Harlem Renaissance Essay

The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic movement of literature, art, dance, and music for black culture. Black artists used their talents to work towards civil rights and equality. This era helped to redefine how the world viewed African American culture. It developed a new black identity that challenged racism and politics through intellect and art. Though this artistic move- ment was charged by racial pride and a positive awareness, there were still laws being passed that prevented blacks from obtaining their political and civil rights. Some clubs still discriminat- ed against their black audience members, and the top black performers had to enter through the back door.
This movement became a social rebellion against racism enforced by Jim
Crow Laws. Before the 1920’s the image of black performers consisted of blackface performers on stage. There were continued injustices against black people and a realization that the prejudice and racism deeply rooted in American society still was prevalent. African Americans now had an out- let for creative expression that had been oppressed by the constraints of segregation.
Slavery was ended in 1865. The South was defeated in the Civil War. There were three amendments added to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing the rights of freed slaves. The Thir- teenth Amendment abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment addressed citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws for all persons.
The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited discrimina- tion in voting rights of citizens on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.1 Though slavery was abolished, it was replaced with Black Codes, restricting the natural rights of black people. The Codes were established to make black people the inferior race and to reduce the influence of freed blacks on those who were enslaved. Some of the laws included restricting their right to vote, bearing a weapon, and learning to read and write. The motivation behind cre- ating the Black Codes was to preserve slavery. Disobeying one of these laws lead to a person be- ing put in jail. In an effort to unify the state, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act in 1867. The purpose of this Act was to change the United States from a country that was, half slave and half free, to one which constitutionally guaranteed liberty to the entire population. This included former slaves and their descendants. With that came the disestablishment of the Black Codes. Racism and discrimination still remained. When Reconstruction ended, Southerners created new laws which strongly enforced the racial divide between blacks and whites. These laws were called the Jim Crow laws. The term comes from a fictional white character who, in blackface, and depicted what white people thought a uneducated black person was like. During the start of the Harlem Renaissance, white supremacy was rampant in the
South, where ninety percent of blacks resided. Around 1890, African Americans migrated to the North in large numbers as a re- sult of the Jim Crow laws. This led black people to pursue a better life outside of the Southern states. The North did not accept the arrival of black people as openly as they expected. Though the laws of northern states were not as restrictive, racism still pervaded. White workers com- plained that black people were taking the jobs and lowering wages. The convergence of black