The Harlem Renaissance, also known as the New Negro Movement during its time, was a time for the birth of a prideful culture for African Americans. Although the movement took place in the city of Harlem, it’s musical, literary and artistic components were influential to individuals all around the world. African Americans who were previously depicted as uneducated by American Society were seen as a creative with versatile characteristics as a result of the movement. The movement primarily occurred as a result of “ the migration of 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West. This was also known as the Great Migration” (History.com Staff). The Great Migration was the movement of hundreds of …show more content…
thousands of African Americans from the South to cities in the North and West. Moving from the South gave African Americans more “political and Civil freedoms”. Additionally, “African Americans brought intellectual and artistic expressions known as the Harlem Renaissance” (History.com Staff). This explosion of cultural pride was illustrated through art, music, theatre, and literature. Artists such as Aaron Douglas, Lois Mailou Jones, and Jacob Lawrence painted pictures with bold colors often portraying African Americans as joyful, cultured, and well dressed. These paintings contradicted the barbaric image many white people had of African Americans. Claude McKay, a Harlem Renaissance poet, urged fellow African Americans to fully embrace who they are as a individual and how they represent their race, culture and heritage.
Claude Mckay represented the idea of the Harlem Renaissance by “encouraging others to accept themselves and be who you are without shame” (“Claude Mckay”). He too inspiration from painters of the Harlem Renaissance and centered his poetry on creating an accurate image of the African American race. For example, McKay’s novel, Home to Harlem, was about a black soldier and his return to Harlem. The novel gave readers his view on Harlem and its ways. Home to Harlem, and the bulk of McKay’s poetry, created impacting opinions and shifted the way people saw Harlem, and black life. His most famous and influential poem, “If We Must Die”, gained a great deal of attention throughout America and parts of the world. This poem reassured McKay’s impact and influence on the Harlem Renaissance. “If We Must Die” was a strong piece on the way blacks were being treated, calling out white men as dogs. He pushed towards the idea of fighting and standing up for their rights. McKay, living in Harlem at the time, witnessed the brutality in which blacks were subject to at the hands of whites. There was so much bloodshed at the hands of the white people that the time period was coined as the Red Summer of 1919. The "Baptism," "The White House," and "The Lynching," were sonnets which were all inspired by McKay’s anger towards the mistreatment of African
Americans. Popular Harlem Renaissance figures like Langston Hughes coined McKay as a leading inspirational force within the movement, but McKay still faced criticisms due to his physical absence in Harlem for the majority of the movement. Although McKay lived outside of the country for much of the period, it is much more relevant that “he was able to show new directions for the black novel” and is “rightly regarded as one of the harbingers of the Harlem Renaissance is undisputed” (“Claude McKay”). Whenever McKay returned to the United States from his travels, he would dive into efforts to help blacks and laborers. In 1921, for example, “McKay became involved in the Universal Negro Improvement Association and produced several articles for its publication, Negro World”(“Claude McKay”). Claude McKay may not have been the model reformer during the Harlem Renaissance, but his philanthropic efforts and his poetry shaped the future of black America greatly.
Claude McKay real name is Festus Claudius McKay was an important person in the Harlem Renaissance, a prominent literary movement of the 1920s. His poems are traditional in technique and on the sentimental side in subject and tone.1
In the 1920s, the great migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North sparked an African–American cultural renaissance that took its name from the New York City neighborhood of Harlem but became a widespread movement in cities throughout the North and West. Also known as the Black Renaissance or the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics turned their attention seriously to African–American literature, music, art and politics(Hornsby, 1993; Hazen, 2004).
Many other African American people were becoming famous through theatres, music, art , and literature. The people that were directly involved with the renaissance were often more of the educated and middle class blacks (Jackson 2) . During the 1920's in the United States the Great Migration was going on. This would cause many African Americans to move away from the south and head north. By doing this, this caused them to populate more and more in New York, which was the heart of the Harlem Renaissance. (Jackson 2).
During the Harlem Renaissance, both Claude McKay and Langston Hughes developed an analysis of their time period through poetry. Each writer has a different poem but allude to the same theme. The White House by Claude McKay and I, Too, Sing, America by Langston Hughes makes a relevant comparison to the racial inequality during the 1900s. Both make a point about how White America has withheld equal rights from Blacks or Black America, making it hard for them to survive. More specifically, The White House speaks about the type of oppression being experienced during racial segregation and trying to triumph over it while I, Too, Sing, America speak about what created their oppression and envisioning change in the future.
The Harlem Renaissance was a movement in the 1920s in which African American writers, painters and musicians flourished, changing American culture. It was a time of cultural celebration because African Americans had gone through centuries of slavery and other social problems. The Harlem Renaissance helped
Originally referred to as the “New Negro Movement”, the Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the early twentieth century. It was started by the Great Migration of blacks to the North during World War I. This period resulted in many people coming forth and contributing their talents to the world, inspiring many. One of the poets of this time, Jessie Redmon Fauset, was one of those who wrote about the life of blacks and life in general during this time period. She used her good and bad past experiences as influences for her works.
During and after World War One , the Great Migration caused many African Americans to move from rural areas of the country to the northern states. Many people flocked to Harlem, New York in hopes that they too would become a part of the culture phenomenon taking place. This culture boom became known as The Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was an influential movement that “kindled a new black culture identity “(History.com). With the turning of the age it seemed the perfect opportunity for Afro- Americans to create a new identity.
The Harlem Renaissance is the name given to a period at the end of World War I through the mid-30s, in which a group of talented African-Americans managed to produce outstanding work through a cultural, social, and artistic explosion. Also known as the New Negro Movement. It is one of the greatest periods of cultural and intellectual development of a population historically repressed. The Harlem Renaissance was the rebirth of art in the African-American community mostly centering in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s. Jazz, literature, and painting emphasized significantly between the artistic creations of the main components of this impressive movement. It was in this time of great
“Poetry, like jazz, is one of those dazzling diamonds of creative industry that help human beings make sense out of the comedies and tragedies that contextualize our lives” This was said by Aberjhani in the book Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotation from a Life Made Out of Poetry. Poetry during the Harlem Renaissance was the way that African Americans made sense out of everything, good or bad, that “contextualized” their lives. The Harlem Renaissance, also known as the Black Renaissance or New Negro Movement, was a cultural movement among African Americans. It began roughly after the end of World War 1 in 1918. Blacks were considered second class citizens and were treated as such.
The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.
Many historians contribute to the Harlem Renaissance, the beginning of the civil rights movement. With the Civil War ending, African Americans were greatly displaced. The feeling of displacement came about for the African Americans because they were now legally free citizens, but they were still trapped in a country and culture that was not accepting of African Americans. After trying to find their place among the rest of America, the African Americans began a movement that has become known as "The Great Migration." The great migration was a mass exodus of African Americans from around America, to Harlem, New York.
The Harlem Renaissance, originally known as “the New Negro Movement”, was a cultural, social, and artistic movement during the 1920’s that took place in Harlem. This movement occurred after the World War I and drew in many African Americans who wanted to escape from the South to the North where they could freely express their artistic abilities. This movement was known as the Great Migration. During the 1920’s, many black writers, singers, musicians, artists, and poets gained success, including Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Du Bois. These creative black artists made an impact on society in the 1920’s and an impact on the Harlem Renaissance.
During the Great Migration, an influx of African Americans fled to Northern cities from the South wishing to flee oppression and the harshness of life as sharecroppers. They brought about a new, black social and cultural identity- a period that later became known as the Harlem Renaissance. Originally the Harlem Renaissance was referred to as the “New Negro Movement” (Reader’s Companion). It made a huge impact on urban life. The Harlem Renaissance played a major role in African American art, music, poetic writing styles, culture and society.
Occurring in the 1920’s and into the 1930’s, the Harlem Renaissance was an important movement for African-Americans all across America. This movement allowed the black culture to be heard and accepted by white citizens. The movement was expressed through art, music, and literature. These things were also the most known, and remembered things of the renaissance. Also this movement, because of some very strong, moving and inspiring people changed political views for African-Americans. Compared to before, The Harlem Renaissance had major effects on America during and after its time.
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great rebirth for African American people and according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the “Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s.” Wikipedia also indicates that it was also known as the “Negro Movement, named after the 1925 Anthology by Alan Locke.” Blacks from all over America and the Caribbean and flocked to Harlem, New York. Harlem became a sort of “melting pot” for Black America. Writers, artists, poets, musicians and dancers converged there spanning a renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was also one of the most important chapters in the era of African American literature. This literary period gave way to a new type of writing style. This style is known as “creative literature.” Creative literature enabled writers to express their thoughts and feelings about various issues that were of importance to African Americans. These issues include racism, gender and identity, and others that we...