The African American Experience 

Miss Harlem and Parks Commissioner Heckscher at the Arsenal

Courtesy of the New York City Parks Photo Archive. Held at Lasker Rink on December 31, 1967, the Miss Harlem contest was the culminating event of the summer-long Harlem Cultural Festival sponsored by the City's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Administration. Jennifer Andrews, the winner, is shown here holding her trophy alongside Commissioner Hecksher. The "New York Beat" column of Jet magazine described Ms. Andrews in decidedly unpolitically-correct terms as a "most 'luscious-looking' lass."