Café Society

In 1938, a basement at one Sheridan Square became the site of a social experiment that defied the era's rigid racial codes. Barney Josephson, a shoe salesman from New Jersey with no prior experience in the nightlife industry, founded Café Society to serve as the first fully integrated nightclub in the United States. He rejected the common practice of having Black performers entertain white audiences while barring Black guests from entering the room. Instead, he insisted that patrons of all races sit together, breaking the segregation that defined almost every other venue in New York City.