Harlem’s Rhythm and Rhyme Renaissance Tour

Poets, photographers, and songwriters made these blocks famous, then fought to stay on them. Walk where they walked, from the '20s to today.

Hi, I'm Debi Kops ...I'll be your guide.

Walk the Streets of the Harlem Renaissance

"Debi was incredible. A passionate New Yorker who knew everything and made the tour ten times better, keeping us smiling all morning. Absolutely brilliant!" Rebecca - United Kingdom (Verified booking) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Walk Where Harlem's Legends Lived, Worked, and Inspired

  • Hazel Dukes spent more than seven decades as a civil rights activist. She worked on President Lyndon B. Johnson's Head Start program in the 1960s and served as national president of the NAACP from 1990 to 1992. She led the NAACP New York State Conference from 1977 until her death in 2025, at 92.

    Hazel

  • Bayard Rustin was raised a Quaker and lived by nonviolence. He introduced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Gandhi's teachings and became a key strategist and adviser, helping shape King's nonviolent approach. As an openly gay Black man, Rustin was often kept behind the scenes and denied public credit. In 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, accepted at the White House by his partner, Walter Naegle.

    Bayard

  • Dizzy Gillespie was a beloved American musician known for his signature bent trumpet. Alongside Charlie Parker, he became a major force in the birth of bebop and modern jazz.

    Dizzy

Sites you’ll learn about on the Renaissance Tour

  • Soapbox Corner ...135th & Lenox (1916)

  • Bill's Place ...132nd St

  • Schomburg Center ...Baldwin photo by Avedon

  • Cosmogram ...Hughes & Schomburg memorial

  • Walker Way ...C.J. & A'Lelia Walker, 134th St

  • Harlem Hospital WPA Murals ...Pursuit of Happiness

  • Ruby Dee's childhood home ...136th St

  • Hazel Dukes plaque ...137th St

  • Striver's Row ...138th & 139th St

  • Lafayette Theater ...Tree of Hope, 137th St

  • Scott Joplin's home ...131st St

  • Rustin & Randolph's office ...129th St

  • The Alhambra ...last Renaissance ballroom

  • Adam Clayton Powell Jr. statue

Dizzy Gillespie @ 135th Street


— Double mural by Brandan "BMike" Odums & Marthalicia Matarrita

Your guide: Debi Kops, historian and longtime Central Harlem resident

An original tour: Walk the streets of the Harlem Renaissance

New Harlem Renassance Tour Dates Available!

This is a dog-friendly tour.

Sunday Tour - Starting at 10 am

Pick the date that works best for you:
August 30th, 2026
September 6th, 2026
September 13th, 2026
September 20th, 2026
September 27th, 2026

$40 (adults) $25 (children)
(Minimum 2 people, max 20; larger groups let’s talk.)

We’ll meet at 10 a.m. at St. Nicholas Avenue and 135th Street. (by the B and C subway).

And conclude at 12:00 p.m. at the northeast corner of West 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd. (subway nearby).

For cancellations or help contact me. (24 hour notice cancellations required.)

Pre-book the date you’d like to attend by contacting me or Venmo’ing @debikops and specifying the Sunday you plan on attending with the number of people in your party and their names. Zelle also available.

Have a question? Contact Debi Kops

Venmo @debikops to book this tour

To use Zelle instead of Venmo please contact Debi Kops