The Harlem Renaissance : Contributions And Causes Of The Harlem Renaissance

During the early 1920’s, African American artists, writers, musicians, and performers took part in a cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. This migration took place after World War 1 and brought African Americans of all ages to the city of Harlem located in New York (Holt). There were many inspiring young artists; one of them in particular was Augusta Savage.

A great depression occurred in America and it affected everyone and everything negatively. Among all the events that occurred before the great depression was the Harlem renaissance. The great depression would sadly bring this renaissance to a slow and eventually end it. Although the great depression would end the Harlem renaissance it would not occur immediately because individual people would continue it and even be influenced by the effects of the Great Depression.

The Harlem Renaissance was an African-American creative and intellectual crusade that thrived throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The crusade was based in Harlem, New York, but its inspiration stretched throughout the country and even the world. After the Civil War, huge quantities of African-Americans traveled to northern metropolitan areas, like New York and Chicago. Harlem a neighborhood that was situated near Manhattan became one of the primary endpoint for many of these African Americans, and it was here that a distinctive way of life developed for this group. Harlem renaissance was and is about the outpouring of creating communication and self-expression in ones arts that came about with new opportunities since the moving up north. It was also a time of reawakening for many like the modernist movement claimed to be; it was also a time of self- consciousness of the rethinking of the African culture and a principle part for the search of racial identity. In other words, it was a cultural place where the blacks had a pride to express their art. (Hutchinson, 2017) Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance was a place of expression of pride for the culture of the black. It was where artists, photographers, writers and alike spoke about their work implicitly. I will be looking at two poets of this area in particular and they are Langston Hughes and Claude McKay. I will discuss what part they played as well as their importance within the literary movement along with the major themes of

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,

I always found the 1920’s a very interesting decade as it went from a lively moment to a depressing and struggling one within a split second. Therefore, I believe that I learned all of the concepts pretty well. For instance, I learned about the Harlem Renaissance, the cause and effect of The Dust Bowl, and the lasting political argument of the New Deal in the United States. First of all, the Harlem Renaissance was a time period where African Americans began to embrace their roots and create art/works to reflect their experience living in US society. However, during the Great Depression many Americans were left unemployed. In addition to drastic unemployment rates, the environmental disaster, also known as the Dust Bowl, contributed to many

One of the most inspirational, upsetting, and hope inspiring pieces of history that America has to offer is the city of Harlem, New York. There might be many things that come to mind when one hears of the city Harlem such as the Renaissance, the ghetto, the hipsters, and even former President of the United States; Bill Clinton. While all of these things do embed the culture of Harlem it has feel from the heights the city once held it fell to the point where it was once even disowned by famous African American poet James Baldwin who was once seen as the city’s golden child. Even though Harlem has been through a lot of changes over the last century it is still a beautiful place and important to American history.

The Harlem Renaissance, was a big movement that happened in the northern part of New York city, were African American finally were able to share their art with the world, changing the culture of America. They expressed their art though painting, literature, dancing, and music, the music name specifically is Jazz. Harlem was once a white suburbia, that later down the road became greater in population of African Americans. During the First World War, the war opened a lot of good paying jobs opportunities to the citizen of the U.S. When the War broke out many African Americans finally had reason to move up north and get away from their poor environment in the south, hoping for a better place to race their families, a place to fulfil their dreams, and for a better life, this was called the second Great Migration. A lot of African American chose to move to mostly to Chicago, Detroit, and New York because these places were the top places other African American were already living, and lot of African American wanted to stay within their familiar culture.

In response to the Jim Crow laws, a massive stream of over a million African American migrants moved up north and out west during the 1910’s and 1920's, in search for high paying jobs during World War One and the chance to escape disenfranchisement and racism. However, when many blacks arrived up north they were introduced to new obstacles. Many migrants found themselves segregated into the ghettos of Chicago, Detroit, and Harlem.

The Harlem Renaissance was the first period in the history of the United States in which a group of black poets, authors, and essayist seized the opportunity to express themselves. The Great Migration was the movement of six million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North during 1916 to 1970. Driven from their homes by unsatisfactory economic opportunities and harsh segregationist laws, many African Americans headed north in search for a better future. Due to the aftermath of World War One , it brought many African Americans into the thriving New York City. Moreover, during the early 1920s the African Americans developed their own culture by the creation of art, music, literature, including the battle in fighting for their civil rights and the effect of the Great Depression.

 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, .  Claude McKay n.d., Poets.org, accessed 24 August 2015, .  Claude

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 early 1900s was a time marked with tragedy in America. Started and ended with the Great Depression in between, it was not America 's finest moment. Prohibition was in place, the Klu Klux Klan was still marching, and the Lost Generation was leaving for Paris. But despite the troubling times, people still found beauty and meaning in the world around them. They still created art and celebrated life. The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic and literary movement that developed a new black cultural identity through artistic expression. It fused African traditions with slave history and American culture, and revealed to the world what life was like as a black person in America.

The Great Migration from the South bought most of the blacks from the south to the black neighborhoods within the North and Midwest. Harlem became

In order to get a better understanding on how the Harlem Renaissance began, one must start with the Great Migration from the South to the North. Considered the largest migration in U.S. history, record numbers of African Americans started arriving in large numbers in urban areas from many parts of the rural South. This period was also known as the period of economic growth. Due to poor conditions in the South, the North represented hope and progress. As America was in conflict from World War I, the goal of the nation was to support the fight for democracy. And as the war progressed, there was a growing need to fill jobs due to labor shortages in the North. The North being the primary industrial, caused many jobs to become available, and large

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.