How the Harlem Renaissance Influenced Art, Music, and Literature
The Harlem renaissance was the spark of creativity and the first chance for the African American culture to express and create a new image for themselves in society. Originally called the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance was a literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920s and 1930s described as the "spiritual coming of age" in which the black community was able to seize upon its "first chances for group expression and self determination." Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. Social change may include changes in nature, social institutions, social behaviours, or social relations. Examples
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“This can be proven through an exploration of literature, art, and music within the Harlem Renaissance”
The Harlem Renaissance was a transformable period in time when poetry changed a nation of African-Americans to an incredible level. Langston Hughes was one of the leading black writers in that time period, and wrote many different types of literature. He wrote, and created a new literary art form called jazz poetry. Literature is a powerful element that can inspire, teach, and entertain. All three of these words lead to social change. David Walker was one of many African American writers who succeeded in inspiring, teaching, and entertaining when he wrote. He was among the early African American protest writers who was against slavery. He also created an appeal on the slavery issue. He knew that he would spark an uprising, but he wanted to see a change. According to Walker, “"America is as much our country, as it is yours.--Treat us like men, and there is no danger but we will all live in peace and happiness."(Walker, 1) Though he writes to try
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In 1936, Robert Johnson created a song called “Crossroad Blues.”(Johnson, 1) In this song he describes how he’s sold his soul to the devil and how he is recovering from it. This song has a chilled and regretful tone to it so the audience could feel his emotions throughout the song. “I went to the crossroad fell down on my knees, I went to the crossroad fell down on my knees.”(Johnson, 1) This line is repeated throughout the whole song so there is a deep meaning to it. The Crossroads is where he doesn’t know where to go next and is asking “lord for mercy.” “Fell down on my knees”(Johnson, 1) means he’s helpless and he’s pleading to his lord. This was the true real meaning of blues at the time. Another spiritual song from the 1900s is “Wade In the Water”(Jenkins, 1), by Ella Jenkins. In the song, there are many secret spiritual codes that the author is trying to convey. “God’s gonna trouble the water.”(Jenkins, 1) This literally meant for slaves to go in the water so the dog catchers don’t sniff their trail. Slaves would often escape in the rivers. One of the most important figures in slave history, Harriet Tubman, sang this to slaves so they would know what to do. Furthermore, Music was a great way to express and voice your opinions on issues because music has emotion and a vibe to
That’s when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artist, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers”(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). African Americans writers during this time was capturing the beauty of black lives. Blacks were discovering many reasons to have pride in their race. Racial pride was helping them achieve equality in society. People were starting to write the way they wanted, instead of the ways whites wanted. Creating their
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and artistic movement inspired by African American artists, writers and musicians. The movement demanded recognition of overwhelming talents in the arts, literature, and music. For the first time in history, African Americans earned status, respect, and credibility in a world powered by white. Black musicians brought the stylings of Jazz and blues, while writers and artists took to depicting “black problems” and ways of life. The practice, previously unknown to traditional Anglo literature, quickly became highly regarded in worlds that transcended skin color. It was both a means to reach out and connect as a color-coded brotherhood, and provided insight into the life of black
Langston Hughes wrote during a very critical time in American History, the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote many poems, but most of his most captivating works centered around women and power that they hold. They also targeted light and darkness and strength. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, both explain the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. They both go about it in different ways.
"Harlem was like a great magnet for the Negro intellectual, pulling him from everywhere. Or perhaps the magnet was New York, but once in New York, he had to live in Harlem"(Hughes, The Big Sea 1940). When one is describing a “fresh and brilliant portrait of African American art and culture in the 1920s (Rampersad 1994),” the Harlem Renaissance would be the most precise postulation. The Harlem Renaissance proved to America that African Americans also have specialized talents and should also be able to exhibit their gifts. The Harlem Renaissance also obtained the notoriety expeditiously that participants of this movement needed to modify America’s perspective of black environments. To sum up, the Harlem Renaissance “New Negro Movement” was a cultural movement that celebrated black life and culture. This movement assisted in gaining a new significance and vigorous race relation in the United States; it awakened black communities all over the world-- especially Harlem to utilize their gifts and talents and make the best of it.
Poetry was another prominent form of expression during the Harlem Renaissance era. Poetry served as another form of self expression for African-Americans, similar to that of Jazz and the Blues. This form of media served the same (or a very much similar) as music did, Some notable poets include the likes of Langston Hughes, who is considered by some to be one of the most important and influential Harlem Renaissance poets of the time, James Weldon Johnson, and Claude McKay. Most notable of the three is, poet and intellectual, Langston Hughes who , in addition to writing books and plays, served to spread the emotions of African-Americans as well as himself and to make clear the ambitions and dreams of the American people within the United States. As Stated by Concordia Online Education, ”Hughes wrote novels, plays and short stories, but it is his emotional, heartfelt poems that expressed the common experiences of the culture of black people for which he is most
...tunities, the Harlem Renaissance spanned a cultural movement which flourished art, music, and literature within the African-American community. When World War I ended, many African-American soldiers struggled with respect from white Americans when they returned home from days of battling and hard work they served developing an identity of the “New Negro.” The “New Negro” attitude challenged the intrusiveness and racism African-Americans encountered from the stereotypes white people shamed upon them. By rejecting and refusing to imitate the styles of Europeans and white Americans, the Harlem Renaissance was a movement to celebrate creativity and nobility throughout African-Americans. Without the powerful influences and creativity of the Harlem Renaissance, we wouldn’t have the films, music, fashion, excitement, and entertainment we see throughout the world every day.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
During the 1920's and 30’s, America went through a period of astonishing artistic creativity, the majority of which was concentrated in one neighborhood of New York City, Harlem. The creators of this period of growth in the arts were African-American writers and other artists. Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the period know as the Harlem Renaissance. With the use of blues and jazz Hughes managed to express a range of different themes all revolving around the Negro. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance, helping to create and express black culture. He also wrote of political views and ideas, racial inequality and his opinion on religion. I believe that Langston Hughes’ poetry helps to capture the era know as the Harlem Renaissance.
"The Harlem Renaissance - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great rebirth for African American people and according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the “Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s.” Wikipedia also indicates that it was also known as the “Negro Movement, named after the 1925 Anthology by Alan Locke.” Blacks from all over America and the Caribbean and flocked to Harlem, New York. Harlem became a sort of “melting pot” for Black America. Writers, artists, poets, musicians and dancers converged there spanning a renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was also one of the most important chapters in the era of African American literature. This literary period gave way to a new type of writing style. This style is known as “creative literature.” Creative literature enabled writers to express their thoughts and feelings about various issues that were of importance to African Americans. These issues include racism, gender and identity, and others that we...
The American civil war was a disaster for the Confederates in the south. After the war leaving many soldiers died and much of the south destroyed. Earlier the Renaissance, African Americans remained actually nothing but slaves who were granted liberty. The Harlem Renaissance helped African Americans found their individualities as artistically enriched individuals who were well worthy of a place in American culture. the Harlem Renaissance, African
... The Harlem Renaissance was a time of growth and development for African-Americans. They wrote novels, performed in clubs, and created the genre of Jazz. However, the Renaissance was imprisoned by its flaws. Rather than celebrating the unique culture of African-American’s, it oftentimes caters to what the White Americans would want to see and hear.
The Harlem Renaissance refers to a prolific period of unique works of African-American expression from about the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Although it is most commonly associated with the literary works produced during those years, the Harlem Renaissance was much more than a literary movement; similarly, it was not simply a reaction against and criticism of racism. The Harlem Renaissance inspired, cultivated, and, most importantly, legitimated the very idea of an African-American cultural consciousness. Concerned with a wide range of issues and possessing different interpretations and solutions of these issues affecting the Black population, the writers, artists, performers and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance had one important commonality: "they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective." This included the use of Black folklore in fiction, the use of African-inspired iconography in visual arts, and the introduction of jazz to the North.[i] In order to fully understand the lasting legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, it is important to examine the key events that led to its beginnings as well as the diversity of influences that flourished during its time.
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes opened the doors to African American art. Throughout history, there has been a lot of issues with racial inequality. During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans wanted to prove they were just as intelligent, creative, and talented as white Americans. Langston Hughes was one of the people who played an influential part in the Harlem Renaissance. His poem “Harlem” painted a very vivid picture of his life and his outlook on the society he lived in.
During the Harlem Renaissance, African-Americans had also fought to end racism and violence towards their race. Groups who fought for those can be found today such as the “Black Lives Matter” movement. “The Black Lives Matter Global Network is a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” (“About” 1). In other words, this is a movement where black people fight to be treated equally as others. The Black Lives Matter movement relates to the Harlem Renaissance because both these movements have/had a goal of changing the way people view African Americans so that they could be treated equally. Another way The Harlem Renaissance can be seen in modern art and culture is for example the actor and rapper Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott and his song “Land of the free”. In his song, he states “..I feel my ancestors arrested inside of me It's like they want me to shoot my chance and change society But how do I go about it? Tell me where I start?..” (“Land of the Free”, Scott). In other words he talks about the legacy of his ancestors living inside him and contemplating on how to change society. This relates back to the Harlem Renaissance because during the movement, there was change in black culture and pride and this songs quote