Throughout the last century of Columbia's history, the University has had a relationship with the surrounding neighborhood of Harlem. Harlem politicians, writers, and musicians have found public audiences at the University while members of the university community have been involved in Harlem's cultural life. Faculty members participating in C250's History of Harlem Web site recall some specific instances of this interaction.

Farah Griffin

Petry spent a lot of time taking all kinds of classes when she was in Harlem, but probably the classes that she took that were the most important to her were a series of writing workshops that she took at Columbia University, taught by Mabel Louise Robinson, who became a mentor to her.

They were legendary writing seminars, and Petry'd heard, someone told her if you want to be a writer you really should enroll in this seminar. She came and she had an interview with the teacher, with Ms. Robinson, who encouraged her, While she was in the class, she stopped getting rejection slips for her fiction, she finally began to publish her fiction. And so she always credits that class and that teacher with really setting her on her way as a writer.


David Dinkins

I was one of those people back in the '60s, along with Basil Paterson and others who were picketing up here at Columbia, and so I'm proud of Columbia's involvement in the broader community.


Bob O'Meally

One of my colleagues when I taught at Howard University was named Arthur P. Davis, from Virginia. He came to Columbia because he said to do so in the '20s was to have a front row seat on the Harlem Renaissance.