Zora Neale Hurston

Turner, Darwin T. “Langston Hughes.” The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1992. Wintz, Cary D. Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance. Houston, Rice University Press, 1988. Wintz, Cary DeCordova.

Neal was just one of the important writers of the Black Arts Movement era. Other writers, poets, and essayists illustrated a new beginning for the black community to overcome their hardships and to rise up artistically. The concept of Black Power stemmed from the Black Arts Movement. Black Power was a political movement that arose to express a new racial consciousness among Blacks in the United States. Black Power represented a racial dignity leading to freedom from white authority in economic and political grounds.

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The Black Arts Movement 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.

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Many authors today were inspired by those of the Harlem Renaissance. It was a great time for the African- American community, but at the same time it caused fighting between the middle class and poorer blacks. The feeling of inequality still existed, but at least African-Americans were finally getting some recognition for some of the wonderful accomplishments that they have made. Works Cited Haskins, Jim. The Harlem Renaissance.

The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance Two of the most influential people in shaping the social and political agenda of African Americans were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, both early twentieth century writers. While many of their goals were the same, the two men approached the problems facing African Americans in very different ways. This page is designed to show how these two distinct thinkers and writers shaped one movement, as well as political debate for years afterward.

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.

A great deal of the work created at this time was very opinionated and designed to empower and uplift African-Americans. The movement holds a tremendous effect and influence on writers that have come in the later part of the on-going insurgence. The themes, concepts, and social questions that the Black Arts Movement artists had influenced a new generation of writers who extended and related to the Black Aesthetic in more contemporary times. Conscientious novelists now write with the purpose to communicate the definition of blackness and the variety of the “Black Experience” correlating with writers of the movement. Natasha Tretheway‘s poem “Help 1968” is one that was subsequently influenced by the logic and perspectives of the movement.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded by Du Bois, was the organization that launched The Crisis. The historic magazine published the best poetry and other literary works of African Americans from the North such as those of Langston Hughes. All in all, the Harlem Renaissance was a black cultural movement that took place in the North, particularly in Harlem. Many African Americans stood out including Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Du Bois.