Geraldine Mejia
Paper 1
An Explosion of Culture: The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that impacted New York City with creativity, and a completely different view of the African American. Also known as the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance occurred from the 1920’s until the 1930’s (Leininger-Miller, 2011). As its name states it occurred in Harlem Manhattan, however this influential movement was powerful enough to not be contained to one location. It occurred in other countries such as Paris, and in well known cities, such as Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Many of the talented individuals that arose during this period are still very well known for their intellectual and culture evoking contributions.
With the end of the American Civil War in 1965, many African Americans were looking for better employment and educational opportunities for themselves and their families. They did not expect to encounter racism, and the difficulties that were imposed in trying to achieve their self fulfilling goals. After the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, which stated that racial segregation was constitutionally acceptable, the living conditions for African Americans only got worse (Leininger-Miller, 2011). The lack of equality that the African Americans faced was quite prominent in the southern states, where most of them had gone to chase after their American dream. The southern states also became financially unstable as the cotton crops started getting infested with bolls weevils, dramatically lowering the labor needs in these farming areas. These two factors motivated millions of African Americans to migrate to the Northern states of the country (Leininger-Miller, 2011). They left the rural south states and settled in the urban north states where hostility towards African Americans still existed, but was considered to be much less powerful. This became known as the Great Migration, and accounted for more than seven million African Americans moving to the Northern States, New York being a prime location for their new beginnings.
The explosion of culture that occurred during the Harlem Renaissance broke many barriers, and introduced African American's in a completely different image that society had been accustomed to. It all began when the National Urban League opened its doors to African American writers, and published A Journal of Negro Life, featuring talented writers in every issue (The Biography Channel, 2011). The Harlem Renaissance had an extremely powerful literary movement in which twenty six novels, ten volumes of poetry, five broadway plays, and numerous essays and short stories (Leininger-Miller, 2011). One of the most influential writer of the movement was Langston Hughes. He incorporated social issues into his writing, and explored the role of the African American in the daily American life, and the African American as a talented artist. Another famous writer, Claude Mckay inspired African Americans to fight for their equal rights through his moving poetry (Ushistory.org, 2012). Many critically acclaimed fiction writers also emerged during this time period, including Jessie Redmon Fausst and Walter White. Fausset wrote In There Is Confusion, in which he spoke about the newly emerged black middle class, and how it was slowly transforming the New York culture. White is the author of The Fire in the Flint, in which he discussed the unfair practices of social oppression, and used gruesome detail to further express his message (Ushistory.org, 2012).
Hundreds of works of arts such as paintings, sculptures, and photographs were created during the Harlem Renaissance. The artist, just like the writers tried to present a different representation of the African American, and incorporate social issues that needed to be addressed. The most famous artist of the renaissance was Aaron Douglas, who created his own method of representing figures. He represented the African American in these dark tall figures, and created a sense of pride and spirituality (The Biography Channel, 2011). He completely changed the appearance of the African American, and his representation was widely accepted and adapted as an identification of the renaissance.
The best example of the impact of the Harlem Renaissance was the incredible transformation of Jazz. The sound of jazz had improved through a new method of playing the piano called The Harlem Stride (Ushistory.org, 2012). This new method changed the entire sound and style of jazz. This increased the popularity of jazz, causing thousands of people from New York City to attend live performances to witness this amazing new sound. The Cotton Club in Harlem had African American entertainers, who sang and composed jazz (The Biography Channel, 2011). Some of these famous singers included Betsy Smith and Billie Holiday who sang their hearts out and made jazz even more popular. The interesting thing about the jazz era was the fact that it attracted both whites and blacks. It broke the racial barrier and allowed the races to come together and enjoy the beautiful melodies of jazz.
The Harlem Renaissance was an incredible movement that completely changed the white's social view of the African American. The African American was no longer viewed as a barbaric animal that had no sense of education or value. The newly freed African Americans expressed their freedom and fought back oppression through the renaissance. They exposed themselves as educated individuals that were capable of bringing culture to New York City. Their writings, art work, and music brought about a sense of pride and union that challenged the art and minds of the white's. Although the Harlem Renaissance ended when the Great Depression hit the United States, its legacy lives forever on. A new way to express oneself through music, critically acclaimed art work and writing, and the paving of future civil right movements, were all the after effects of a powerful social changing movement.
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References
Harlem Renaissance. (2011). The Biography Channel Website. Retrieved
September 19, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/
harlemrenaissance
Leininger-Miller, T. (2011). Harlem Renaissance. Retrieved September 19, 2012
from http://www.oxfordartonline.com.molloy.idm.oclc.org/subscriber/art/
T2094335?q=harlem+renaissance&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit
Ushistory.org. (2012). The Harlem Renaissance. Retrieved September 20, 2012,
from http://www.ushistory.org/us/46e.asp
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