The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance can be defines as a massive eruption of African American culture that took the world by storm. In the midst of all the changes occurring in America in the 1920’s (the women’s rights movement, the decline of the progressive movement with its increased GNP [gross national product], and prohibition) there evolved a movement that would alter the pace of American life. While Hollywood was opening its doors to a broader audience than just whites and beginning to include the very immigrants that they formerly discriminated against, Harlem became the new mecca for an unprecedented blend of European whites and black intellectuals and artists. The Harlem Renaissance was a bona fide melting pot of culture.
The racial lines were blurred by the unique taste for different types of music-jazz and blues, and with poetry and writings that have lasted through the years as classic and ingenious. The Harlem Renaissance was a milestone achievement in American culture that meshed several cultures into each other and brought to surface an underground style of life that would shake and define a nation.
As the doors of opportunities widened, more men and woman began to formulate their own influences on American culture. The Harlem Renaissance allowed for a whole new epoch of revolution and change, one that was so utterly different than any precedent that it ushered in a whole new era of thought.
The Harlem Renaissance African American allowed culture blossomed in the 1920’s to 1930’s. This movement, centered in New York City, affected and influenced the rest of the African Americans communities by laying the foundation for future literary works, art, and music; it created the “New Negro Movement”. This black pride encouraged many African Americans to celebrate their heritage through art and literature (Harwell, 2009).
The intellectuals and the black writers that emerged during this period portrayed the African American as an individual who was capable of making great contributions if given the opportunity. African American lawyers, doctors, political activists, and intellectuals were crucial during this period and had a great effect on how blacks perceived themselves economically and politically. The influence of the black writers during this period was a contributing factor in building the image of the black American. These writers, by writing about African American achievements, created a new sense of racial pride (Rhodes n.d.).
The Harlem Renaissance was also a movement that empowered those that were black to be self-sufficient. Blacks that moved from the south to the north during this period moved into predominantly black communities where their culture and identity could be expressed. Finally, they were able to vote and see how important political involvement could be and became more politically active in their communities. Many blacks were able to find education and job opportunities that they did not find in the south. African Americans were able to form their own publications, networks, and organizations. Organizations such as the National Association for the Achievement of Colored People (NCCAP), the Second Pan African Congress, the Colored Players Guild and the National Urban league were started during this period. These individuals were unified in their cause: to be taken seriously about their political views, to be recognized for their many contributions, and to mainly be treated as an equal (The Harlem Renaissance, n.d.).
The significance of the Harlem Renaissance is incredibly prevalent in American society today, as most of the social advancements made would not have been possible without it. The New Negro Movement was a black arts movement also called the Harlem Renaissance with the idea that through the arts African-Americans could challenge prejudice and racism. It was a new start for the black community and a time to separate themselves from their past and move forward as equal Americans. African-American poets, writers, musicians, painters, and actors combined European and African influences, infused their own experiences and struggles, and came up with a new style of music and demonstrated their communities’ creative prowess. Writers like Langston Hughes championed the movement’s creed with his poem “I, Too, Sing America” which embraced the African-American identity and looked toward the future when they would be recognized alongside whites for their great work and achievements.
African-Americans would no longer be ignored and the developed Harlem helped to express common feelings of resistance against discrimination, of pride in ancestry and culture, of sorrow, and of strength and perseverance. The New Negro Movement essentially reshaped what white Americans had previously thought of African-Americans by demonstrating just how much the Harlem community could do. New music styles like Jazz and Blues and powerful poetry attracted black and white artists and intellectuals alike. The movement allowed African-Americans to stand up against racism and discrimination by letting them take pride in their accomplishments.
Although writers were proud to be African-American, many writers of the movement chose to address universal topics like grief and pain such as in Countee Cullen’s famous poem “Any Human to Another.” The poem talks about sharing sorrows because although joy can be rare “sorrow never scorned to speak to any”. Topics like this one didn’t identify writers of the Harlem Renaissance as exclusively Black writers which was what some wanted because although they were proud of their culture they wanted to be recognized just as any other American writer. The New Negro movement was a source of hope in difficult times for the black community because their achievements were seen as steps towards equality. The movement served to uplift African-American communities as well as propel the Harlem Renaissance and create outstanding poems and paintings, popular styles of music, and other superior works.
However, wherever there is pleasure and joy, a darker side of the spectrum is usually present. At the same time, Harlem, New York, was a city that was greatly affected by the Great Depression. Due to the large African American community that was there from the Harlem Renaissance the colored community suffered greatly from racial discrimination. Harlem suffered greater levels of poverty, overcrowding and crime than any other city neighborhood in the United States during the 1930’s. The Great Depression led to high rents, where the percentage of property owned by blacks nosedived from 30% to just a measly 5%, and high unemployment, which reached 50 percent in 1932.
As goes unemployment, so do poverty levels. With more and more people losing jobs, neighborhoods were deteriorating faster due to higher rates of poverty. Black Harlemites were trapped in poor housing, poor education systems and low-mobility jobs during the Great Depression. African Americans were usually the last people to be hired for scarce jobs because the majority mindset was that whites were a priority so whenever a white person needed a job that a colored person did, the colored person was fired and the white was hired, thus coined the term, “Last Hired, First Fired”.
Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to help all American citizens, along with the African American community, by putting anti-discrimination provisions into his “New Deal” programs but local officials often overlooked those provisions. New York provided services to all citizens and from Harlem residents’ point of view, the New Deal had a positive impact on their lives. Agencies, both federal funded and privately owned, helped the communities by providing services such as rental assistance and temporary jobs but were not without their faults. Several of these agencies denied blacks aid more than whites and some employees of these agencies commonly made open derogatory and racists comments. African-Americans remained second-class citizens, and governmental agencies were doing too little to change that reality.
The Harlem Renaissance began to wind down by mid 1930s. Even though The Great Depression was partly responsible for the end of the Harlem Renaissance, a number of other factors contributed to its demise. One reason is that many African American artists and writers from that era began to shift their interest elsewhere. Key figures like Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Palmer Hayden, and so many others who had contributed mightily to the movement found that they needed to move on to embrace writing elsewhere. Second reason is the strained relationship between blacks and whites in Harlem that finally led to the Harlem Riot of 1935. A rumor spread in the black community that a black boy had been beaten and killed by police after allegedly had stolen a 10cent knife. The rumor coupled with previous problems with police brutality triggered the riots. The resulting violence not only shattered the notion that Harlem as the hub for blacks, but it proved race relationship in America was nothing but a flash in the pan. Finally, although drinking was not prohibited during prohibition, it was hard finding liquor legally. The Hottest clubs like the cotton club relied on clients coming uptown to get alcohol. With the repeal of prohibition in 1933 with the 21st amendment, people didn’t need to travel uptown to obtain alcohol. While these reasons along with the great depression ended the Harlem Renaissance as a historical movement, the foot print it left on modern society is far from fading. The artistic and political movements of that era would live on in the form of new musical expression and the civil right movement of the 50s, the 60s, and today.
In the African American community there remains a period of time that produces pride even in the young men and women of today. The Harlem Renaissance was a period of discovery not only for those of color but for all of those who participated in the move. Racism and discrimination of the time took a back seat to the explosion of African American culture that came from the East coast. For a short period of time, from 1920-1930, hope of equality didn’t seem so far out of reach. The black man/woman was able to show that despite the color of their skin, they had something to offer in the fields of entertainment, education, politics and business. The view of the world had not done away with all such thoughts and ideas of racism and discrimination; just offered a small window of opportunity for a progressive move towards the equality that all men desired to have despite their race, religion or creed. It was during this time in history, that the African Americans and some Europeans showed they were no different.
Works Cited
Kellner, Bruce. The Harlem Renaissance. Westport: Greenwood, 1984.
Wintz, Cary D. Harlem Speaks. Naperville: Sourcebooks, 2007.
Renaissance, an extraordinary time of freedom for the black man/woman.
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The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers."The Great Depression." Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, et. al. (Hyde Park, New York: Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, 2003). http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/great-depression.htm [Accessed March 3, 2011].
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