were waged, where Billie…
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Richard Wright in Greenwich Village
…patron of the famous Cafe Society nightclub, along with Walter White, Ralph Bunche, E. Franklin Frazier, Sterling Brown, Langston Hughes, and Paul Robeson. His autobiography, Black Boy was published in…
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Black History Month: Alex Haley
…Hansberry, where they wrote “Notes of a Native Son” and “Raisin in the Sun,” respectively Café Society, the first integrated club in New York City, where Billie Holiday premiered the…
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A Concert In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
…the Civil Rights Movement in the Village, you can click on these past Off the Grid posts: A Civil Rights Activist and the Café Society The 1863 Draft Riots and…
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