Blacks in America: Tolerant to Revolution of the Harlem Renaissance

Blacks in America from 1900 to 1920 were more tolerant of their living situations and the near abolishment of their basic human rights than the more educated and vocal blacks of the Harlem Renaissance period in New York from 1920 to 1930. This paper will show how and explain why; blacks from 1900-1920 were more tolerant of their situation in America than those who launched the revolution of the Harlem Renaissance from 1920-1930. According to Gordon D. Morgan, “The Harlem Renaissance was essentially an attempt to create a new identity for Black people. One which would have them apologizing neither for their color nor for their former Status as slaves” (Morgan, p. 214). This essay will investigate the forces both internally in the communities that affected the thinking of Black people of these two time periods as well as the external factors brought about by governments’ and other organizations’ oppressive tactics designed to prevent the evolution of Blacks in America. These two time periods were both oppressive to Black people, but those living in Harlem, New York from 1920 until 1930 found ways to express themselves through the arts at a level that had never been seen in the Black community, and through their artistic voice found freedom.
The thoughts and attitudes of Blacks in the early 1900s differed tremendously from that of Blacks in Harlem, New York during the Harlem Renaissance. In the early 1900s, most Blacks still lived in the rural South, but this was changing. The atmosphere in the post reconstruction south had rekindled a white movement that sought to subdue any efforts of advancement by Blacks. Jim Crow laws in the segregated south blocked blacks from participation in government. The Judicial decision of Plessey vs....

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... from what was experienced in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. Black thinking during these two time periods was guided by the surrounding culture in both instances, but the prevailing struggles in the rural south and the industrial north during the early 1900s made Blacks during this time more excepting of their environment. In this period, it is true that Blacks fled the south in great numbers, but the flight did not free them. In many cases, they found the same sort of hate they had just run from. During the 1900s to 1920s, this group did not have a strong political voice. They were not heard by America as being in pain, though they suffered immensely. Blacks in New York during the Harlem Renaissance on the other hand discovered their voice. They shouted from the stages and books and paintings look at me! See what I can do! I am black and I am finally free!