The Hoofers Club years from the 1920's to 1940's ran in parallel with what was called the Harlem Renaissance, which ran from 1918 to 1933, and although short lived it changed the face of black America forever. During this Renaissance period there were big leaps in art, music and culture in a relatively short space of time. This rebirth was due to the large migration of black Americans from all over America that brought a wealth of musical styles, dance and literature namely poetry to the Harlem community.

Harlem served as the cultural capital of black America in the 1920's and 1940's and it had also become the centre for night life in New York City. Unfortunately at the time, there were segregation policies, which were adopted by many of the big clubs and theatres. Although black Americans were employed in the clubs as musicians, and entertainers, they were still refused admittance as paying customers, no matter how much money you had.

There were many entertainment establishments in 1920's Harlem, far too many to be covered here so I will concentrate on the main places Hoofers Club visitors performed in.