In the 1920s and ’30s, an area of Western Manhattan between 138th–139th streets was known as “Strivers Row.” Here, in three rows of vintage town houses, lived many of the era’s finest African-American musicians, artists, doctors, business owners, lawyers and other professionals. Many of these “strivers” contributed to an array of cultural works that came to be known as the “Harlem Renaissance.”
 
Why recall the strivers in a column ostensibly about improving safety in the textile services industry? Quite simply, our purpose is to recognize a different group of “strivers”—i.e., men and women in today’s commercial ...