This article examines the institution of the rent party—an informal, grassroots social gathering organized primarily within Black urban communities during the 1920s and 1930s—as a crucial site of economic resilience, cultural preservation, and musical innovation. It argues that these clandestine events, born from the dual pressures of racial segregation and economic precarity, functioned as a sophisticated alternative economy that enabled working-class Black migrants to navigate the exploitative housing market of Northern cities. Beyond their immediate economic function, rent parties served as incubators for the development of Harlem Stride piano, a technically demanding and virtuosic musical style that bridged ragtime and…

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