http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Riot_of_1943

Moon over Harlem

            Moon over Harlem was a painting by famous African-American painter, William H. Johnson. Done in his famous folk-art style, Johnson depicts police officers being increasingly rough with an already battered public. We see the officers hauling away a load of blood splattered African Americans, and being particularly rough with one woman towards the center of the painting. This painting is his interpretation of the Harlem Riots of 1943, during which rioters, most of whom were African American, caused millions of dollars of damage to businesses around Harlem, after a the African American Soldier was shot by a police officer when trying to defend a woman.

It’s interesting to note that although the riots were reportedly racially motivated, Johnson chose not to depict any white officers. Maybe this exclusion was intentional and meant to imply that Harlem’s residents and culture were becoming increasingly self-destructive, and that New York’s African American citizens were doing more harm to their own communities than whites were. Maybe, Johnson intended to examine and portray the behavior of black Harlem residents in a vacuum. Maybe he ran out of white paint.

            Strung about the lower half of the painting, there are empty bottles of various colors, shapes, and sizes. This might be a commentary on the excessive consumption of alcohol in Harlem. In the aftermath of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, Harlem became known as the epicenter for debauchery in New York. Alcoholism, as well as heroin addiction, was becoming more and more prevalent around the neighborhood.