The Cotton Club opened as a whites-only club in Harlem in 1923. It was one of the most notorious establishments to reinforce Jim Crow segregation, prohibiting non-white attendees. Yet its initial location in Harlem was a locus for Black performers of the Jazz Age. The club marketed the performances as "jungle jive" and used stereotypical and offensive imagery of Black Americans.

Following the race riots of 1936, the Harlem location closed. It reopened on Broadway and permitted non-white patrons. However, this 1938 program for the club, illustrated by Julian Harrison, still presents racist iconography. Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and other Black performers sing, dance, and play instruments. These images contrast with jungle scenes depicting naked Black men and women. The stark difference in representation reflects the conflicting attitudes of many of the clubs' white patrons. Performers were simultaneously praised and subjected to exoticization and discrimination.

Program from the Cotton Club with menu and program listing. Front cover has a blue background with white printed text reading [THE WORLD FAMOUS / COTTON / CLUB] over top of an orange circle and features black and white illustrations by Julian Harrison. On the lower half of the cover is a large illustration titled [JAM SESSION] featuring Duke Ellington seated at a piano, with Cab Calloway behind him and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson dancing in the middle, with other musicans and dancers around them. Along the left side are four smaller illustrations in a vertical line against an orange background. At the top is [JUNGLE JIVE], followed by [BOOGIE WOOGIE], [CONGO CONGA], AND [JITTER BUGS]. The program's interior consists of ...