The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and literary period of growth promoting a new African American cultural identity in the United States. The decade between 1920 and 1930 was an extremely influential span of time for the Black culture. During these years Blacks were able to come together and form a united group that expressed a desire for enlightenment. This renaissance allowed Blacks to have a uniform voice in a society based upon intellectual growth. The front-runners of this revival were extremely focused on cultural growth through means of intellect, literature, art and music. By using these means of growth, they hoped to destroy the pervading racism and stereotypes suffocating the African American society and yearned for racial and social integration. Many Black writers spoke out during this span of time with books proving their natural humanity and desire for equality.
In 1923 Jean Toomer’s Cane was published by the Boni and Liveright publishing company and received favorable reviews. The book was released during the heart of the Harlem Renaissance and promoted the encouragement and interest in African American culture.* For the next forty years, Cane was not printed and seemed to fade away as an influential book. Many publishers claimed Cane was too insubstantial to reprint and denied the revival of the book. In 1967 the book was finally reprinted. The reprinting came during a time known as The Second Renaissance. During The Harlem Renaissance and The Second Renaissance, both times of revival and rebirth of a culture, Toomer’s novel was printed. Thus showing the significance of the novel during times of resurrection for African American culture. The book explains how other races in the North and in...
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...social suppression and attain dreams by just believing. I argue Kabnis should be the face of the south for all blacks because he took control himself and bypassed all social constructs and created his own dream and his own path.
The only way for a restrained person to fulfill their fantasy is to shatter the limitations placed upon them and use their God given talents to conceive this dream. Jean Toomer is portraying himself through Ralph Kabnis. Toomer had a vision where his art would dominate the prejudices and societal limits undermining the inner talents each and every person has no matter the race. The Harlem Renaissance, with assistance from Cane, allowed African Americans to conquer the social construct placed upon their race and achieve success by reveling their talents.
Works Cited
Toomer, Jean. Cane. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988.
The Harlem Renaissance is a term used to describe the expansion and development of African American culture and history, particularly in Harlem. It is believed to have started around 1919, after World War I, and ended around the time of the great depression. During this time period African Americans writers, artists, musicians, and poets all gathered in Harlem and created a center for African American culture.
Prentice Hall Anthology of African American Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. 163-67. Print.
Gates, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. Print.
The "New Negro," the Black writers in 1920/30, tried to get out of the dominant white assimilation and practice their own tradition and identity in autonomous and active attitude. In virtue of their activities, the Harlem Renaissance became the time of sprouting the blackness. It offered the life of the black as the criterion to judge how well the democracy practices in America and to weigh the measure of the dream of America. Their vitality and artistic spirit, and dreams were so impressive that the Harlem of the 1920s has never been eluded out from the memory of American (Helbling 2).
.... In his life the restriction by the whites didn’t stop or discourage him from following his dream, which made him unique and outstanding. He was capable of thinking for himself, even though the whites had tried to “guide” him like the other blacks.
Acting as a powerful force in the Harlem Renaissance movement, Toomer centers this particular story on the themes of racism, social terrorism, and the search for racial identity in a shaken world. His distinct pride in African American culture is revealed by frequent references to African spirituals and other cultural aspects throughout the narration. In fact, the spiritual refrain from which the story derives its name is used in three different places in this short story. Near the beginning of the tale, Toomer paints a colorful picture that allows the reader a gli...
Harlem soon became known as the “capital of black America” as the amount of blacks in this community was very substantial. Many of the inhabitants of this area were artists, entrepreneurs and black advocates with the urge to showcase their abilities and talents. The ...
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
Kellner, Bruce, ed. The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the Era. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984
That’s when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artist, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers”(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). African Americans writers during this time was capturing the beauty of black lives. Blacks were discovering many reasons to have pride in their race. Racial pride was helping them achieve equality in society. People were starting to write the way they wanted, instead of the ways whites wanted. Creating their
Gates, Henry Louis Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company
James, Johson Weldon. Comp. Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 832. Print.
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.
Larsen, Nella. “Quicksand.” The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd ed .Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2004. 1085-1167. Print
The image of African-American’s changed from rural, uneducated “peasants” to urban, sophisticated, cosmopolites. Literature and poetry are abounded. Jazz music and the clubs where it was performed at became social “hotspots”. Harlem is the epitome of the “New Negro”. However, things weren’t as sunny as they appeared.