Rachel Renteria
Ms. Anastasia Coon
History of Theatre
January 18, 2018
Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange is a poet and playwright that has made waves with her literary works, pulling experience from her own life and struggles to create works of art. As a self-proclaimed “black feminist,” Shange brought forth feminist and racial themes in her work. Her work is intense, honest, real, and boundary pushing. Shange explored themes that most authors at her time wouldn't dare touch in fear of being ridiculed or pushed aside, not taken seriously. Shange, on the other hand, has zoomed to the top as a key part of the Black Arts Movement and, some would argue, in feminism as a whole. Her work has even been adapted into a movie directed by Tyler Perry which
…show more content…
The Black Arts Movement was a controversial period in time in African-American history. The Black Arts Movement allowed politically motivated black artists, dramatists, musicians and writers a forum to discuss their views in politics, discrimination and racism through their writings and poetry. Although the works of the movement were considered to be creative, provocative and innovative, they also isolated the mainstream culture because of their honesty and shock value. Despite its controversy, the movement allowed many artists both male and female to express their views in a acceptable form of communication. It was in this arena that several female artists, including Shange, received recognition and economic success for their work in white mainstream society. This movement, which Shange was a part of, is credited with laying the foundation for modern-day spoken word and hip-hop. Baraka, a prominent figure in during the Black Arts Movement, discredited Shange's work, saying that it wasn't truly a significant part of the movement, that her writing was too “Hollywood”. He even used words like “garbage” to describe her writing. Shange claims she created a special aesthetic for black females, something more specific than the Black Arts Movement was promoting. In her work, she was able to provide support and strength for black females at the
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement of blacks that helped changed their identity. Creative expression flourished because it was the only chance blacks had to express themselves in any way and be taken seriously. World War I and the need for workers up North were a few pull factors for the migration and eventually the Renaissance. A push was the growing discrimination and danger blacks were being faced with in the southern cities. When blacks migrated they saw the opportunity to express themselves in ways they hadn’t been able to do down south. While the Harlem Renaissance taught blacks about their heritage and whites the heritage of others, there were also negative effects. The blacks up North were having the time of their lives, being mostly free from discrimination and racism but down South the KKK was at its peak and blacks that didn’t have the opportunities to migrate experienced fatal hatred and discrimination.
There may been times when people have been treated unfairly, just because of their appearance or their social life.
The art represented more than just sculpture. The art represented the social issue of racism by not having “black art” in a “white museum”. History shows us that black or African-American people have had a hard time fitting into this society because of the older days were black people were considered to be inferior to the “white
Between 1910 and 1930, Harlem began thriving with African- American arts such as literature, theatre and painting, and music. This era was soon known as the Harlem Renaissance. During this time racial pride became a very big thing among African- American artists, but the only problem was how to best show this pride. Both high art and folk art can give a good expression of racial pride.
as "the New Negro Movement" later the Harlem renaissance." The art today isn't really memorable
In the 1920s, the great migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North sparked an African–American cultural renaissance that took its name from the New York City neighborhood of Harlem but became a widespread movement in cities throughout the North and West. Also known as the Black Renaissance or the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics turned their attention seriously to African–American literature, music, art and politics(Hornsby, 1993; Hazen, 2004).
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and literary period of growth promoting a new African American cultural identity in the United States. The decade between 1920 and 1930 was an extremely influential span of time for the Black culture. During these years Blacks were able to come together and form a united group that expressed a desire for enlightenment. This renaissance allowed Blacks to have a uniform voice in a society based upon intellectual growth. 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.
The Harlem Renaissance, originally known as “the New Negro Movement”, was a cultural, social, and artistic movement during the 1920’s that took place in Harlem. This movement occurred after the World War I and drew in many African Americans who wanted to escape from the South to the North where they could freely express their artistic abilities. This movement was known as the Great Migration. During the 1920’s, many black writers, singers, musicians, artists, and poets gained success, including Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Du Bois. These creative black artists made an impact on society in the 1920’s and an impact on the Harlem Renaissance.
The months and even the years prior to the Harlem Renaissance were very bleak and the future of life in America for African-Americans didn’t seem to bode very well. Well, progression towards and reaching the era known as the Harlem Renaissance changed the whole perception of the future of the African-American people as well as life for the group as we know it today. It can be best described by George Hutchinson as ”a blossoming (c. 1918–37) of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history [that took place specifically in Harlem]. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts.”. With an increase in the focus of “Black culture”, America seems to be changing its norms with the introduction of this new movement or rather this new “era”.
2. The African American culture blossomed during the Harlem Renaissance, particularly in creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American literature and had an enormous
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 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.
The Black Arts movement refers to a period of “furious flowering” of African American creativity beginning in the mid-1960’s and continuing through much of the 1970’s (Perceptions of Black). Linked both chronologically and ideologically with the Black Power Movement, The BAM recognized the idea of two cultural Americas: one black and one white. The BAM pressed for the creation of a distinctive Black Aesthetic in which black artists created for black audiences. The movement saw artistic production as the key to revising Black American’s perceptions of themselves, thus the Black Aesthetic was believed to be an integral component of the economic, political, and cultural empowerment of the Black community. The concepts of Black Power, Nationalism, Community, and Performance all influenced the formation of this national movement, and it proliferated through community institutions, theatrical performance, literature, and music.
This month Chien-Shiung Wu died of a stroke in New York City. Wu has done much for the scientific community, including working on the Manhattan project, her famous Wu experiment and battling gender bias. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the life of Chien-Shiung Wu. Wu was born on May 31, 1912 in Liu Ho, China. Her father was an engineer turned teacher and an advocate for education.
It is usually observed that black art poets are heavily influenced by their cultural connections to the African history; therefore, I find black art poet to be out spoken and noticeably making brave choices in their poetry. African American art is, in my opinion, one of the most courageous poetry in our present day. The way they use words and the way they express ideas, especially political ones, have gain my respect.