Harlem Renaissance: The Strange Fruit By Billie Holiday

Harlem Renaissance Essay

For centuries, African Americans endured unjustified oppression and stereotypes. Starting in Harlem, New York, the Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and political movement and a time for African Americans to redefine their image. It was when they developed and explored new and different forms of creative expression that would reflect on how their race had been treated. Through literature, art, and music, artist of the Harlem Renaissance used these forms as an outlet to express their feelings and to embrace black culture which ultimately lead to social change.

Artists used literature in the Harlem Renaissance to embrace black culture and to illustrate the struggle of living as an African American in America.

To begin with, Langston Hughes was an important literary figure during this movement that encouraged racial pride in his works. In his poem, “I, Too”, he remarks, “I am the darker brother / They send me to eat in the kitchen / when company comes / But I laugh / And I eat well / And grow strong/ I too am America” (Hughes, I Too). Even though African Americans are not treated as equals due to their skin color, he claims he is no different than anyone else and does not let that stop him. This literary icon was vital to the Harlem Renaissance and helped bring about social change because Hughes enlighten African Americans to take pride in their culture and promoted equality in his writings even with all the agony their race had went through. Next, David Walker, an abolitionist, served as another example of a writer that contributed greatly to the Harlem Renaissance. In his appeal, he argues that African Americans deserve the same rights as white Americans. He claims, "God has been pleased to give us two eyes, two hands, two feet, and some sense in our heads as well as they. They have no more right to hold us in slavery then we have to hold them,”(Walker, (title of appeal )). This quote advocates for the equality of African Americans and states their rights as equal citizens in America. Although David Walker did not live during the Harlem Renaissance, his appeal greatly contributed to this movement and social change because he urged African Americans to resist oppression regardless of the risk, and to inform white Americans of the great moral and religious failure of slavery. Overall, literature gave Africans to express themselves which also led to socisal change.
An additional aspect of the Harlem Renaissance that helped bring about change was art. For instance, Thomas Wedgewood was an artist that greatly impacted this movement. In his painting, he depicts how slaves were dehumanized in America. The painting shows a kneeling slave whose hands and feet are shackled to the ground with a banner around him printed Am I Not A Man or A Brother (Wedgewood). This painting portrays the struggle of African Americans trying to gain their freedom. Additionally, this piece of art contributed to the Harlem Renaissance and social change because Wedgewood freely expressed his talent to show the struggle of African Americans through talking about the history, culture, and oppression. Next, Aaron Douglas’s painting Aspiration, is another example of art that contributed to social change. His uses of various symbols aids in showing the desire for freedom felt by slaves. Furthermore, the painting shows three slaves holding tools on a hill. One slave is pointing towards a building and one is sitting alone with a book. The painting also includes the hands of numerous slaves that are shackled to the bottom, never to receive the freedom they deserve. In the center of the painting lies the north star, which stands as a symbol of freedom and guidance for the slaves. The pain and the suffrage that was expressed in the art invoked sympathy for the African Americans which sped up the process of social change. Overall, artwork showed how African Americans were treated in society.
Music is another component of the Harlem Renaissance that contributed to social change.

For example, Billie Holiday’s song “The Strange Fruit”, protested the lynching of African Americans. She sings, "Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze / Here is fruit for the crows to pluck / For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck / For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop" (lines 9-12). Her use of metaphors help listeners understand the pain that African Americans went through. Essentially, Holiday’s song struck so much emotion and perfectly portrayed the suffrage of African-Americans and thus promoted social change. Moreover, “Roll Jordan Roll” written by Charles Wesley, was a song sung by slaves that are about them seeking freedom. It is said: ”I said roll, Jordan, roll / Roll, Jordan, roll / My soul ought to rise in heaven, Lord / For the year when Jordan rolls” (lines 5-8). This song was sung to spread hope among others slaves. “Roll, Jordan, Roll” alludes to the Biblical reference of the River Jordan, which Israelites used to escape from Egyptians to enter the Promised Land. The River Jordan can be interpreted as The Mississippi River or The Ohio River to signify a direction of an escape. If they used these rivers, they were able to flee to Canada to be free. Therefore, this song contributes to social change because slaves sang this song to represent the crossing from persecution to freedom (Historical Society). As a result, music played an important outlet of expression for African Americans because it argued against social injustice by showing their struggles faced by African

Americans.
Overall, artists in the Harlem Renaissance invoked social change through literature, art, and music to emphasize the struggle African-Americans faced in America. Writers used literature to fight for their rights. Artists used art to express their feelings and cause sympathy. Music was another way for them to illustrate the difficulty of living in America and to express hope. These different artistic elements blended together to build a strong message of change and hope for African-Americans. All in all, the Harlem Renaissance had a profound impact on African-American culture and brought extreme social change.