preview

The Harlem Renaissance By Langston Hughes

Good Essays

“I swear to the Lord I still can 't see Why Democracy means Everybody but me..” This is a quote from a well-known poet by the name of Langston Hughes who served as a prominent figure in African American history and is known for maintaining a significant role in one of the most culturally influential periods for African Americans -The Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance describes a significant era in time where hundreds or artists, writers and musicians living in Harlem came together to form a vibrant, creative community. Hughes along with many other talented and innovative African American creators and politicians such as Marcus Garvey, Zora Neal Hurston and Jean Toomer used their voices, words, instruments and paint brushes from …show more content…

Consequently, I found that there is reasoning behind his name not being prominent when discussing black history, culture and identity. That is due to his belief that African Americans were in no way set apart from white americans and had no culture or identity of their own which alienated him from the black community. Even though George Schuyler was African American he was opposed to African American ordeals and often critiqued other African Americans in their efforts to fight injustice and inequality. Being that he was a prolific writer, many would think he would use his skills to bring light to the many issues facing African Americans during this era. However, Schuyler did not use his skills and influence like many African Americans to shed light on the issues of segregation but instead to disintegrate other African Americans’ attempts at doing so. In this day in age, Schyler would be deemed an “Uncle Tom” or a black person who is eager to win the approval of white people and willing to cooperate with them, due to his decision to demoralise his own race while refusing to acknowledge the issues they faced.

Within his article “ The Negro-Art Hokum” Schyler makes several statements which automatically earned the article my opposing opinion. The first statement that caught my attention described his belief that “it is sheer nonsense to talk

Get Access