The Cotton Club was an exclusively white club that African Americans that where musically talented where able to demonstrate their musical ability at but weren't aloud to attend, ironically. I was Opened at 142nd Street and Lenox Ave and was a very popular club for the time it remained and over time it grew. At one point the illegally sold alcoholic beverages during the time of prohibition. Many famous Harlem Renaissance artists played there, although in the shows there would be several racist implications because that is what appealed to white people in that era.

The music played was primarily swingy jazz, but there would performances as well, such as acting and talent show like demonstrations. Since the public enjoyed the concept of blacks being inferior , a lot of the shows where based around the jungle and how "uncivilized" Blacks where. At the time people where looking for excitement because of the prohibition, and that is one of the reasons clubs such as this where so popular.

Since so many African Americans at the time had migrated to the north from the south, these clubs flourished because it was one of the best paying jobs, and they had a lot of culture to demonstrate that whites hadn't witnessed and found amusing. Over time the hype died down and blacks found different jobs or ever became more famous in many peoples cases, but despite the racism they where very impressive performances.