Lessons From The Harlem Renaissance Essay

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of cultural endeavors of intellectual and artistic African American leaders during the 1920s. It was a manifestation of embracing poetry, literature, music, art, film, fashion and all things synonymous with creativity. It begun during the end of World War 1, in a relatively small section in New York City and ended during the aftermath of The Great Depression. This was by far one of the most influential movements in African American culture. African Americans took pride in themselves and in their culture and wanted to showcase this through freedom of expression. Self-love in the “New Negro Movement” was monumental as it spread not only through Harlem, NY but also throughout the world. Innovators such as Zora Neale Hurston who was a novelist, anthropologist and folklorist gained recognition for 1925 short story “Spunk” helped spread the awareness. Archibald J. Motley’s bold and vibrant colors in his paintings reflected African Americans in a sophisticated manner, breaking down the negative typical stereotypes. The melodies of music legend Billy Holiday paved the way for manipulating phrasing and tempo of Jazz music. In this research paper I will go more in depth about the Harlem Renaissances. I 'm going to cover the significance of then and now, how it begun after World War 1,who were the influential people during that time period, literature/poetry, the Jazz Age, art, and how it ended due to the Great Depression.

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

History.com (2009) describes the Harlem Renaissance movement as “a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity.” The 1920s and 1930s emcompass a time in history where blacks found themselves ostracized from mainstream society. It was uncommon to see the expressions of black artistry in everyday life, especially on a literary level.

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]

During the Harlem Renaissance, all the politic works, theater and arts has sense of pride in the African American experience. Also, the politicians and artists at that period committed to create works that could uplift the African American’s social position.

During The Harlem Renaissance, artists and writers of the time period would express themselves through the experiences that they gain from the streets of Harlem. Claude McKay’s writings from the Harlem Renaissance demonstrates life during that time period by showing the Renaissance as “defined, and defied the boundaries of The Harlem Renaissance.”

The harlem renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic event that took place in Harlem, New York, in the early 1900’s.

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.)

According to Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, The development of the Harlem Renaissance was a result of two factors: First of all, the immigration that started during the war which gave African Americans the motivation to become more confident of who they are, and more responsible for their race and rights. “ They became defiant, bitter, and impatient.” They would not take silence and inequality as an answer. They expressed themselves through the Harlem Renaissance. The second reason is “the riots that followed World War I”. African Americans fighted

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of reinvention and creation for the black citizens of America. Throughout this period in history, black Americans invented new dances, new music genres, new styles and trends. However, one of their most important contributions to this time period was that of their literary contributions which publicly spoke about political and personal issues that authors faced as black citizens. Gwendolyn Bennett, a poet and fiction writer, was one of the main contributors to this movement.

“Mention of the Harlem Renaissance conjures up images of glitzy nightclubs, glamorous figures, great literary achievements, and the birth of new trends in painting and sculpture, as well as a growing intellectual movement.” It was the becoming of and the publicization of black culture that was born during times of enslavement. The Renaissance was the first opportunity that African Americans felt they had had to exhibit their culture and uniquely-black talents without fear of repercussion or prejudice; due to the sense of heritage identity granted to the African Americans by their collective Harlem settlement, it no longer mattered what racist whites thought of

Being one of the most influential times in African American history, the Harlem Renaissance helped individuals of the African American race and culture in a way that ultimately propelled them to a greater level in the artistic and literary world. All of this information is important to think about when reading this paper because the Harlem Renaissance has enabled African Americans to express their true feelings through the arts and it has also created a movement for other generations to follow as well as other races who extensively

Alaine Locke was amongst those who embraced while W.E.B DuBois rejected it. In her essay, “Styling, Profiling, and Pretending,” Gloria Joseph argues that during the era of the Harlem Renaissance, black male homosexuality was “not categorically ostracized, nor did he become totally invisible. The extent of derision and/or acceptance depended to a great extent how much he manifested his homosexuality.” George Chauncey argues that lines were drawn between “queer/fairies” and “men.” He asserts that homosexual behaviors became the label marker of “queer” around the middle of the century after World War II. For gay and bisexual black men, the Harlem Renaissance was a watershed moment because sexual identities and behaviors were more fluid than in the coming decades. For black women, respectability politics greatly affected their sexual expressions and behaviors. Whereas, Nugent openly wrote from a homosexual perspective, Dunbar-Nelson and other women of the time hid themselves, deciding not to write about homosexual lifestyles, behaviors, and relationships. This has contributed to their marginalization on the discourse on the intersectionality of race, gender, and

When thinking about the Harlem Renaissance, it is believed to be the golden period in the history to African Americans since it's manifested the music, literature, art and stage performance of the African American culture (Bloom, 2004). This period marked a notable moment due to White Americans acknowledging the enormous mental

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.