This special event opens with a private screening of Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a remarkable documentary built from long-unseen footage filmed in 1972 by pioneering filmmaker William Greaves. Shot during an extraordinary gathering at Duke Ellington’s Harlem townhouse, the film captures a once-in-a-lifetime conversation among the surviving luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance—artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers reflecting on a movement that reshaped American culture. Left unfinished for decades, the film has been brought to completion by Greaves’s son, David, who was present behind the camera in 1972, and produced by Liani Greaves, continuing a multi-generational effort to preserve and share this extraordinary record. What emerges is more than a historical document; it is a living conversation—one that blends memory, debate, and reflection on the meaning and legacy of Black artistic and intellectual life in America. Following the screening, David and Liani Greaves will be present to reflect on the making of the film, its long journey to completion, and the responsibility of carrying forward this history. Together, they consider what the Harlem Renaissance—and the voices gathered in that room—can still teach us about identity, creativity, and the ongoing work of shaping a more complete and honest understanding of the American story.