The Harlem Renaissance

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Segregation and racism in the 1920s was mundane for the average African American, but as they put that aside they were respected by many whites. The rise of the jazz age was due to the prohibition of alcohol. People were selling alcohol illegally and many African Americans began playing music known as the jazz age. Many white folks came to watch famous African musicians play in secret clubs called the cotton club. In the 1920s when there was prohibition and racism, many African Americans had to deal with discrimination, and segregation between the whites. During that time the Klu Klux Klan population was at an all-time high. Being colored was dangerous because the KKK members were out to hunt for people who weren’t white. Africans were driven out of the South from the whites and also the bot weevil. They were forced to migrate to the north. These areas had poverty. Luckily, African Americans could overcome this hatred by creating a new age called the Harlem Renaissance. Making the North well known for its gargantuan transformation and making it a success. The connection towards Gatsby is that Gatsby had hired a band that played jazz. This came from African Americans as jazz influenced many people throughout the world. The Harlem Renaissance was an era of where African Americans became famous, well known, and respected for their music and literature.

Many Africans were forced to work in the sharecropping system. The Klu Klux Klan has greatly impacted the Africans. During the 1920s there were only two main jobs Africans could choose from, sharecropper and farmers. This made life hard for African Americans because of the lack of available jobs for the colored. They were evicted from the south so they moved to the North. “After t...

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...flect crisis. However, song writers either ignored economic hardships or they approached them head on.” (Young). Musicians and writers were very motivated; nothing could alter what they have been doing. They just keep striving for the best no matter what is happening around them.

The 1920s was a huge step forward for all African Americans. They proved to the whites that they weren’t just a bunch of slaves and savages, they were equally the same compared to the whites just different skin color. Blacks showed their true potential when they have the right to do what they want. They created jazz that drastically changed the music industry till this day. They were loved by so many people and jazz became popular. There were also African poets and writers that wrote out their deepest emotions. The Harlem Renaissance was truly a great success for all African Americans.

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