Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

     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.

During the 1960’s, Nina got involved with the current events – the civil rights fight – as an activist. Outraged by the events and her own struggles this led her to take action; She used her music to try to change society. Her music was often anthems for civil right movements - such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee - during the 1960s and 1970s. After almost 50 years of music, Nina Simone

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.

Dorothy Dandridge may seem to be like a beautiful and strong African American woman on the outside, but on the inside she held in a lot of pain. Dorothy Dandridge is an actress, singer, and entertainer, who no longer walk this green Earth, but when she did, she made history. Dorothy was the first African American actress to achieve a leading-role status. Dorothy also had a deeply troubled life and racism didn’t make her life any easier especially when it came to achieving her dreams, but she got through it and during her time, the early 1930’s through the 1960’s, that was saying something. Racism was a lot worse then what it is now, but it made it harder for African Americans to achieve their goals, especially African American women. Dorothy was very worth looking up to now and when she was alive. Dorothy Dandridge is a contribution to African American history because she was the first African American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, how she fought all odds against her, mainly racism, and she made it possible to for other African American women to follow in her footsteps and look up to her as a role model.

February of every year is known as National Black History Month. There are many African American people who made a great impact on all African-Americans today. In honor of this month, though, I have chosen to write about Marian Anderson. Marian Anderson was a singer who had made a great impact on many of the black singers in the past. She was one of the first female African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. Some of Marian’s last words to the public were “I have a great belief in the future of my people and my country.”

 Harlem Renaissance 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Harlem Renaissance n.d., History, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Harlem Renaissance n.d., Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Great Migration 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Claude McKay 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 24 August 2015, .

Another amazing African American women leader and voice for her feminist activist audience was Sojourner Truth who spoke from within

She showed them that they could be equal. The only difference was the color of the skin. She taught them that that wasn’t even a big difference. She fought segregation her entire life.

(ella baker.org) She was (sv)inspired to join the movement by her grandmother (w-w)who often confessed the brutality of life under slavery. (2)She was very (adj)inspiring to her community and even joined several organizations benefiting African Americans. One organization Baker was a part of called the SNCC helped create a Freedom Summer (bc)because they wanted to bring national attention to Mississippi’s racism and unwillingness to register black voters. (Ellabaker) (ly)Simply, she is remembered today for her “Audacity to Dream

Maya Angelou is a very well educated and well known black woman. She studied at California Labor School and was appointed Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University (Maya Angelou: Poet and Historian, n.d.). In giving her speech at Spelman College, a predominantly black school, she was very well qualified for the occasion. It is no secret that Angelou participated in the Civil Rights Movement, she was a teacher, a successful writer, and a national figure. According to Thill and Bovee (2015), “Successful communication relies on a positive relationship between sender and receiver”

Marian Anderson, an operatic singer from the slums of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was not only a beautiful voice, but also an important impact on African-American history. Helping civil rights advocates through the 20th century, she stood up for what she believed in and has inspired other African Americans to do the same. Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to her father John and mother Annie Delilah Rucker. She had two sister Ethel and Alice Anderson. Being members of the Union Baptist Church, Anderson was exposed to music and singing at a very young age.

After finding out about Emmett Till’s tragic death and the many others who were slaughtered and tortured she became a student activist and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organization to fight for their own

Sojourner Truth wasn't just any woman that you read about in the history books. She was a woman that overcame many obstacles in order to fight for equality. She stood up for those who did not have the strength, the determination, or even the courage to do so themselves. She wasn't afraid of the consequences she'd receive for fighting for civil rights as well as women's rights. Many people back then expected women to be passive and polite even to those who did not deserve it.

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

Martha Graham was known as the mother of American dance. She was born on May 11,