I. Introduction: The Harlem Renaissance
The village of Harlem, New York was originally established by Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1658. It was named after a Dutch city, “Nieuw Harlem. It sits on a 5.5 square mile area of Manhattan north of 96th Street. The 1830s saw the abandonment of Harlem due to the fact that the farmlands failed to produce. The economic recovery in Harlem began in 1837. It boasted prosperous, fashionable neighborhoods that offered a diverse, rich background provided by several institutions and facilities of the day.
The anticipated plan for Harlem was for it to be known as the “place to be”, but due to the real estate market failure in 1904/1905, white-owned properties were rented to African Americans. A migration from the South and West Indies had allowed Harlem to become the cultural center of urban black America. People migrated in record numbers, but just as the cultural aspects of Harlem prospered other walks of life in Harlem suffered dramatically due to the ever increasing population. Having developed a distinctive culture, Harlem was the epicenter for black writers, artists and intellectuals during the 1920s. The Harlem Renaissance was centered on activities influenced by the experimental styles of literature and music that derived from Europe and America. The topic most focused on mainly dealt with being black in an American society and the experiences it entailed. The actual beginnings of the Harlem Renaissance, most scholars, cannot agree upon. However, what is certain is the most significant cause of the demise of the Harlem Renaissance was the Great Depression amongst other factors.
One may ask: Why are the authors of the Harlem Renaissance so special? They are deemed speci...
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N: Raphael Comprone, Poetry, Desire, And Fantasy in the Harlem Renaissance (University Press of America 2005)
B: Comprone, Raphael. Poetry, Desire, And Fantasy in the Harlem Renaissance. University Press of America 2005
T: (Comprone 2005)
R: Comprone, Raphael. 2005. Poetry, Desire, And Fantasy in the Harlem Renaissance. University Press of America 2005
N: C. Trotman, Langston Hughes: The Man, His Art, and His Continuing Influence
(Routledge 1995)
B: Trotman, C. Langston Hughes: The Man, His Art, and His Continuing Influence. Routledge 1995
T: (Trotman 1995)
R: Trotman, C. 1995. Langston Hughes: The Man, His Art, and His Continuing Influence. Routledge 1995
Langston Hughes Papers. James Weldon Johnson Collection in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance
It’s no secret that inequality and racial discriminations were high back in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Langston Hughes was able to use his work to counterattack this way of thinking in America. He not only led a movement, but also set an example for others to follow. In the poems I stated above, you can tell the Harlem Renaissance influences on his
The "New Negro," the Black writers in 1920/30, tried to get out of the dominant white assimilation and practice their own tradition and identity in autonomous and active attitude. In virtue of their activities, the Harlem Renaissance became the time of sprouting the blackness. It offered the life of the black as the criterion to judge how well the democracy practices in America and to weigh the measure of the dream of America. Their vitality and artistic spirit, and dreams were so impressive that the Harlem of the 1920s has never been eluded out from the memory of American (Helbling 2).
There has been much debate over the Negro during the Harlem Renaissance. Two philosophers have created their own interpretations of the Negro during this Period. In Alain Locke’s essay, The New Negro, he distinguishes the difference of the “old” and “new” Negro, while in Langston Hughes essay, When the Negro Was in Vogue, looks at the circumstances of the “new” Negro from a more critical perspective.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
When reading the literature of Langston Hughes, I cant help but feeling energetically charged and inspired. Equality, freedom, empowerment, renaissance, justice and perseverance, are just a taste of the subject matter Hughes offers. He amplifies his voice and beliefs through his works which are firmly rooted in race pride and race feeling. Hughes committed himself both to writing and to writing mainly about African Americans. His early love for the “wonderful world of books” was sparked by loneliness and parental neglect. He would soon lose himself in the works of Walt Whitman, Paul Laurence, Carl Sandburg and other literary greats which would lead to enhancing his ever so growing style and grace of oeuvre. Such talent, character, and willpower could only come from one’s life experiences. Hughes had allot to owe to influences such as his grandmother and great uncle John Mercer Langston - a famous African American abolitionist. These influential individuals helped mold Hughes, and their affect shines brightly through his literary works of art.
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.
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 Poets and Musicians." The Harlem Renaissance Poets and Musicians. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .
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 influence to society in the 1920’s and an impact on the Harlem Renaissance.
...tunities, the Harlem Renaissance spanned a cultural movement which flourished art, music, and literature within the African-American community. When World War I ended, many African-American soldiers struggled with respect from white Americans when they returned home from days of battling and hard work they served developing an identity of the “New Negro.” The “New Negro” attitude challenged the intrusiveness and racism African-Americans encountered from the stereotypes white people shamed upon them. By rejecting and refusing to imitate the styles of Europeans and white Americans, the Harlem Renaissance was a movement to celebrate creativity and nobility throughout African-Americans. Without the powerful influences and creativity of the Harlem Renaissance, we wouldn’t have the films, music, fashion, excitement, and entertainment we see throughout the world every day.
Occurring in the 1920’s and into the 1930’s, the Harlem Renaissance was an important movement for African-Americans all across America. This movement allowed the black culture to be heard and accepted by white citizens. The movement was expressed through art, music, and literature. These things were also the most known, and remembered things of the renaissance. Also this movement, because of some very strong, moving and inspiring people changed political views for African-Americans. Compared to before, The Harlem Renaissance had major effects on America during and after its time.
Kellner, Bruce, ed. The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the Era. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984
Writers, actors, painters and poets during the Harlem Renaissance inspire writers, actors, painters and poets the same way that musicians during the Harlem Renaissance influence musicians in today’s society and that’s by paving the way for them to be recognized. At the end of the Harlem Renaissance
Francis, Ted. Realism in the Novels of the Harlem Renaissance. New York, NY: Writers Club, 2002. www.wikipedia.org. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.