Preview

The Harlem Renaissance: A Brief History Of The Concept

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
105 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Harlem Renaissance: A Brief History Of The Concept
The Harlem Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity, spanning the 1920s and to the mid-1930s. While reading the article “Black Renaissance: A Brief History of the Concept” I learned that the Harlem Renaissance was once a debatable topic. Ernest J. Mitchell wrote the article, explaining how the term “Harlem Renaissance” did not originate in the era that it claims to describe. The movement “Harlem Renaissance” did not appear in print before 1940 and it only gained widespread appeal in the 1960s. During the four preceding decades, writers had mostly referred to it as “Negro Renaissance.”

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alain Locke said that African artist should reconnect with their roots. Locke’s writings were a major force behind the Harlem Renaissance movement. Sargent Johnson is a reflection of the ancestral arts with works like forever free, that show very pronounced African features on raw wood. Jacob Lawrence studied the ancestral arts of Africa and then produced his own version. He used his new style of African painting to create 41 paintings showing the revolt that led to Haiti’s independence. Archibald Motley went a decidedly different way by painting everyday Negros doing normal everyday activities. He wanted to tell the story of his people and what it meant to be Negro. Langston Hughes felt like Motley in that he wanted to tell the story of the…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is the Harlem Renaissance? Sometimes referred to as the Negro Renaissance or the New Negro Movement, this period marks out the years between the end of World War 1 and start of the Great Depression. The Renaissance was based in the city of Harlem, New York. African Americans were turning to new art, music, and literature to develop their own strong culture, during a time when racism and discrimination played a large, negative role in society. Hurston, along with others such as Duke…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My final topic that I chose is The Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem. In a phase of the Great Migration, half a million African Americans or so moved to the cities of the North. Most of them moved from the rural South in hopes of escaping poverty and oppression of Jim Crow Laws. White Landlords refused to rent to African-Americans, this led many newcomers to cluster in all-black neighborhoods. In the 1920's Harlem became the center of African-American Culture.…

    • 95 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harlem Renaissance was a place to show people talent in the 1920’s. It started in the 1920’ s and ended 1930. It happened in Harlem, New York. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement. Billie Holiday, W.E.B Dubois, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bessie Smith were all there and others. Meanwhile, the re-development and gentrification of midtown pushed many blacks out of the Metropolitan area. As a result, African-Americans began moving to Harlem between 1900 and 1920 the number of blacks in the New York City neighborhood doubled. By the time the planned subway system and roadways reached Harlem, many of the country's best and brightest black advocates, artists, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals had situated themselves in Harlem. They brought with them not only the institutions and businesses necessary to support themselves, but a vast array of talents and ambitions. The area soon became known as “the Black Mecca” and “the capital of black America.”…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance was a time of explosive cultural and intellectual growth in the African-American community. During this time in the 1920s and 30s, we saw not only the birth of jazz, but we also heard the voices of the African-American authors and philosophers who were taken seriously by their white contemporaries for the first time in history. In your research paper, you will be focusing on one aspect of this period. You will be responsible for writing a paper that explores the detail of your topic of choice and its contributions to the renaissance. You will share your findings with the class in a formal presentation.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Discuss the interrelationship between art and nation building in the first half of the twentieth century.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By the 1920’s the Harlem Renaissance had a big impact in New York City. Harlem, a small neighbourhood in New York had the largest urban population. Just like many neighborhoods Harlem suffered from overcrowding, unemployment and poverty. Even though Harlem suffered from the problems these people from Harlem didn't let that impact them. Jazz erupted, flappers came around, mass-production was becoming known. Fundamentalism started affecting the people of Harlem and their social norms. Now let's look at the life of Marcel in Harlem……

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the Harlem Renaissance fizzled out by the mid 1930’s, the works of this era made a change that lasts to this day. Writers such as W.E.B DuBois were highly regarded for how vocal he was in the community and his lack of complacency for the roles that society placed on him because of his color. His attitudes would kindle a sense of Black Pride, which would become an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, which was on the horizon. Themes of racial identity, freedom and perseverance found in the literature, artwork, and drama of the era motivated and inspired African-Americans to demand more respect from their fellow men. Although the Harlem Renaissance didn’t reach quite reach the social and political change that many people living in the era had hoped for, it set the stage for future change. Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Harlem Renaissance was the heavily influence it had on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. I plan on using this source to describe the impact that the Harlem Renaissance had on the Civil Rights Movement, which in turn, can also point back to present day America. By describing the effects it has had on our present day society, this source will allow me to drive home how important this movement truly was for this group of people, and how their movement brought about a change for all…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance is remembered for many reasons. Some people remember it as the beginning to African American singers, artists, poets, and much more. Many people became popular and began their careers in this era. African Americans began to establish their rights as Citizens of the United States during this time period as well as become famous. In this essay, I will discuss how the Renaissance began, the major events and people of the Renaissance, and how the Renaissance was intertwined with Marian Anderson’s life and her career.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance, originally called the New Negro Movement, can be described as a cultural explosion that took place in Harlem in the early 1900’s. During this period Harlem was a haven for black writers, artists, actors, musicians and scholars. Through literature and art, blacks created a new image for themselves defying pervading racial stereo types. Blacks were finally able to showcase their many talents as well as their intellect, forming a concrete image of the New Negro. The New Negro was not comfortable being categorized as rural, and undereducated. During the Harlem Renaissance, there was a battle to create…

    • 2150 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After World War I, the Harlem Renaissance dramatically changed life in the 1920s for African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance influenced artistic development, racial pride, and political organization.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was in 1920’s when the Harlem Renaissance began. This was all about the African American Cultural Revolution that kicked off in Harlem, New York. This African American began after the World War I, and got hot and heavy around the late mid 1920s, which ended around the mid 1930s. Harlem Renaissance was a movement that consisted of art, music, literary, dance, and theater. During this time of Harlem Renaissance, they displayed black culture with the utmost pride and with a lot of dedication and interest in it. The African Americans believed that they could use their artistic talents to bring the races together. The Civil Rights…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the two decades preceding the Harlem Renaissance socialism was appealing to many African American intellectuals who not only felt the invasion and the effects of capitalism, but also sought to draw a connection to the motherland, Africa, where socialism was widespread at the time. Socialist ideology caused many intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance to join the socialist movement. In 1911, Du Bois (1995) joined the Socialist Party and supported many of its positions over the years. Such socialist tendencies usually help advocate the revival of nationalism in literature that is a common goal for virtually all colonized countries. The revival of nationalism, which helps demarcate the boundaries of cultural and political entity, is usually…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance was a time of art and entertainment. It was a lively time were many artists, writers, musicians, and poets got the opportunity to share their work with a willing audience. It was a time period that gave African Americans a voice, and many talented writers emerged that might have remained silent if it hadn’t been for the Harlem Renaissance. Zora Neal Hurston and James Weldon Johnson were among these writers, publishing powerful novels that allowed African Americans to receive more respect and acknowledgement. The Harlem Renaissance allowed African American writers to share their work with the world in a great artistic movement where they could freely express themselves, as well as bring pride and inspiration to African…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history there has been a multitude of events that have shaped the world into what it is to this day. For example, those who lived during the Great Depression had to learn how to conserve their resources and that is still being taught today. In addition to events, people can also influence the world. Johannes Gutenberg is a perfect example of this. Gutenberg’s creation of the printing press left behind a legacy that has significantly altered society. Another influential person is the Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai. She has revolutionized female education in the Middle East. One particular event and the people involved in it have left their legacy too. The Harlem Renaissance has greatly impacted the world with its music, literature,…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays