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Harlem!
Harlem!
A few of my girlfriends and I have made a pact to meet once a month to catch up and have some fun! On Saturday we met for brunch in Harlem at cafe Chez Lucienne - I'll blame the mythical "CP" time on the reason that I was late :) but, I had to stop and take a picture of her - how cool is she?
We ate crepes for an unbelievably low price of $9.95 which included a Mimosa - YUM! The last time I had crepes was when I lived in Paris and went to ÎLE Saint Louis. Our crepes looked something like these.
Harlem has a beautiful electric energy that I immediately felt upon exiting the subway at 125th street - my senses were on overload!
I can safely say that 125th Street is the heart of Harlem - with shops, the Studio Museum of Harlem, The Apollo Theatre, spirited people, sharply-dressed men playing chess and loads and loads of terrific street vendors. 
Several of the vendors caught my eye - like Jacqueline for instance. 
When my friend Annette and I initially approached her to take her picture, she shot us a look and asked very adamantly that we buy a hat instead - what, did I receive an invitation to shop? We began to talk to Jacqueline about the wonderful hats that she created and she allowed us to try them on - I bought this one! Our new friends, Pam of Chicago and Reverend Cheryl Dudley, of NY (how chic is this Reverend?) purchased one too. 
The vendor who made the greatest impression on us however, was Ndeye and her lovely mother Cynthia. Ndeye is 16 years old and created this tee-shirt line called Love Leah - how apropos yes? She is a gorgeous, smart, talented and humble young woman who has a bright future and while speaking with her mom, it was clear where she gets these great qualities. When I made a comment about how her tee shirts must be doing incredibly well, we were both surprised and disappointed to hear her say that some of the young kids of color who stop by say, that they would NEVER wear a shirt like this with such a dark girl on it - seriously?? Clearly, we all still have some work to do! It pains me to think that in a place where there are so many beautiful multi-shaded, vibrant and talented Black people, that we still have some children who do not understand their worth and range of beauty. Thanks to Ndeye's mother, she does! While walking through this area, it is hard to forget that this is where the Harlem Renaissance was born and the many talented African Americans who contributed to this movement. Jacob Lawrence is one of my favorite artists and was such a prolific painter. The series most recognized of his work is that of the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North. His family moved to Harlem when he was young and he spent many of his years there - including during the Harlem Renaissance. To this day, one of my favorite exhibits ever in New York was of his work at the The Whitney Museum. I can easily see how Harlem must have inspired him!
