Harlem Renaissance

There was an explosion of culture in Harlem the great migration helps get cultural renewal for the people in New York City. When African Americans relocated, they seek jobs and an overall better way of life. Critics however questioned whether the Harlem Renaissance really met its goals for giving blacks a new identity. Due to literary roots, black owned magazines and newspapers flourished freeing African Americans. It was a good time for a cultural celebration; African Americans had faced slavery and oppression.

The Harlem Renaissance In Harlem between the 1920’s and 1930’s the African American culture flourished, especially in areas such as music, art, literature, dance, and even in film. This soon became known as the Harlem Renaissance. With the entire positive and the negative situations of this time period the African Americans still seemed to have it all. The Harlem Renaissance came about because of the changes that had taken place in the African American community after the abolition of slavery because of World War I and the social and cultural changes in early 20th century in the United States. After harsh conditions for African Americans after the Plessy vs. Ferguson Trial many of them decided to move to the North to New York.

Just like the European renaissance, the Harlem renaissance was the rebirth of a culture. This expressed and inspired artists, literature, poetry, music, dance, and many other artistic hobbies and talents that people could think of (Crash Course). This also became a social and political movement as well. This era defined what it meant to become a person of color, American, and an artist altogether. This period was very important to the black community because it helped them expressed what it meant to be black in America.

Originally referred to as the “New Negro Movement”, the Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the early twentieth century. It was started by the Great Migration of blacks to the North during World War I. This period resulted in many people coming forth and contributing their talents to the world, inspiring many. One of the poets of this time, Jessie Redmon Fauset, was one of those who wrote about the life of blacks and life in general during this time period. She used her good and bad past experiences as influences for her works.

Many things came about during the Harlem Renaissance; things such as jazz and blues, poetry, dance, and musical theater. The African-American way of life became the “thing.” Many white people came to discover this newest art, dancing, music, and literature. The Great Migration of African-American people from the rural South to the North, and many into Harlem was the cause of this phenomenon. Harlem was originally a Dutch settlement. Harlem became one of the largest African- American communities in the United States, and during the Harlem Renaissance became a center for art and literature.

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.

Rise Up!The Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was the most famous black people artistic movement in the Modern U.S history. The Renaissance actually is a really useful way to create the importance identity for African Americans. Also it pushed white Americans to reconsider the importance of a ethic group too long for being inferior. The Renaissance also best remembered as the explosion of creativity from African Americans in the 1920s. Although it considered as an African American literary movement, the Harlem Renaissance is way beyond the fine arts music, books, dance and poetry.

They greatly influenced the Jazz age and, this cultural burgeoning helped give them a positive reputation among other cultures. They brought something into America that was completely new; something that introduced variety in their otherwise, culturally uniform lives. The dominant black population in Harlem further assisted their cul... ... middle of paper ... ...ies, and helped African American culture evolve. If the renaissance never happened, things would probably be different today. Many American traditions arose from the Harlem Renaissance.

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 o... ... middle of paper ... ...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, had a positive outcome on African Americans by allowing them to conquer the social construct placed upon their race and achieve success by revealing their inner dignity. Works Cited English, Daylanne K. “Selecting the Harlem Renaissance.” Critical Inquiry 25 (1999): 807-821.

Also called the New Negro Renaissance, it was a period in history when talented African American writers produced volumes of literary works. This period was characterized by many important themes. The first theme was migration; many African Americans migrated to large cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Harlem. The Harlem Renaissance, the literary movement we are discussing was named so because Harlem became heavily populated with African Americans thus becoming the epicenter for this literary and artistic movement (Gates Jr. and McKay). Another theme of this period was he regeneration of black culture, folk traditions, and character.