Once Upon a Time in Harlem Interview: The Harlem Renaissance Film 50 Years in the Making

In 1972, William Greaves gathered the surviving artists, writers and organizers of the Harlem Renaissance inside Duke Ellington's Harlem home and filmed the night on four cameras. More than 50 years later, his son David Greaves and granddaughter Liani Greaves finished the film: Once Upon a Time in Harlem, from NEON. Find showtimes near you: https://films.neonrated.com/once-upon... David was 26 and behind one of those cameras. He and Liani take me inside the room: who was there, the 60,000 feet of film they had to choose from, Zora Neale Hurston's oyster knife, Gerri Major's rule for journalism, the woman who kept the footage safe for decades, and the 1926 Langston Hughes and George Schuyler debate over who Black art belongs to. The Mike Muse Show airs live on SiriusXM Urban View, channel 126. Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of culture, policy and technology. Follow @IAmMikeMuse on Instagram, Threads and TikTok. 0:00 Why this film moved me 2:12 Welcome, Liani and David Greaves 3:02 60,000 feet of film 3:38 Behind the camera at 26 4:53 Who was in Duke Ellington's home 6:40 Shuffle Along and a room full of firsts 8:48 Gerri Major and the helpful journalist 10:19 Telling the whole truth on film 12:25 As close as you can get to the Harlem Renaissance 12:50 Zora Neale Hurston and the oyster knife 16:06 The women who kept the room on task 17:48 Countee Cullen's rendezvous with life 19:26 Louise Greaves kept the footage 22:27 The poets and Claude McKay 24:54 Langston Hughes vs. George Schuyler 27:31 American history, for all of us 28:34 Black media and Black news 29:19 Thank you, and the library card #OnceUponATimeInHarlem #HarlemRenaissance #TheMikeMuseShow