IMAGE CAPTIONS (left to right):
• Painting of a nightclub bar by Archibald Motley
• A Harlem club
• Jeunesse by Palmer Hayden
• Painting of a nightclub bar by Archibald Motley
• A Harlem club
• Jeunesse by Palmer Hayden
HARLEM NIGHTLIFE: HOW PROHIBITION STARTED IT ALL
The Volstead Act was passed in 1920, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and possession of alcohol in America. Instead of ridding Americans of the use of alcohol, it made people even more desperate to get their hands on it. The high demand of booze created a flourishing black market economy, headed by none other than gang. Gangsters established speakeasies, illegal liquor stores or nightclubs. Mob bosses opened classy nightclubs that distributed liquor and featured popular bands and extravagant floor shows, which featured light skinned female performers.
During Prohibition, "The parties were bigger…the pace was faster…and the morals were looser."
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist