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The Harlem Renaissance 's Influence On People 's Views On African American Lifestyles Through Poetry Essay

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Travel back in time several centuries ago to the 1900’s and imagine how different life would be – oil lamps/candles, outhouses or one toilet shared between several people, movies known as “flickers” and lasting no longer than 10 minutes, no television, ice boxes as opposed to refrigerators, baseball being the main sport that people followed as opposed to football, and unless you were a White male, your lifestyle was not filled with many opportunities or rights. With slavery being abolished not too long ago, discrimination and segregation was still widely accepted and practiced. Life was much different back then. Although people were heavily being judged for the color of their skin, a movement called the Harlem Renaissance had a major influence on people’s views on African-Americans across the United States. The Harlem Renaissance created a new Black cultural identity through literature, music, theater, art, and politics. One of the leading voices was Langston Hughes, a writer whom wrote realistic portrayals, both suffering and victories of African-American lifestyles through poetry, short stories, novels, and plays. Through short, effective, and expressive words, Langston Hughes’s poetry promoted African-American culture and also addressed the oppression and injustice of African-Americans.
Our story starts from year 1916 to 1970, when more than 6 million African-Americans relocated from the Southern states to the Northern states in an epidemic known as the Great Migration.

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