Significant Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

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Significant Poets of the Harlem Renaissance During the Harlem Renaissance period, many poets used it as a time to express their feelings and pain they endured, even after gaining freedom and rights as an African American. After feeling free for the first time, things turned to the worst when the New South restored White Supremacy and was still legal. Almost nineteen percent of African Americans lived in the New South. It was difficult everyday of their lives to feel like they were free because they were always being compared to their ancestors and seen as slaves and nothing more. (ushistory.org) Around 1890, one of the biggest events in US History occurred when large number of groups of African Americans left the South for a different location. They were tired of feeling undeserving and decided to move to the Urban North. When they arrived, many were heart-broken that they let others opinions make them leave their homes for their personal reasons. After grieving over their loss of their pride, they decided to take it back by sharing experiences with each other and reawake the African American culture. They used their trials as a testimony for who they have become. This led to the birth of The Harlem Renaissance. (ushistory.org) When the African Americans moved to the North, they expected relief and a place to feel welcomed. They were all taken by surprise when the people who they got away from were in the North also. Instead of backing down like last time, they decided to stand strong and not take it. They were going to fight back, but not physically. They were going to use their voices as a declaration of independence and freedom. Many thought that the Jim Crow Laws would have given them freedom, though some still felt bound. Man... ... middle of paper ... ... Feb 2014. . Graham, Maryemma. "The New Negro Renaissance." African Age. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Feb 2014. . Flynn, Jullian. "Chapter 9: Claude McKay " PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Web. Feb. 24 2014.. UDRI Web Development Center, . "The Life of Paul Laurence Dunbar." Paul Laurence Dunbar Website. University of Dayton, 03 Feb 2004. Web. 25 Feb 2014. . Rhodes, Henry. "The Social Contributions of The Harlem Renaissance." Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, n.d. Web. 26 Feb 2014. .

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