National prohibition of alcohol from 1920-1933 in the United States was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce taxes and to improve health and hygiene in America. After ratification of the Eighteenth amendment, establishments like saloons, bars and restaurants were no longer able to legally sell alcohol. People combatted this with the creation of speakeasies, offering citizens the opportunity to purchase and consume illicit alcohol beverages. Speakeasies are remembered as the hotspot for organized crime more so than the positive legacies it left on America. Prohibition and the enormous amount of speakeasies that were created in response towards Prohibition helped drive several social changes during the 1920’s,
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Fortunately for African Americans, prohibition provided several new employment opportunities. Many of the speakeasy jobs African Americans took in Harlem ranged from bartenders, musicians, waiters, dancers, hostesses, chefs, and busboys. As speakeasies started to appear more often, owners and operators discovered that it was necessary to depend on lesser-known musicians for bar entertainment to avoid being detected. Many local African American musicians were hired, giving jobs to hundreds of working musicians. Speakeasies soon ushered in the age of Jazz music. The simultaneous introduction of the commercial radio which first opened up in 1920 accelerated the spread of Jazz. Speakeasies paved the way for great Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bonjangles Robinson and Ethel Waters. In a Text of Interview in 1938, worker Frank Byrd describes the liveliness of African Americans in speakeasies. He quotes, “Everything they do is free and easy; typical of that group of hard-working Negroes who have little or no inhibitions and the fertility of imagination so necessary to the invention and unrestrained expression of new dance-steps and rhythms”. African American life experienced many changes during Prohibition and a few years preceding the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. The Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition and its many challenges and opportunities that it created, and the rise of the popularity of jazz all coincided with each other. Harlem became the center of everything for many African Americans. Harlem provided vast speakeasies and rent parties to enjoy alcohol as well as many other vices, while patrons also enjoyed high quality music during Prohibition. Majority of the entertainment centers including cabarets and upscale speakeasies were far too expensive for most African Americans to enjoy. Rent parties
Fortunately for African Americans, prohibition provided several new employment opportunities. Many of the speakeasy jobs African Americans took in Harlem ranged from bartenders, musicians, waiters, dancers, hostesses, chefs, and busboys. As speakeasies started to appear more often, owners and operators discovered that it was necessary to depend on lesser-known musicians for bar entertainment to avoid being detected. Many local African American musicians were hired, giving jobs to hundreds of working musicians. Speakeasies soon ushered in the age of Jazz music. The simultaneous introduction of the commercial radio which first opened up in 1920 accelerated the spread of Jazz. Speakeasies paved the way for great Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bonjangles Robinson and Ethel Waters. In a Text of Interview in 1938, worker Frank Byrd describes the liveliness of African Americans in speakeasies. He quotes, “Everything they do is free and easy; typical of that group of hard-working Negroes who have little or no inhibitions and the fertility of imagination so necessary to the invention and unrestrained expression of new dance-steps and rhythms”. African American life experienced many changes during Prohibition and a few years preceding the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. The Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition and its many challenges and opportunities that it created, and the rise of the popularity of jazz all coincided with each other. Harlem became the center of everything for many African Americans. Harlem provided vast speakeasies and rent parties to enjoy alcohol as well as many other vices, while patrons also enjoyed high quality music during Prohibition. Majority of the entertainment centers including cabarets and upscale speakeasies were far too expensive for most African Americans to enjoy. Rent parties