How The Harlem Renaissance Shaped Literature

The Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement that began in the 1920s, brought upon a spark for creativity, a new found freedom, most importantly a voice to African-Americans who had been kept silent due to their lengthy oppression. The Harlem Renaissance became known for the evolution of African-American culture, expressed through creative writings, artistic paintings and sculptures, musical compositions. This resurgence in the arts was being fueled by the new minds brought in by The Great Migration. Due to “better opportunities in the North and West, over 6 million African-Americans had left the South between 1910 and 1970” (Soheil) in search of a new life after living under years of injustice. This massive influx of untapped artistic talent and potential gave way to the cultural explosion that is the Harlem Renaissance as well as the creation of “The New Negro”.

The second half of the eighteenth century introduced a new expression to the literary world. The new expression was a voice that belonged to the African American writers. The African American writers wrote with a flair and brought a new perspective to the realm of literature. Literature, as America had known it, consisted of works from Christopher Columbus, John Smith, William Bradford, and Mary Rowlandson; these writers captured the essence of life, through their eyes. Through their eyes, the readers were able to see what life was like for Christopher Columbus through his letters capturing details of the voyages. Another famous writing in the eighteenth century was a voice from a different perspective than voyages but, it was a voice dealing with savages, as they were called. This voice was the voice of Mary Rowlandson, one of the first female writers in American Literature. Rowlandson’s narrative was based on her captivity with the Indians and the reestablishment of her life after she was returned to her hometown. Through narration and translation, the Native Americans were able to capture their literature in their native tongue. What type of literature could the Native Americans have to contribute to the literary world? The Native Americans, like other cultures, have stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, in the form of oral expressions. The oral expressions the Native

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement, in the early 1920’s, that involved vibrancies of new life, ideas, and perceptions. The large migration of African Americans northward, after World War I, allowed people of color the opportunity to collaborate in the New York City neighborhood, known as Harlem. This renaissance allowed the city to thrive on a refined understanding and appreciation of the arts. Many individuals were involved in this movement including doctors, students, shopkeepers, and painters who were apart of forming and molding the vibrant and inspirational gem (Holt Elements of Literature – Fifth Course 734). In addition, artists, performers, musicians, and writers gathered together in Harlem to start the beginning of one of the most influential time periods in African American history. However, many factors contributed to the huge impacts of this renaissance, including the effects of the Great Migration, why Harlem was the location for this movement, and the achievements of specific individuals during this time period, such as Augusta Savage.

Between 1902 and the Great Depression African Americans began relocating towards the urban North in the Great Migration hoping to escape white supremacy. They gathered mainly in Harlem, New York and except for wallowing in self pity they took advantage of the great majority of their race and decided to take a step out in entertainment (Us History). The Harlem Renaissance was a time of cutting down prejudice and showing the Whites that they have pride in their heritage. Major contributors of this time were Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, WEB DuBois, Neale Hurston, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday; all of them ranging from writers and actors to musicians in Jazz and Blues. Self determination, group expression, and showing Black pride was what their aim was and decided to show people in paintings, group dances, and writings (Mifflin Harcourt). The Harlem Renaissance was not confined to the United States alone and actually was a large movement in Europe, and the Caribbean. Writers and Poets were determined to show their readers the background they came from, no matter how rough it was, and wanted to show them that their pride was not broken. Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and WEB DuBois were three major writers during the time, and contributed to the main them of Racial Pride that conveyed to the rest of their people and gave hope towards a new age where prejudice would be no more; a time where the background you came from didn’t determine who you

I have learned that the Harlem Renaissance was a period of sudden expansion within the African American community during the 1920’s and 30’s. It expanded in literature, visual art, and music, and finally gave African Americans a voice in America. Their opinions were suddenly being realized by whites indirectly through the art they created. They also contributed much to the culture we observe today. Swing, one of the most popular forms of jazz, was made famous by artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, and vocalists like Ma Rainey, the “Mother of Jazz”. Visual art depicted images of African American lifestyle and their ambitions, often such as an image of a Negro in bondage, hoping to be released. Literature was the most direct

Occurring in the 1920’s and into the 1930’s, the Harlem Renaissance was an important movement for African-Americans all across America. This movement allowed the black culture to be heard and accepted by white citizens. The movement was expressed through art, music, and literature. These things were also the most known, and remembered things of the renaissance. Also this movement, because of some very strong, moving and inspiring people changed political views for African-Americans. Compared to before, The Harlem Renaissance had major effects on America during and after its time.

The period in where an outburst marked a time in where political, creative and educational influences of African Americans was due to the Harlem Renaissance after the first world war. During this time of cultural celebration, African American artists took pride in their intellectual expertise (Bloom, 2004). It is critical to note that the event of the Great Migration influence the advancement of the Harlem Renaissance.

James Weldon Johnson once said that "Harlem is indeed the great Mecca for the sight-seer; the pleasure seeker, the curious, the adventurous, the enterprising, the ambitious and the talented of the whole Negro world."("Harlem Renaissance") When one thinks of the Harlem Renaissance, one thinks of the great explosion of creativity bursting from the talented minds of African-Americans in the 1920s. Although principally thought of as an African-American literary movement, the Harlem Renaissance's influence extended through every form of culture: art, dance, music, theatre, literature, history, and politics. Along with the great contribution this period made towards art and entertainment,

Taking place from the 1920’s to the 1940’s, a well-known period of time where black people’s ideas, morals, and customs were adapted and developed was known as the Harlem Renaissance. The main focus of the era for the African Americans was to establish some sort of identity and self-expression through literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts. The story behind this began in 1890 when African American slaves migrated from the rural South to the urban North as they thrashed their way to freedom. Most of them migrated to New York, particularly in the district of Harlem (Bolarinwa). Harlem was characterized as “not merely the largest Negro community in the world, but the first concentration in history of so many diverse elements of Negro

During the 1920?s, a ?flowering of creativity,? as many have called it, began to sweep the nation. The movement, now known as ?The Harlem Renaissance,? caught like wildfire. Harlem, a part of Manhattan in New York City, became a hugely successful showcase for African American talent. Starting with black literature, the Harlem Renaissance quickly grew to incredible proportions. W.E.B. Du Bois, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes, along with many other writers, experienced incredible popularity, respect, and success. Art, music, and photography from blacks also flourished, resulting in many masterpieces in all mediums. New ideas began to take wings among circles of black intellectuals. The

The Harlem Renaissance era is known for its rich culture and being the source for many African American breakthrough artists such as Alain Locke,W.E.B DuBois, and Ethel Waters. . Whether it be the diversity of music, drama, art, or literature, it’s surely present during that period of time and still is today. Many questions about this time period include “How was Harlem life like back then?” “What is the Harlem Renaissance?”, and “How did it influence and impact future generations?” although, they’re quite intricate questions, there are many resources available to help understand this time period and its impact and influence as of today. The most important thing to understand is that the Harlem Renaissance artistic breakthroughs tremendously influenced other artists during and after that time period.

After World War I had ended in 1918, the United States of the 1920s and the first half of the 1930s saw the explosion of a new cultural, social, and artistic movement; a rebirth of the arts more famously known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance took place in Harlem, the northeastern part of New York City’s Manhattan borough. Nevertheless, Harlem was only a symbolic capital of the movement, as an eruption of black creativity could had also been seen in other major US cities like Chicago and Washington DC, as well as in international art centers like Paris and London. At the time, the movement was better known as ‘’The New Negro Movement’’, named after Alain Locke’s 1925 anthology. The period saw a blossoming of the African American

“The opportunity for passing during the colonial and pre-Civil War eras most often resulted from the mating of slave owner and slave followed by additional whitening and inbreeding of mulatto offspring who were then able to slip virtually unnoticed into the dominant society” (“The Passing of Passing”). “Passing” is a concept that has many connotations within the black community, which include a range of meanings such as preservation, assimilation and deception in the black community. During the period of American slavery and those that followed, passing began as a method of survival, but some would argue that it became a means of convenience. The ideas of double-consciousness and racial duality were common themes in literature during the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was a black-American cultural movement that spanned from 1920s to 1930s and characterized literature, music, and art. The movement played a significant role in the recognition of the intellectual contributions and struggles of African-Americans, which would later lead to the Civil Rights Movement as well provide America with beautiful and positive images of the black people. The renaissance had common characteristics, for instance, the conveyance of modern black life experiences in the urban North, the impacts of institutional racism, black identity, and slavery influence. Further, the movement inspired many future black intellectuals in Africa, America, and the Caribbean.

The term ‘‘Harlem Renaissance’’ refers to the efflorescence of African-American cultural production that occurred in New York City in the 1920s and early 1930s. One sometimes sees Harlem Renaissance used interchangeably with ‘‘New Negro Renaissance,’’ a term that includes all African Americans, regardless of their location, who participated in this cultural revolution. Followers of the New Negro dicta, which emphasized blacks’ inclusion in and empowerment by American society, were undeniably spread throughout the nation, and most major cities had pockets of the African-American elite that W. E. B. Du Bois dubbed the ‘‘Talented Tenth.’’ Nevertheless, New York City was, arguably, the most crucial