The Harlem Renaissance: An African American Cultural Movement
Introduction A GREAT AWAKENING Many cultures have experienced a golden age a time when culture and people thrived Writers created great literature artists made masterpieces songwriters created music that defined their generation and actors delighted audiences on the stage Readers listeners and crowds absorbed the richness of these moments and shared them People were enlightened or awakened For many black Americans that golden age arrived in the 1920s Harlem a neighborhood neighborhood in New York City was the focal point of this cultural awakening Hundreds Hundreds of thousands of black American workers headed north many to Harlem Between 1918 and the mid-1930s the neighborhood thrived as a centerpiece for black American culture and the movement movement known as the Harlem Renaissance Renaissance was an old French word that meant rebirth so it felt like the perfect title for the changes many black Americans Americans were experiencing The movement was primarily led by African American writers playwrights actors singers artists artists and jazz and blues musicians They came from many backgrounds but did not necessarily share the same beliefs about art politics or society However they all shared a common goal They wanted to provide a unifying voice for the 10 million black Americans trying to coexist with the 80 million white people living in the United United States at that time A Struggle for Equality The Harlem Renaissance began as World War I ended in 1918 and tapered off in the 1930s However the movement’s impact lingered for several decades In large part the Harlem Renaissance Renaissance resulted from the ongoing struggle struggle black Americans had with extreme poverty racism segregation and 8 The Harlem Renaissance An African American Cultural Movement
African Americans faced segregation in many cities throughout the country violence in nearly every American city and state Black Americans were prevented from finding good jobs buying homes and attending decent schools Many lived in segregated neighborhoods where they patronized black-owned restaurants restaurants theaters clothing shops and taverns Black Americans were commonly commonly prohibited from using public spaces including swimming pools parks and restrooms Life was particularly difficult for black Americans living in the South and in rural areas of the Midwest The racist group the Ku Klux Klan KKK was a powerful social and political force in many states Mayors police chiefs and even state legislators and governors were among its millions of members The KKK terrorized terrorized black communities and lynched to kill someone by mob action for an alleged crime countless black Americans to prevent them from exercising their civil rights This terrorism coupled with poor economic conditions and race riots in many cities led many black southerners southerners to uproot their lives In what is called the Great Migration millions of African Americans moved to industrial cities in the North such as New York City where there was a greater degree of freedom and opportunity A Great Awakening 9
A Mythical City Working-class black Americans brought their unique culture to their new urban settings Notable black American contributions contributions to society included blues and jazz music which first emerged in New Orleans Louisiana before traveling up the Mississippi River and spreading east to Chicago Illinois and New York City In the world of literature authors such as Paul Laurence Dunbar whose parents had been slaves achieved fame writing about life in the poetic dialect of southern southern African Americans Dunbar’s 1902 book The Sport of the Gods was the first novel about black life in New York City In it Dunbar described the mythical status status the city held in the imaginations of black southerners They had heard of New York as a place vague and far away a city that like Heaven to them had existed by faith alone All the days of their lives they had heard about it and it seemed to them the centre of all the glory all the wealth and all the freedom of the world 1 While getting a job was possible for many black Americans many employment options were low paying and considered by some to be low status 10 The Harlem Renaissance An African American Cultural Movement
Like some European immigrants who may had heard rumors that New York’s streets were paved with gold the reality of the city may have disappointed disappointed some African Americans Unskilled black women living in Harlem labored as maids dressmakers beauticians and cooks Men were hired as elevator operators operators shoe shiners porters doormen messengers waiters janitors and day laborers However even these jobs presented presented better opportunities than those in the South Additionally unlike most of the South Harlem had many black-owned black-owned shops and restaurants as well as black professionals including lawyers doctors nurses teachers and preachers A Thin Veil While a few black business owners landlords landlords and artists were financially successful successful many Harlem residents remained poor before during and after the renaissance renaissance However the mix of old and new cultures from the South New York City and even the Caribbean provided artistic inspiration for those leading the Harlem Renaissance As history professor Cary D Wintz wrote in Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance The neighborhood provided the material and the setting for many literary creations of the Renaissance The poetry short stories and novels of the period abound with scenes and characters lifted from Harlem’s streets and cabarets Harlem though was a teeming overcrowded ghetto and much of its laughter and gaiety only thinly veiled the misery and poverty that was becoming the stan dard of life for the new black urban masses This too was reflected by the Harlem Renaissance 2 What made the era so unique was the fact that it was not only black people people celebrating their culture in what was called the the World’s Greatest Negro Metropolis White Americans were also learning about the joys troubles successes and degradations of life for African Americans The Harlem Renaissance was one of the first times that black and white Americans Americans read the same literature attended theater together danced together and sang together It was a brief period however and racism was still rampant among many white Americans However However for those in New York City’s black communities the renaissance proved to be a celebration of pride culture identity and history For the first time the achievements of black Americans were visible for all to see and after three centuries of racism enslavement and prejudice black Americans ceased being invisible A Great Awakening 11
