African American Culture Change Over Time

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The Change Over Time The art of expression has been around since the initial dawn of humanity. From hieroglyphics to the written word to the digital age, it has evolved and changed to correspond with the people living in the era. At the start of the 1920s, also known as the Roaring 20s, the Harlem Renaissance began. It was one of the first times in history where black culture took the spotlight. Music, art, poetry, and various subgenres of the three became wildly popular amongst the urban citizens. Amongst some of the poems that were created were “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” by Arna Bontemps and “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes, two pieces focusing on the history and change of African American lives while still connecting to their original roots. …show more content…

Together, these three pieces reflect the culture of their time period. Although “A Black Man Talks of Reaping,” “The Weary Blues,” and “Stride Towards Freedom” are from different time periods, they showcase the evolution of black culture through the power of character representation. Both “A Black Man talks of Reaping” and “The Weary Blues” are a byproduct of the Harlem Renaissance, forever shaping the way Americans created culture. Bontemps presents a representation of slavery in “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” when he states, “I scattered seed enough to plant the land in rows from Canada to Mexico/ but for my reaping only what the hand can hold at once is all that I can show” (Bontemps 5-8). He shows that through slavery, little reward were reaped. He uses the hyperbole of “Canada to Mexico” to highlight just how much work they did. By showing a character working as a slave, this piece brings

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