Unfortunately, Johnson's views were not to be fulfilled. Before
long, crime rates rose in Harlem, and race riots occurred there
as well as in other parts of New York City.
Johnson was aware that there had been considerable racial tension
at earlier dates as Negroes first moved into Harlem. The
community had been, in turn, Dutch, Irish, Jewish, and Italian.
Originally Negroes, living in New York, worked for wealthy
Whites and lived in the shadows of the large mansions surrounding
Washington Square. Several of the streets in Greenwich Village
had been almost entirely inhabited by Negroes. About 1890, the
community shifted its focus northward into the 20's and low 30's
just west of Sixth Avenue. At the turn of the century, it moved
again into the vicinity of 53rd Street. By this time, the city's
Afro-American community was developing a small middle class of
its own, and it contained its own fashionable clubs and night
life. Visiting Negro entertainers from across the country usually
performed at and resided in the Marshall Hotel. The "Memphis
Students", probably the first professional jazz band to tour the
country, played at the Marshall.
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