During the 1920s, nearly one million blacks left the South in order to escape Jim Crow segregation and racial violence. The Great Migration, as it was called, caused the black population in urban centers to double. Harlem, in New York, was an urban ghetto that became known as the "capital" of black America. It's vibrant and cultural black community contributed greatly to New York's artistic side during the Harlem Renaissance.
Black writers, actors, and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance aimed to portray the roots of the black experience. This included Africa, the rural South, and the urban ghetto. The movement is often associated with the term "New Negro", for the black population began to reject stereotypes and portray new black values through their art and literature. Du Bois' Black Pride movement ensured that African American's cultural achievements didn't go unrecognized. He published many influential works as editor of the NAACP's journal, The Crisis.
Langston Hughes was one of the most influential writers of the Harlem Renaissance. His poetry was inspired by the rhythmic meter of blues and jazz instead of the style of traditional white poets. He earned a lot of attention for his poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" that was published in The Crisis in 1921. He went on to write about racial justice and political radicalism later in his career. Another poet and author of the Harlem Renaissance was Claude McKay, known for his powerful writings of protest. His poem "If We Must Die" urged African Americans to stand up for themselves and their rights after the race riots of 1919. His collection of poems titled Harlem Shadows was published in 1922 with the help of Du Bois' movement.
Jazz music was also an important contributor to black culture during the Harlem Renaissance. It was based on the idea of improvisation and exciting new rhythms. The Cotton Club in Harlem was famous for hosting jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, and drew large crowds each night. The music became popular among both black and white audiences.
I think your post is very concise and detailed! When researching it, I found that the Harlem Renaissance wasn't just centered in New York City; it was actually a very prominent nationwide movement that even impacted writers in Paris. I found it interesting that the movement wasn't initially called the Harlem Renaissance, but was called the "New Negro Movement". Also, it's fascinating to see that the jazz music and poetry that was created during the Renaissance is still admired now and many of the new trends created then are still around today.
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I found the explosion of art and culture prevalent during the Harlem Renaissance very interesting. Some other examples of this artistic boom was the reinvigorated presence of black painters during the time period. On such case was Aaron Douglass, who was termed the "Father of Black American Art." Others such as Augusta Savage created sculptures and small caricatures of African Americans. Such roles, while not pivotal, also contributed to the WPA workforce during the American depression.
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I really liked how your organized this post and included information about writers, musicians, and important figures. Another writer during the Harlem Renaissance was Zora Neale Hurston. I read her essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" in my English class and it was something completely different than what I expected but I ended up really enjoying it. She has a really optimistic outlook on her life which surprised me because during this time, I would think it would be hard to stay optimistic with all the racism that surrounds her. In her essay Hurston expresses how she is not ashamed to be black or of her culture and I think that really embodies the basis of Harlem Renaissance.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really informative post! It's super interesting to see how the Great Migration allowed for the Harlem Renaissance to occur. Also, I like how you outlined the different people involved in the movement - including intellectuals, poets, musicians, etc. One part of your post that stood out to me was about Langston Hughes because I had never heard of him before. Upon some more research, I found out that Langston tried especially hard to portray the lives of working-class blacks. In one of his essays, he wrote, "If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter", regarding the feats of the Harlem Renaissance.
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