The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
The Harlem Renaissance came to life in downtown Denton on Saturday evening, April 25, as Market Street Public House’s special events section transformed into the Riverside Speakeasy. Only those people with the special password were permitted entrance to what the program billed as “a swinging night to remember,” hosted by the Caroline County Council of Arts, set in golden era of jazz in the midst of Prohibition and the blossoming of African American culture, literature, music, and art.
Guests got into the spirit, dressing the part. Women wore flapper dresses, long pearl necklaces, elaborate headpieces, and lots and lots of sequins. There was velvet and fur and feathers and fringes. Bobbed hair cuts and short-styled wigs were accompanied by finger-wave hairstyles that took hours to perfect. Men sported sophisticated elegance in tailored three-piece suits, hats, and suspenders.
Kent County’s own Karen Somerville, her band, and New York jazz and soul vocalist Donnie T. Smith were the featured musical guests. The band included Gerry Werner on piano, Jeff Davis on bass, Greg Burrow on drums, and Rob Diener on trumpet. Somerville and Smith were also emcees for the evening, which kicked off with everyone standing to join in “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem.
Debby Bennett, Harlem Renaissance Committee chair, and George Karos, CCCA executive director, welcomed everyone to enjoy the evening. Bennett explained the official date of birth of the Harlem Renaissance was 1926, making this year the 100th anniversary. Riverside Speakeasy was the third in a series of events marking the anniversary. Previously, CCCA celebrated Black History Month with a Harlem Renaissance Art Exhibit and hosted a Poetry Reading at the library.
Harlem Renaissance artists featured had many connections to Maryland, Somerville said, and stories about those connections accompanied many of the performances. She encouraged the audience to make use of the small dance floor in front of the bandstand and helped get the dancing started.
Smith opened with a song by Cab Calloway and later told the story of Fats Waller being kidnapped to play at Al Capone’s secret birthday party; Somerville sang Bessie Smith’s “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” Billie Holiday’s “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” and more; the band played Duke Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” while the vocalists took a short break. Music continued throughout the evening.
Interspersed among the songs, Pamela Denise Brown and Eugene Yarbrough provided readings from noted Harlem Renaissance poets and authors such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Georgia Douglas Johnson.
Iris Francis at the Market Street Public House provided food for the more than 80 patrons in attendance. Natalie Foster, Josselyn Mazariegas Raymundo, Madelyn Kreiner, and Sloane Willey volunteered as student servers. Regular tea and hibiscus tea were offered or guests could order something stronger at the bar. The evening concluded with the drawing of raffle tickets.
To learn about upcoming CCCA events, see carolinearts.org.
