Harlem Renaissance Essay

     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 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 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.

African Americans were highly influential in politics, music, and literature during the period of Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. A great migration of African Americans made their way north, specifically to Harlem. As a result, Harlem, a neighborhood at the northern end of Manhattan, became a center for Afrocentric art, music, poetry, and politics” (P. Scott Corbett, et al). According to the article called “The Harlem Renaissance” published by Stevenson Keira states “As more African Americans became politicians, new political groups also developed alongside

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

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 Era was a time of rebirth of African American arts in all forms. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in the early 1920’s. During the time of this Era it was known as the “New Negro Movement”. Poets like W.E.B Dubois and Langston Hughes Were great supporters of this movement. Although, they were on different sides, one of the big questions during this time was Racial Pride. Pride in being black became a huge part in essay, art and poetry of this generation. However, many black Writers had opposed ideas of how to show racial pride. W.E.B Dubois thought that by creating high art that would prove themselves as intellectual equals to white people. On the other hand, Langston Hughes spoke against this idea and thought the best way to show pride in being black is to create folk art, which celebrated African American culture and the lives of everyday people lives. Anyways, which one actually does show racial pride?

The Harlem Renaissance began with the Great Migration, when black men and women from the southern United States began moving to Northern cities. They were escaping Jim Crow laws and searching for better jobs ("The Harlem Renaissance"). Many people moved into Harlem, a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. It was relatively empty and apartments were cheap, though small. The sudden influx of African Americans, all filled with hope for better lives, ignited an artistic revolution of music, and literature. Black men and women began depicting their lives realistically and uniquely, breaking down common stereotypes that surrounded their culture (Boundless, "The Harlem Renaissance"). Civil rights activists were afraid that

The Harlem Renaissance embraced all types of art forms. Jazz, literature, art, film, and dance were some of the main forms. But jazz, literature, and art is what really kept the African Americans going. At this time jazz was known to be the people’s music. It had originated in New Orleans and soon found its way into the nightclubs in Harlem. For the ones who would go out and experience this lively music they would go out to night clubs. Some of the most popular clubs during

Names such as Marcus Garvey, Richard Wright, Zora Neal Hurston and Langston Hughes were some of the top figures of this movement. The Harlem Renaissance is important in history, because it is the first time in which African Americans openly expressed literary writing. A sense of liberation, and freedom was felt for the first time. Blacks were coming together to share in the “New Negro”. This movement was marked by advancements in the arts. Poetry, fiction, drama, and essay were the major components of the writings. These works express the hardships of slavery as well as racism, and discrimination. These works also called for a sense of racial consciousness, and if self internalization. A push toward racial integration was pursued, as well as the development of music, especially jazz, spirituals and blues, and many other genres. With so many prominent and intellectual African Americans of that time period, it is hard to touch on the advancements and contributions that each person made to the movement, but the few great ones will always be remembered. As the years passed during the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans began to establish themselves economically, paving the way blacks to be able to survive in a capitalistic society. For a period of about ten years, Harlem became one of the most thriving, and exciting cities in the North. The Renaissance reigned on for around ten years, but eventually fell, mostly due to the

How the Harlem Renaissance changed the lifestyle of African-Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place after World War I and between the 1930s.

Thousands of white Americans came to Harlem to experience the night life. The nightclubs in New York appealed to the whites as they were very famous. Jazz music was thriving in the area. It originated in the Unites States among African-American musicians. It was at this time that jazz was at its most famous point. Many people would host rent parties which were very popular at the time. Apartment owners would hold a party and would charge a fee to those who wanted to enter. They used this money in order to pay off their rent (Worth). The influence of jazz also brought musical reviews. Soon white novelists, dramatists and composers started to exploit the musical tendencies and themes of African Americans in their works. Composers used the literary works of African-American poets in their songs. Negros began to merge with Whites into the classical world of musical composition (Wikipedia). Soon, the works of artists were being displayed in nationwide magazines. Their culture began to spread with great velocity.

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.

During the 1920’s a new movement began to arise. This movement known as the Harlem Renaissance expressed the new African American culture. The new African American culture was expressed through the writing of books, poetry, essays, the playing of music, and through sculptures and paintings. Three poems and their poets express the new African American culture with ease. (Jordan 848-891) The poems also express the position of themselves and other African Americans during this time. “You and Your Whole Race”, “Yet Do I Marvel”, and “The Lynching” are the three poems whose themes are the same. The poets of these poems are, as in order, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude Mckay.

The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the period where social, cultural, and artistic explosion took place in Harlem, New York between the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s. Many African Americans moved from the southern states to the north in an affair which was referred to as the Great Migration. Many African Americans flew the south because of the domineering caste system to find a better place where they can freely express their wonderful and unique talents. During this period Harlem was the epicenter for artists, musicians, poets, writers, photographers, and scholars. Harlem also became the center for jazz and the blues, and thus giving birth to a new generation of African American musicians. All of these artists with their new talents referred to themselves as the "New Negro". The Harlem Renaissance was