Harlem_Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance History 222 LaTasha Gatling  October 23, 2011 TOPIC: Harlem Renaissance VIEWPOINT: The Harlem Renaissance represented a shift in the role of African Americans in society. EVIDENCE: * Originally called the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance was a literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920s and 1930s. Critic and teacher Alain Locke described it as a "spiritual coming of age" in which the black community was able to seize upon its "first chances for group expression and self-determination." * The social foundations of the movement included the Great Migration of African Americans from rural to urban spaces and from South to North, dramatically rising levels of literacy, and the development of national organizations dedicated to pressing African American civil rights (the NAACP), “uplifting” the race and opening up socioeconomic opportunities (the National Urban League), and developing race pride, including Pan-African sensibilities and programs (the United Negro Improvement Association and the Pan-African conferences). * Black-owned magazines and newspapers flourished, freeing African Americans from the constricting influences of mainstream white society. Charles S. Johnson's Opportunity magazine became the leading voice of black culture, and W.E.B. DuBois's journal, The Crisis, with Jessie Redmon Fauset as its literary editor, launched the literary careers of such writers as Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen. * One of the first notable events of the Renaissance came shortly after the NUL began publishing Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life. Believing that art and literature could lift African-Americans out of their situation, the magazine’s editor, Charles S. Johnson, began printing promising black writers in each issue. During Johnson’s work for Opportunity, he met Jessie Fauset, the literary editor for Du Bois’ NAACP magazine, Crisis. Fauset told Johnson about her first novel, There Is Confusion (1924), a story about middle class black women. EVALUATE: The Harlem Renaissance looked to Africa and Black American culture for inspiration and was confined to mostly (but not totally) one country and one race. Nevertheless, both Renaissances represented a period of enlightenment after a period of barbarous destruction, rediscovery of culture and a glorious past, new thinking, literateness, urbaneness, and the creation of new expressions and consciousness. Key developments in the Harlem Renaissance were: * The increased activity of talented people (from writers and show girls to painters and photographers) * The advent of successful, hugely popular Black theater, film and musical events * The publication of major books by important writers such as Alain Locke (considered the father of the New Negro idea) Claude McKay, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Jessie Faucett, etc. * The rise of a new African American art movement * The rise of successful Black businesses and professional people * The patronage of Black intellectuals by wealthy and connected Whites who admired or were fascinated with African American culture (the (Negrotarians") such as Carl Van Vechten, Amy and Joel Spingarn and Charlotte Mason * The setting up, in Harlem, of cultured salons, popular night spots and fun entertainment * The rise of assertive social activism and aggressive political movements (e.g. Garvey, etc.) * The establishment of Harlem as the cultural, intellectual and social capital of Black America. The fame and drawing power of many places in Harlem increased and sometimes became legendary. Entertainment-oriented places including night clubs such as the Cotton Club and theaters (e.g. the Lafayette Theater) and other places such as churches and studios also became well known. * The holding of social events (e.g. dinners, receptions, etc.) to bring together talented people, create enjoyment and further the spread of new ideas and culture. * The development and/or spreading of important racial advancement social change ideas and initiatives: e.g. Garveyism and the Back To Africa movement; the "Talented Tenth" concept (i.e. leadership by the intelligentsia) of DuBois and others. Bibliography The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance: History & Timeline — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmharlem1.html#ixzz1bcKeRWcU(accessed October 23, 2011). Harlem Renaissance International Encyclopedia of the Social Science | 2008 | COPYRIGHT 2008 Thomson Gale. (Hide copyright information)http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Harlem_Renaissance.aspx(accessed October 23, 2011). The Great Days in Harlem¸ The birth of the Harlem Renaissance (Pearson Education, 2007) The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance: History & Timeline — Infoplease.com (accessed October 23, 2011) A+E Television Networks, LLC ¸ (1996 – 2011) http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/harlem-renaissance (accessed October 23, 2011) http://www.kurahulanda.com/temporary-harlem-renaissance -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance: History & Timeline — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmharlem1.html#ixzz1bcKeRWcU(accessed October 23, 2011). [ 2 ]. Harlem Renaissance International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences | 2008 | COPYRIGHT 2008 Thomson Gale. (Hide copyright information) . http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Harlem_Renaissance.aspx(accessed October 23, 2011). [ 3 ]. The Great Days in Harlem¸ The birth of the Harlem Renaissance (Pearson Education, 2007) The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance: History & Timeline — Infoplease.com (accessed October 23, 2011) [ 4 ]. A+E Television Networks, LLC ¸ (1996 – 2011) http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/harlem-renaissance (accessed October 23, 2011) [ 5 ]. http://www.kurahulanda.com/temporary-harlem-renaissance