Grant Harper Reid

Amsterdam News/The Cosmopolitan Review: April 26 May 2
By Yvonne Delaney

A little closer to home, good but distant friend Grant Harper Reid, cousin of Kyndell and good friend of Glen Hunter, has just had the release of his book, “Harlem Bible: In The Beginning.” I refer to Grant as my good friend because I am mentioned in the book. Wow! However, I also call him distant because I don’t believe we’ve ever met, or if we did it was quite some time ago. In the book, which details Grant’s growing up in Harlem, he recalls my having written about him in “The Cosmopolitan Review,” April 19-25, 2001. My how time does fly! Has it been that long?

Grant wrote, Grant Reid’s great-great-grandfather, Friday Hamilton, has his name etched on the Wall of Honor at the Afro-American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. He even drew a family tree, and low and behold, who is right smack dab in the middle of it? Grant’s cousin, Harold Hamilton. Now Harold, you know has a daughter named Rhonda who is a radio personality on FM station 88.3 He also has a lovely wife named, Myrtle. Yes, this is the very same Harold and Myrtle who now live permanently in Sag Harbor…”

Reading this passage brought tears to my eyes because although Rhonda is still a host on WBGO 88.3, both Harold and Myrtle have died. Oh for the good times.

That is just a very small inkling of “Harlem Bible.” The book is a fascinating historical account of Harlem, long before gentrification. I asked Grant about his inspiration in writing such a book and what has kept him believing in the cause. His reply was something od a ripple effect. One incident, although loosely connected, led to another.

“It all started when I decided to put my stamp collection together that I received from Count Basie’s jazz guitarist, Freddie Green, who lived in my building the Little Riverton,” he explained. “From that, I decided to move on and make a copy of a page from the book about making ‘Do the Right Thing,’ by Spike Lee, who mentioned that he had to have a meeting with me and Robert De Niro. I found the location street that spike used for the film.”

Shortly thereafter, Grant recalled a visit to the Countee Cullen library, where he noticed a Harlem Renaissance book on the table. “Once I opened it,” he said, “I found a paragraph that mentioned my grandfather, producer Leonard Harper, and his theatrical works. Fifteen years went by as I dropped everything to explore the family treasure chest of my grandfather’s world during Harlem’s great jazz age. I interviewed my people just before they went on to the afterlife and I remembered those of my youth. After attempting to mount a Broadway musical, I decided to pen ‘Rhythm For Sale,’ about my grandfather and his friends. During my research, I found that the white authors defined us as just singing and dancing happy niggers soliciting tips from the rich whites who traveled uptown for entertainment before the depression. My book tells the real---straight with no chaser.”

“After the City of New York co-named 132nd Street and Seventh Avenue into Leonard Harper Way and “Rhythm For Sale” became a Five-Star award-winning book, I said, ‘What’s next?’ Thus I wrote ‘Harlem Bible,’ the true tale of my upbringing in Harlem and my family’s upwardly mobile move to Teaneck, N.J., during the civil rights era and educational and relational integration. My nuclear family’s story is not unique, and I hope it serves as a historical map. Hopefully, other Harlemites will write their stories as well before the total redefinition of our history is fully enacted.”

The book is full of photos of days gone by and once familiar names such as the late, great, Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Both books, which are available at the Revolution Book Store, 132nd Street, and Lenox Avenue, and from Amazon.com, vividly portray a bygone era. They capture the imagination and take the reader back to a time that the young don’t know of and the elders have forgotten. They are perfect reading on a rainy day or while relaxing on a sunny day in the park. Either way, once you pick them up you won’t want to put them down until the very last page. Thank you, Grant.

5-Star Readers Favorite Book Review of “Harlem Bible-In The Beginning” by Grant Harper Reid

In the spirit of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, Grant Harper Reid’s Harlem Bible: In the Beginning is a memorable offering that helps readers rediscover the soul and spirit of black culture in Harlem. In this spellbinding autobiography, the author relives wonderful and touching memories of his childhood, growing up as a black man in Harlem. The author explores the dreams of black families, poised for the revolution – perhaps gentle like the wind – that was a promise of an upward movement in the American economic status. Readers are introduced to the shift in culture, thanks to the advent of gentrified folk. But what was Harlem like among the black community? This book answers that question and offers more.

Harlem Bible: In the Beginning is a wonderful book, a well-crafted memoir that explores the dynamics of black culture in Harlem and redefines the very soul and spirit of the “black man” within a well-defined historical context. The writing is beautiful, laced with arresting images and, I must say, Grant Harper Reid has a phraseology that gives a unique to his writings. The language is fluid and laced with humor and symbolism. For instance, just a few lines into the narrative, he describes his usual visits, accompanied by his dad, to the house of a wealthy man: “Whenever my dad and I went to visit Mr. Llewellyn, he’d be either wearing a smoking jacket or a bathrobe on his balcony deck. If that wasn’t dressing for success, I don’t know what is.” The readers find themselves smiling quite often as they read through the gripping and enjoyable narrative, the culture and social commentaries opening a whole world for the reader to navigate.