ter proceeded to readjustments that have given it the largest
Negro population of any city in the country and probably the
world. The coming of this excess population presented to the
real estate dealers an opportunity for increased profits of which
they proceeded immediately to take advantage. Whole blocks
of tenements and apartment houses were bought by speculators
and turned over to Negro tenants, the former white occupants
moving farther uptown. By accommodating themselves to
limited quarters, many Negro families found comfortable
residence in well-appointed modern livings, and that, too,
without the annoyance or embarrassment of legal residence
restrictions.
Harlem is recognized as the Negro section of New York without any requirement of law. Here Negroes have their own theaters, their own newspaper establishments, restaurants, stores, barber shops, offices, and all the other accessories and necessities of community life. White merchants still accommodate the bulk of the trade, and it is interesting to observe that groceries and meat markets have made it a point to cater to the tastes and habits that the Negro population have brought from the South. Restaurants serve those dishes to which Negroes have become accustomed, and the markets put in large supplies of these staple products, many of them specially imported from the Southern States.
In New York, as in other cities, there was no great difficulty for the newcomer to find work, but in this city a large proportion of these migrants went into personal service, whereas in other cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Youngstown, employment was found in the industries such as steel mills, automobile factories, and in Chicago the packing plants.
The important thing to observe in all this is that contrary to predictions and many expectations the Negro has found a real place for himself in the North, and has been able with surprising facility to adapt himself to the new conditions. In truth, it is a matter of pride to Negroes themselves to take on the manners and follow the customs that are characteristic of the North. It is surprising, also, to note the cordial and genuinely sympathetic attitude taken towards these newcomers
