Editing Rent party (section)

== Organization ==
Rent parties were predominantly advertised through "rent party tickets." These were printed as business cards and leaflets in order to be easily distributed. These tickets often had quirky rhymes or [[euphemism]]s, without explicitly identifying the event as a rent party. Some hosts would distribute these tickets to friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, while some hosts would pass tickets to random strangers, often hiding them amid various public spaces. Many were still careful when it came to handing out tickets, not wanting to attract the attention of police. Tickets never explicitly referred to events as rent parties, instead referring to them as a "Social Party" or a "Social Dance."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3582423?image_id=1381694|title=Rent party cards|date=June 24, 1944}}</ref>

The cost of admission ranged around 25 cents. Parties were typically held on Saturdays, which was when many of the laborers were paid, or on Thursdays, which was when most domestic workers were off duty. Hosts often provided a variety of southern [[comfort food]], such as fried chicken and collard greens. A big draw was the presence of bootleg alcohol, illegal at the time due to [[Prohibition]]. Live music and dancing was also a popular feature. Piano players and jazz bands were invited to provide live music for dancing. Dancing was a big part of the scene, often accompanied with contests and newly-invented dance moves.<ref name=":0" />

Rent parties were very competitive, with up to twelve occurring on a single block within any given week. Rent parties were considered to be much rowdier than the average house party at the time, with drugs, gambling, and paid rooms for sex being widely available. Gangsters and [[Racketeering|racketeer]]s would also host rent parties as fronts. Because of this, Black intellectuals of the time looked down upon these gatherings, worrying that they would reflect badly upon African Americans as a whole. Nevertheless, rent parties were also seen as means of building Black community and a creative way to tackle economic hardship.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |editor1-last=West |editor1-first=Aberjhani |editor2-last=West |editor2-first=Sandra L. |chapter=rent party |pages=279–280 |title=Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance |date=2003 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-3017-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XP48QWTmjyUC&pg=PA279 }}</ref>