Alain Leroy Locke's Life During The Harlem Renaissance

     The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.

The Harlem Renaissance was regarded as a blossoming of African -American culture particularly in the genre of creative art and one of the most influential movement in African- American literary history. While the Harlem Renaissance embraced musical, theatrical, literary and visual arts, the participants within the movementsought to re-conceptualize

The Harlem Renaissance was an event that started during World War One and lasted until the 1930’s. The Harlem Renaissance reshaped art, music, literature and theatre in the African American community. One debated during the Harlem Renaissance was whether folk art or high art best represented racial pride. Folk art best represents racial pride because it does not imitate other people’s art it shows the lives of everyday people, and people could relate to it.

The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and literary period of growth promoting a new African American cultural identity in the United States. The years of 1920 and 1990 and “were clear peak periods of African American cultural production.” During these years blacks were able to come together and form a united group that expressed a desire for enlightenment. “It is difficult not to recognize the signs that African Americans are in the midst of a cultural renaissance” (English 807). This renaissance allowed Blacks to have a uniform voice in a society based upon intellectual growth. The front-runners of this revival were extremely focused on cultural growth through means of intellect, literature, art and music. By using these means

Alain Locke was born on September 13, 1885, in Philadelphia. He was a writer, philosopher, and educator. He enjoyed the arts. He attended Harvard University, Hartford College, Oxford and Humboldt University of Berlin.

As a whole the Harlem Renaissance ended slowly from the early 30s to the early 40s. This was due to the Great Depression and the world's attention shifting towards the war in Europe. The Harlem Renaissance was very important because it was a time in American history where black people openly expressed their culture and their pride for being black. The effect that the Harlem Renaissance had was unique to the 1920s because of the proximity to WWI. After the war the black community wanted recognition for their bravery and valor overseas and at home. Another factor that helped with the Harlem renaissance was Prohibition. Prohibition had helped because people needed entertainment when they drank illegally. Also people were tired of the old was which was also seen in the new found power that women had grasped in society. Recently before this there was Red Summer where lots of people had died during the race riots that broke out all across the country. In American history the Harlem Renaissence gave black culture and influence a major kickstart which still shows its influence today. Many black artists of all varieties go back to the style of the 1920s to get back in touch which their roots. The Harlem Renaissance has had an everlasting effect on the black community in

The Harlem Renaissance was an era full of life, excitement, and activity. The world in all aspects was in gradual recovery from the depression. The world of music was

"Race pride" and "race consciousness" cornerstones to the Harlem Renaissance, were closely linked to a new understanding of the African heritage of Black American(Marx 170). The Harlem Renaissance was a period between 1920 and 1940 of great cultural, economic and identity assertion among talented and expressive African Americans. Its high point occurred between 1920 and 1930 but it had started before then and continued after. The art, literature and music of the Harlem Renaissance expressed the rebirth of the African American spirit and it was born in the minds of its poets and in the hears of its common people. Such emotions were expressed in songs, essays, artwork, and dance. The Harlem Renaissance brought along racial pride for blacks.

It was in Harlem, New York. During this time Alain Locke named the Harlem Renaissance the “New Negro Movement.” The article Harlem Renaissance by History, states the Harlem Renaissance as “the development of the Harlem neighborhood in New York City as a black cultural mecca in the early 20th Century and the subsequent social and artistic explosion that resulted.” It was named from the culture of African Americans. There was artist, writers, actors, poets, fashion, and more. The Harlem Renaissance was famous for its artistry. The journal Alain Locke written by Beth Helen Stickney, mentions some famous people from the Harlem Renaissance who are Claude McKay, Alain LeRoy Locke, Aaron Douglas, Marcus Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, and W. E. B. Du Bois, just to name a few. These are famous poets, activist, musicians, and more. These are some examples of what Alain Locke was describing the metaphor, the “New Negro.” Alain Locke writing is during the Harlem Renaissance and he references Harlem multiple of times within his work. This essay and this movement is significant to each other because of the idea each had on society. The essay the New Negro explain the new and expanded mind of an African American after slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction period, and World War 1. The Harlem Renaissance was the growth of African American

The Harlem Renaissance referred to the flowering of the African- American art and literature during the 1920s. However, it was mainly experienced in the Harlem in New York City.

The Harlem Renaissance is a very important period in history for many reasons. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic explosion that happened in Harlem. Harlem was a cultural center during this time. It drew black artists, musicians, writers, poets, and scholars. It was also very important because it affected black culture for the rest of time. It also advanced them greatly during that time. Black lives during the Harlem Renaissance were definitely not great still. But they were improving. People were starting to respect them more and there art, writing, and music. The Harlem Renaissance created a very new type of music. A new upbeat jazz genre was created. And with this music new dances came with it. Some popular musicians include, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday. It also brought in new poetry. Some famous poets include Langston Hughes, Claude Mckay, and Countee Cullen. Please consider adding the poems “I too”, “After the Winter”, and “Let America Be America Again” and a history of the Harlem Renaissance as an exhibit in your museum.

The Harlem Renaissance was the rebirth of black literary and musical culture, during the years after War War, which started around 1914 and ended around 1919, in the Harlem section of New York City. The Harlem Renaissance was the most influential times of cultural black history, in so many different aspects. The Harlem Renaissance helped “blacks” in ways that pretty much launched them to a high level them to a higher level in the arts, music, and literature. It is very important because in the 20th century and now in the 21st century, the Harlem Renaissance enabled African Americans to express their feelings through the arts and it also created a trend for other generations because them too could express their feelings.

Before the Renaissance, many people, especially blacks, didn’t have much to look up to. Their people were constantly treated wrong and neglected all they could do is wish for a new beginning. The Harlem Renaissance or also the “New Negro Movement” inspired and encouraged people, African Americans the most, in a remarkable way. The musicians during this time did their best to try and be role models to the upcoming kids, the newest generation of that time. They wanted to see their culture continue to grow and become something that people would look back on. Alain Locke one of the most encouraging black Harlem Renaissance Movement Leaders, he inspired all sorts of kids, he was an educator. “To varying degrees, Locke encouraged young black writers,

Harlem Renaissance, a blossoming (c. 1918–37) of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American literature and had

The two authors I picked were W.E.B Du Bois and Langston Hughes. The reason why I picked these two is because of the dedicated work they have flourished during the Harlem Renaissance. W.E.B Du Bois was one of the most famous black political leaders during that time. Du Bois had a lot of talent to bring