What is a Rent Party?

In these times, we can look to groups who’ve been dealing with the ills of our society for generations to better equip ourselves to survive.

Rent parties, sometimes referred to as “Eviction” or house parties, happened in 1920s Harlem after the Great Migration of Southern Black folk who were charged substantially more for rent than their white-counter parts despite working for insufficient wages after arriving in New York.

Rent party cards from the Langston Hughes Papers (Hyperallergic)

Neighbors would gather around live music, dancing, food, and drinks. From the late 1920s until 1960, the writer and Harlem Renaissance legend, Langston Hughes collected rent party cards, an archive that now offers us a detailed record of the culture around these informal and lively happenings. On Saturday nights in Harlem, tenants had to decide which Rent Party they were going to attend since multiple folks we’re hosting and fundraising to make ends meet.

The times we live in are not unprecedented for many groups. For Black and Indigenous people, immigrants, Queer, Trans and disabled people, the modern world is designed to perpetuate immense suffering. These groups carry the memory of how to survive through genocide, slavery, and grave injustice. As the veil is lifted, the realities of patriarchy, imperialism, and capitalism become increasingly undeniable since they’re now impacting the masses.