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Categories: William “Tony” Rogers,
Every February I try to write articles about historic accomplishments made by African and Caribbean America, especially those unsung brothers and sisters who do not always get the credit for their outstanding achievements.
The truth about the Big Apple is a wonderful Black History Month story. People around the world view the Big Apple as being the nickname for New York City. Many people, however, are unaware of how New York City got the Big Apple nickname.
If you google or use AI to learn who gave New York the famous Big Apple nickname, you will probably get the name John J. Fitz Gerald. There was even a street name on 54 Street and Broadway, giving Fitz Gerald credit for giving New York City the Big Apple Nickname.
I interviewed journalist, author, and historian Regi Taylor on my Urbanology streaming TV show recently and learned the truth about how and where the Big Apple nickname came from. The person who developed the marketing plan that gave New York City the famous nickname was a young Black public affairs director named Gwen Barrett
Taylor is looking to set the records straight and has the research to provide the truth about the origin and branding of the Big Apple nickname for New York. According to Taylor, “Around the 1920s, at the start of the Harlem Renaissance, records show that African Americans routinely referred to New York City as the Big Apple”.
Taylor’s research also shows that in 1938, Cab Calloway published the “Hepster’s Dictionary: Language of Jive.” The book contained 200 words that Calloway called Harlemese.
On page one, the definition of Apple was: “The big Town, The Main stem, Harlem.” This book was published worldwide; it was the Harlem jive talking bible {mostly for white people}. This is how the Big Apple nickname became popular Globally.
The branding of the Big Apple nickname took place in 1971. New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy, and Mayor John Lindsay desperately tried to change New York’s fear city image. Tourism was dead because of negative New York stories in the media.
Larry Freiburg, the GM for WNYW Channel 5, gave his young public affairs director one week to develop a positive marketing PSA for New York. Gwen was very stressed; there was a lot of pressure.
As an African American woman living in Harlem, the term Big Apple was very familiar to Gwen, plus her uncle was the well-known producer Steven Samuel. Dizzie Gillespie and Duke Ellington were some of his friends, and they often referred to New York as the Big Apple.
Duke Ellington even allowed Gwen to use his Big Apple music for the PSA. The rest is history. Larry Freiburg loved the concept, as did his friend Charles Gillett, the NY Convention & Visitors Bureau president.
This is how The Big Apple became the official NYC brand. Gwen went on to become a three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and VP at WNEW. She never received credit for making a Harlem term the official nickname for New York City.
I want to help Regi Taylor set the record straight. I plan to interview Gwen and Regi on my WHCR 90.3 radio show this month.
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