The Harlem Renaissance: The New Negro Movement

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During the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s, the Harlem Renaissance took place. This was a time when African American artists, poets, musicians, and writers came together to create what is known as the New Negro Movement, and to spread cultural expressions that inspired others to embrace their individuality. Cary D. Wintz, a professor of history at Texas Southern University, says, “The Harlem Renaissance is increasingly viewed through a broader lens that recognizes it as a national movement with connections to international developments in art and culture that places increasing emphasis on the non-literary aspects of the movement” (Wintz). This means that more and more people are gaining knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance and just how much it matters in today’s society. Many people view present-day Harlem as a place with poverty and crime, but 100 years ago it was the exact opposite. An explosion of pride was found within African Americans, and will always be remembered as a time to celebrate the uniqueness of black culture. …show more content…

This then caused African Americans to migrate to the North in search for work and a new life. This massive move was known as the Great Migration. More than five million southern blacks participated in this migration to avoid hate groups, unequal economic opportunities, harsh segregation laws, and more. Mathew Daneman from USA Today says that Davarian Baldwin, a Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Connecticut’s Trinity College explains, “The prospect of jobs added to the allure of Harlem and other areas of the industrialized North, but people also were motivated to migrate by Jim Crow laws and other racial oppression in the South” (Baldwin). This means that the desperate need to seek a happy and safe life was wanted by

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