Harlem Renaissance : A Cultural, Social, And Artistic Explosion

     Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. According to Wintz:

The Harlem Renaissance brought a great amount of value to the African American group. The visual art, the jazz music, fashion and literature changed. During this time writer Langston Hughes shined out with amazing works. The harlem reneisance made It was a time for expressing the African American culture. It has many names other than Harlem Renaissance, such as, the Black Literary Renaissance, or the New Negro Movement. Many famous people began their writing or gained their recognition during this time. The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920’s and 1930’s. “This movement known collectively as the Harlem Renaissance developed at the end of World War I in 1918, which thrived in the mid- to late 1920s, and faded in the mid-1930s.

There were many notable events taking place in the years 1900-1940, some being Pablo Picasso painting one of the first cubist paintings is 1907 , the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 , the 18th Amendment being added to the Constitution (prohibiting the use of intoxicating liquors) and then being repealed in 1933 , the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote in 1920 , Amelia Earhart becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928 , and the list continues. Undoubtedly one of the most influential of events during this time was the Harlem Renaissance. Even with its many leaders and innovators, it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective had it not been for Alain LeRoy Locke: black writer, philosopher, and teacher who influenced black artists to look to African sources for pride and inspiration. Without Locke’s contribution, the Renaissance would not have flourished as much as it did, and black pride would have taken longer to develop and accept.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of great change for the African American community in America that brought many good things. It occurred in a neighborhood in New York after a large population of African Americans immigrated there. The Harlem Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that created a new black cultural identity in America. During the Harlem Renaissance there were 2 conflicting ideas; the idea of High art and Folk art. High art was the idea that blacks should show their equal to whites to prove that they are intellectual equals and folk art which was the idea that showed more traditional art. During Harlem african cultural rebirth many still questioned which best expresses racial pride, highly educated and trained high art or raw traditional folk art. High Art during the Harlem Renaissance best expressed racial pride by using old educated techniques, showing positive celebration and advanced vocabulary.

One of the many revolutionary eras in history was the Harlem renaissance. This was a sudden cultural revolution that was realized in the 1920s and it became popularly known as the “Harlem Renaissance” or “The New Negro movement”. This is a particular era that the African American people draw pride in. the era saw a cultural, social, music and art explosion of epic proportions This was aimed at shifting the stereotypical view of black people as uneducated, intellectually deprived farmers to one of a complex, organized and intellectually equal to the whites. The Harlem renaissance took place in 1920s thru 1930s. This era saw a phenomenon rise in famous black writers and marked the onset of blues, musical theatre, blues, dance and poetry. The new art caught on an appealed to the whites as well. Harlem became a cultural and literature center. The African Americans artists and writers were gaining recognition from the white. [2]

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of happiness, music, and migration. Everyone was enjoying this time. This was a time when blacks from the south started migrating north for better opportunities. In the twentieth century, blacks started to move to the North as the train provided easy access to Chicago and other Northern Cities (Wormser). For African Americans in this time period there was not much to do in the south to make a reasonable living without being mistreated by whites and they felt that the North had much more to offer them. Jim Crow in the South was quite prevalent and African Americans knew that they weren’t wanted and those who could afford it decided to leave. In the city of Chicago there was a paper called the Chicago Defender that inspired blacks to come to Chicago. The North was and had always been a way out to African Americans since the time of slavery for a chance at freedom. Among those who migrated were the most creative people in the South. Jazz Musicians came from New Orleans to play in Chicago, Kansas City, and New York (Wormser).

The Harlem Renaissance took place from 1920 to 1935 at a time in which African American cultures flourished. Many African Americans were moving into big cities where they

The Harlem Renaissance was a time period of innovative and hard-won artistic,cultural, and social freedom for african americans. It began about 1914 and continued into the early 1930s. There were some that embraced their people’s folk history and african roots and a few even exploited white america’s ideas of the black culture. While others set out to change the misconception of views about the lives of african americans. There were many prominent people during the Harlem Renaissance that helped to break barriers against african americans (Harlem Renaissance.Gale.)

The Harlem Renaissance, originally called the New Negro Movement, was a movement that shook the 1920’s in the United States of America. The Harlem Renaissance spanned between the years of 1918 all the way to the mid 1930’s. This movement was a movement of the arts. It has been said that this time period was a rebirth to the African American arts. The Harlem Renaissance is an extremely important piece of history for America.

During the Mass migration, the many African Americans moved from the rural agricultural areas, which were to the south to the industrial north. Many of them

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.

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was the rebirth of African American culture through music, literature, and art. Also the art that was created was like no other art America had seen before. During this time different types of genres of music were created such as rock and jazz. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of prosperity but also hatred towards African Americans due to racism.

The Harlem Renaissance represents the rebirth and flowering of African-American culture. Although the Harlem Renaissance was concentrated in the Harlem district of New York City, its legacy reverberated throughout the United States and even abroad, to regions with large numbers of former slaves or blacks needing to construct ethnic identities amid a dominant white culture. The primary means of cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance were literature and poetry, although visual art, drama, and music also played a role in the development of the new, urban African-American identity. Urbanization and population migration prompted large numbers of blacks to move away from the Jim Crow south, where slavery had only transformed into institutionalized racism and political disenfranchisement. The urban enclave of Harlem enabled blacks from different parts of the south to coalescence, share experiences, and most importantly, share ideas, visions, and dreams. Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact in framing African-American politics, social life, and public institutions.

The Harlem Renaissance was a wonderful allotment of advancement for the black poets and writers of the 1920s and early ‘30s. I see the Harlem Renaissance as a time where people gather together and express their work throughout the world for everyone to see the brilliance and talent the black descendants harness.