The Harlem Renaissance

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The Harlem Renaissance was a major step for the advancement of African Americans in the American Society during the 1920s. The Harlem Renaissance brought about a flourishing of the African American community, it helped bring black culture into a predominantly white society, and it generally satisfied problems previously faced by the African American community. Preceding the Renaissance, African Americans were not really nothing but slaves who received freedom. The Harlem Renaissance helped African Americans establish their identities as culturally enriched people who were well deserving of a place in American society.
Under the Harlem Renaissance, African American culture flourished. Due to the Great Migration, Harlem became one of the nation’s largest and most influential African-American communities (Brinkley 656). A place so densely packed with people of the same ethnic group who all came out of similar circumstances is practically certain to bring forth some kind of culture. It was in Harlem that the seeds were planted. There, they brought African culture into America through their literature, poetry, and art. All of which were becoming immensely popular among African-American communities not solely in Harlem, but all over the country. Instead of simply being known as a group of people, they were becoming united. What’s more, Jazz and Blues, a product of their own, became world-wide sensations. They greatly influenced the Jazz age and, this cultural burgeoning helped give them a positive reputation among other cultures. They brought something into America that was completely new; something that introduced variety in their otherwise, culturally uniform lives. The dominant black population in Harlem further assisted their cul...

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...ies, and helped African American culture evolve. If the renaissance never happened, things would probably be different today. Many American traditions arose from the Harlem Renaissance. It was a very important catalyst in the social growth of the black community.

Works Cited

Brinkley, Alan. "The Harlem Renaissance." American History a Survey. 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 656-57. Print.
Gates, Henry Louis, and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. Harlem Renaissance Lives: From the African American National Biography. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
Hutchinson, George. "Harlem Renaissance (American Literature and Art)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Aug. 2006. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. .
Schaefer, Adam R. The Harlem Renaissance. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2003. Print.

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