Save Harlem Now

Save Harlem Now A membership not for profit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and celebrating Harlem’s irreplaceable built heritage.

⛪️ ROAD TO HARLEM: SHILOH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, A BEACON OF HOPE ☀️TONIGHT! Save Harlem Now! will examine the founding of...
06/18/2026

⛪️ ROAD TO HARLEM: SHILOH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, A BEACON OF HOPE ☀️

TONIGHT!

Save Harlem Now! will examine the founding of Shiloh Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village, one of the earliest Black Presbyterian congregations in New York City. Founded in 1822, Shiloh played a vital role in the abolitionist movement and was an active station on the Underground Railroad.

Event Details:

📅 TONIGHT! June 18th, 2026
⏰ 6:00-7:30pm
📍 Virtual
💲 Free

Click the link in our bio to register! (Or use the QR code on the second slide.)

Together with preservation partner Village Preservation (GVSHP) we will explore Shiloh’s enduring legacy, including its connection to the founding of St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, a descendant institution that continues this powerful history of faith, activism, and community leadership.

Our presenter, the Reverend Dr. Derrick McQueen (Senior Pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church) will guide us through this remarkable history, connecting Greenwich Village’s 19th-century Black community to the rise of Harlem.

We hope that you will join us for this important conversation as we continue to trace the history of Black communities in Manhattan.

OUR SPEAKER ✝️
REVEREND DR. DERRICK MCQUEEN was named Senior Pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem in 2020. He previously served as Interim Pastor since 2015. Dr. McQueen earned his Ph.D. in Homiletics and the New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he also completed his M.Div. with a focus on Theology and the Arts. He contributes to LGBTQ inclusion through organizations such as Presbyterian Welcome (now Parity) and That All May Freely Serve.

OUR PARTNER 🌆
 VILLAGE PRESERVATION, founded in 1980, works to document, celebrate, and preserve the special architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo.

“Dreamland is an immersive photo book and visual experience by photographer and director Karsten [Theadore], exploring J...
06/18/2026

“Dreamland is an immersive photo book and visual experience by photographer and director Karsten [Theadore], exploring Jamaican culture, youth, memory, and diaspora through vibrant imagery and storytelling. Rooted in themes of identity, home, and transformation, the work blends documentary moments with surreal visual language to create a deeply personal yet collective portrait of Jamaica and its people.”

Save Harlem Now! attended the launch of DREAMLAND last Friday, June 12th. It was a wonderful evening and we are grateful for the opportunity to speak with Karsten Theadore about his project. Interview coming soon!

On May 21st, we held our 3rd Annual Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala where we honored several preservationists and c...
06/03/2026

On May 21st, we held our 3rd Annual Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala where we honored several preservationists and cultural institutions who have worked for decades to keep Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous culture alive in Harlem.

Our honorees were:

Voza Rivers, Founder of the New Heritage Theatre Group, who we have awarded the A. Philip Randolph-Bayard Rustin Lifetime Achievement Award;

Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Strategic Advisor to the President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who we have awarded the Ella Baker Leadership Award;

The Harlem African Burial Ground Initiative (its members: Sharon Wilkins, Rev. Dr. Patricia Singletary, Hon. Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Melinda Velez) who we have awarded the Arturo Schomburg Stewardship Award; and

Dr. Marta Morena Vega, founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, who we have awarded the Frederick Douglass Visionary Award. Her guest accepted the award on her behalf as she was unable to attend in person.

The HARLEM AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND INITIATIVE will be honored at Save Harlem Now!’s Third Annual Gene Norman Preservation ...
05/12/2026

The HARLEM AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND INITIATIVE will be honored at Save Harlem Now!’s Third Annual Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala with the ARTURO SCHOMBURG STEWARDSHIP AWARD.

In 2009, a group of Harlem community members formed the Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force (HABGTF) to advocate for the creation of a memorial that would restore honor, dignity, and respect to those buried at this sacred site. In 2011, NY Community Board 11 designated the HABGTF as the organization representing the interests of the historic cemetery. The HABGTF is now the Harlem African Burial Ground Initiative ().

Its members are (left to right):

Sharon Wilkins (former Deputy Borough Historian of Manhattan)

Rev. Dr. Patricia Singletary (Pastor Emerita and the first female Pastor of Elmendorf Reformed Church established in 1660, the descendant church of the Harlem African Burial Ground)

Hon. Melissa Mark-Viverito (President of the Hamilton Campaign Network and former NYC Council Speaker and Member representing District 8)

Melinda Velez (former Legislative Assistant to former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito)

📅 Thursday, May 21
⏰ 6 - 10PM
📍 The Historic Riverside Church – Assembly Hall
91 Claremont Avenue, New York, NY 10027

Visit the link in our bio to learn more, support the gala, and get tickets of your own!

04/30/2026

An excerpt from our 2025 Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala video on our Youtube channel! You can watch the full version as well as the rest of the videos in our 2025 Gala playlist – just head to the link in our bio!

In the 1920s, Central Harlem became one of the most remarkable square miles in American cultural history. The area held ...
04/22/2026

In the 1920s, Central Harlem became one of the most remarkable square miles in American cultural history. The area held an extraordinary concentration of Black talent, ambition, aspiration and institution-building. The jazz clubs and speakeasies of 133rd Street, the 135th Street library, and Harlem YMCA nurtured a community, literary salons and the Dark Tower where A’lelia Walker threw her legendary parties. The elegant brownstones of Strivers Row are where composers, athletes, entrepreneurs, and civil rights pioneers lived side by side.

This tour walks those blocks and tells the stories of the men and women — Madam C.J. Walker, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, John Nail, Eubie Blake, Augusta Savage, Fletcher Henderson, W.C. Handy, and dozens more — whose work in this small neighborhood forever changed American music, literature, and art, and whose legacy still echoes in the buildings that survive today.

📅 Saturday, April 25th, 2026

⏰ 11:00AM (2 hour tour)

📍 Central Harlem (Address will be given upon registration)

💲 $20.00

Register today (link im bio!)

This tour is led by Mark Satlof, a licensed New York City Sightseeing Guide, a 27-year resident of Strivers Row, and a Save Harlem Now! board member. It is presented by Save Harlem Now! in partnership with The Literary Society, organized by Lana Turner.

This walking tour will start at 11am in Central Harlem on Saturday, April 25th and last about two hours. More details will be provided following your RSVP.

📸: Klaus-Peter Statz

04/11/2026

Save Harlem Now! cofounder Valerie Jo Bradley sat down with us for a conversation discussing Harlem’s past, present and future. Throughout her storied career working as a spokesperson, a journalist, a press liaison, and an activist, she always understood the necessity for centering the public in bringing about cultural change. We thank her for such an enlightening discussion and for putting into perspective what it really means to SAVE HARLEM NOW!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hosting two absolutely astounding authors- Dr. David Levering Lewis and Victoria Christ...
04/02/2026

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hosting two absolutely astounding authors- Dr. David Levering Lewis and Victoria Christopher Murray! Such a joyous experience for all in attendance. Dr. Lewis gave us insightful commentary on his Pulitzer Prize winning biography, W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919 and W. E. B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919–1963 as well as his book, Harlem Was In Vogue. We celebrated black history whilst also touching on how used her book, Harlem Rhapsody, not only to entertain but to inform readers with fiction. A night to remember. Thank you to for working in unison with us, always a pleasure! Thank you to everyone who attended and made our event so lively!

03/19/2026

We had the pleasure of having an insightful, refreshing conversation with the founder of UbuntuMagazine: SHARJAH M’BODJI. Sharjah discussed with us her second issue THE FIRE THIS TIME BEGINS WITH US, her plans for , and what that means for the upcoming youth in Harlem.

Sharjah is only 17 years old with a pulse on Harlem history and the direction we as a people should be headed in. Be sure to check out the latest edition of UbuntuMagazine and submit for its third issue: ❤️ POETIC JUSTICE 🤎

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