Nightlife is where and when the modern city comes alive. Conventions enforced in the daytime can be suspended or revised, leading to moral panics and policing to keep daylight order intact. Minoritized and racialized peoples often find ways to create their own worlds, tucked away in the night. The night, for many of us, is where we go to get free. The night is where the arts of the good life emerge, but the night is not without its dangers. Using materials drawn from historical studies, sociology and cultural studies we will look at some resonant examples of the creativity of the night, centering the experiences of Black and queer people, in New York and elsewhere. [Track C]