 The family moved to New York City in 1914, settling in 1920 in Harlem, where their home was a meeting place for intellectuals and artists, including such musicians as Duke Ellington and Thomas "Fats" Waller.Calvin Tomkins in "The Jazz Cadence of American Culture" describes Bessye J. as "a political force in Harlem...someone you came to when you wanted to cut through red tape and get action.