Placing a young black man in Harlem, around 1920's-30's
So I'm trying to detail the background of a young black man found in Harlem in the 1920's - 30's.
What I've figured so far: If he's around 18-25, he's likely to not have been born in New York. I've decided on having his family moving there from the unspecified South (it's not likely to be an important detail) when he was around 10 or so. Now a young man, he's attempting to become a jazz musician, but is not noteably talented.
This is the point where my searching is drowned out by famous jazz musicians and the Harlem Renaissance. All and any info or pointers to reads about the more day-to-day life would be appreciated.
1. When his family had just moved to Harlem, what kind of place would they have lived in? I'm doing a comic and would kill for photo refs, but general info would help too. Especially the inside of the house/apartment/whatitis, not as much the exterior. What could you find and not find there?
2. What is the work situation like for him (and possibly his parents)? I'm finding references to a need for plenty of "unskilled labour", but what specifically does that mean in this time and place? Is there even a remote possibility that a non-famous saxophone player could survive at least in periods as a musician, or should I assume a day job? Were there any temp jobs he could take for shorter periods? And so on...
3. What unremarkable surname could he have? I'm not American, so again, the multitude of famous people and jazz stars I find from this period don't help me much because I can't really tell which surnames stand out today as being distinct or not. I doesn't have to be common but I don't want to give him a surname that is now clearly connected to a famous person of the time.
Now in my story, I'm intentionally stretching and blending time. It's a bit hard to describe without going tl;dr about the narrative structure, but that means there actually isn't a great need for me to seperate the roaring 20's and not-so-roaring 30's, I can even stretch it into the 40's... I just need to know what I'm playing with in the first place.
What I've figured so far: If he's around 18-25, he's likely to not have been born in New York. I've decided on having his family moving there from the unspecified South (it's not likely to be an important detail) when he was around 10 or so. Now a young man, he's attempting to become a jazz musician, but is not noteably talented.
This is the point where my searching is drowned out by famous jazz musicians and the Harlem Renaissance. All and any info or pointers to reads about the more day-to-day life would be appreciated.
1. When his family had just moved to Harlem, what kind of place would they have lived in? I'm doing a comic and would kill for photo refs, but general info would help too. Especially the inside of the house/apartment/whatitis, not as much the exterior. What could you find and not find there?
2. What is the work situation like for him (and possibly his parents)? I'm finding references to a need for plenty of "unskilled labour", but what specifically does that mean in this time and place? Is there even a remote possibility that a non-famous saxophone player could survive at least in periods as a musician, or should I assume a day job? Were there any temp jobs he could take for shorter periods? And so on...
3. What unremarkable surname could he have? I'm not American, so again, the multitude of famous people and jazz stars I find from this period don't help me much because I can't really tell which surnames stand out today as being distinct or not. I doesn't have to be common but I don't want to give him a surname that is now clearly connected to a famous person of the time.
Now in my story, I'm intentionally stretching and blending time. It's a bit hard to describe without going tl;dr about the narrative structure, but that means there actually isn't a great need for me to seperate the roaring 20's and not-so-roaring 30's, I can even stretch it into the 40's... I just need to know what I'm playing with in the first place.