The Harlem Renaissance: The New Negro Movement

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The New Negro Movement, which was supported by the ideals of W.E.B. Dubois, was one of the paramount concepts within the Harlem Renaissance. This movement implied a refusal to submit to racial segregation and forthright support of African American culture. During the early 20th century in Harlem, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was created. In addition, the writers, poets and artists of the Harlem Renaissance began use the experiences of African American peoples as their muse. Many were inspired by Marcus Garvey’s “Back to Africa Movement”, which allowed them to become motivated by their anthropological roots and folklore in Africa (Bremer, 50). Jazz and blues music also became very popular as the voice …show more content…

He was a renowned sponsor to the movement as well as to American literature in the 20th century. His short stories, poems, and essays were deeply influenced by jazz and the experience of being African American. Bremer writes about the artists of Harlem, “Whether or not they happened to be living there at any particular time, the Harlem Renaissance writers regarded Harlem as their primary, symbolic home” (48). This was no expectation for Hughes, who was inspired by Harlem even when he was not physically there. His first major poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, explored his heritage. The poem was published in W.E.B. Dubois’s The Crisis. The poem “The Weary Blues” won a prize in 1921, and soon, in 1926, a volume of his poems based in Harlem Renaissance ideals were released under the same name. Rebecca L. Walkowitz, a doctoral student in English at Harvard University, states that Hughes, “wanted his writings to be recognized as ‘art’, and at the same time he sought to show that aesthetic standards are shaped by social institutions and racialized principles of judgment” (495). Jordan calls Hughes a “people’s artist” in fashion similar to Walt Whitman (860). Hughes wrote in vernacular style that was approachable and relatable to read. Through a sort of “double consciousness” and modernistic tendencies, the work of Langston Hughes was known by many of African Americans who were able to identify with his writings, as well as accepted as respected

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