Getting Stoned in Harlem

I took my students to see the Harlem River Houses and we got stoned.

As we stood in the courtyard in the pouring rain, we heard the sound of racial delirium but had no idea it was aimed at us until a shower of ballast gravel from the roof made it clear. As we beat a hasty retreat, the assailants ducked out of sight behind the parapet wall.

What is the meaning of this? We all know that blacks got a raw deal and they should be angry, but this way of dealing with grievances is ineffective and counterproductive. I believe the anger should be aimed mostly at their reverends and politicians, but that will never happen just as I will never subject my students to this nonsense again.

It’s ironic that this historic project was built in 1937 exclusively for blacks by the Federal Government as a response to the Harlem riots of 1935. From economic to aesthetic, this innovative prototype was a great success. The planned community contained all the amenities (child care, health clinic, stores etc.) essential to civilized living. Its ample central courtyard, public art, textures, finishes and low-rise scale so improved the quality of life that it left no doubt that architects can change the world.

Today the central court is a barren wasteland where one must be careful to avoid dog droppings. It’s a shame that things went downhill after such a tremendous start. The lesson learned here is that housing, no matter how eloquent, cannot overcome the unrefined. Perhaps things will change for the better when the reverends and politicians get stoned.