Harlemites is a project that began through our desire to capture the oral history of Harlem and showcase the depth and beauty in our community. Each Sunday we share photos of a Harlem resident along with their Harlem story, each being an opportunity to capture someone's unique voice and perspective. The photographs of featured Harlemites are shared on Instagram with an excerpt of their Harlem story, and their longer form story is shared in our Sunday morning email. Our Public Programs Coordinator, Bianca Balkaran, interviews each subject and writes their story and Photographer, Oji Haynes photographs them. Balkaran and Haynes started this work almost two years ago in an art class at the City College of New York led by our co-founder Petrushka Bazin Larsen. As a community-based business, we are excited to share the diverse stories of residents in our neighborhood. Welcome to the Harlemites archive of past featured residents.

If you are interested in being a featured Harlemite, please fill out this form.