The Harlem Renaissance
What developments during World War I helped give rise to the Harlem Renaissance?
During and in the years following World War I, a number of developments helped to promote African-American culture and, through that, the Harlem Renaissance took hold. One of the first developments was the Great Migration, the time during and after the war in which many African-Americans moved north in search of better jobs and better lives. With them, they brought their culture, their habits, and their adversity. At the time, white northerners opposed blacks moving into northern cities because it created competition for jobs so there were often race riots. Blacks were treated poorly in the cities because of the competition. Eventually, African-Americans decided to look elsewhere for their rights. What began was the Harlem Renaissance, a movement of black culture which was centered in Harlem. They used the arts, literature, and spirit to transcend the adversity they faced and prove to the world that black was beautiful too, not just white. They showed that they wanted change from the corrupt society they lived in.
How was racial consciousness and racial pride affected by the Harlem Renaissance?
Racial pride and racial consciousness was furthered a great deal by the Harlem Renaissance. Gone were the days when blacks would be lynched or beat for expressing themselves and their views. Negroes, through jazz and poetry, through organizations and their actions, could show what it meant to be black. What it meant to face the adversity that they did. Langton Hughes, a jazz poet of the time and major part of the Harlem Renaissance, said in his essay "'Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro - and beautiful'". The movement of racial pride gained a lot from this statement and others like it, where African-Americans were now proud to be black. Being negro was good! All of the culture around them, all of the perseverance. You should be proud to be so rich in culture, so strong in mind. That was the movement. Black is good too! We shouldn't want to be white, we're black. Black is great! The roots of the Civil Rights movement can be seen here as blacks come to realize that they can have a say now. They can ask for change!
What contributions did African-Americans make in the fields of music, literature, and the arts?
African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance made huge contributions to the arts! For instance, jazz music swept across the country in the 1920s. Jazz was a type of music, based on liveliness and innovation, in which people could come together. Rich and poor Negroes came together for jazz, and eventually white people bought into it too. The first jazz club, even, was in Harlem - the Cotton Club! Some notable jazz artists include Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. They helped to shape jazz into what it has become today. They still remain greats of not only the era, but also of the genre - the first black legends of popular culture. Also amongst the ranks of artists and writers during the Harlem Renaissance were Langston Hughes, a jazz poet and author; Zora Neale Hurston, author; and Charles Alston, artist. African-Americans rallied around these artists, who expressed the ideas, complaints, and hardships of an entire people. They helped to evolve American culture to include the Negro culture too. No longer was America a white country.
How did mass media, the birth and evolution of jazz, and the Harlem Renaissance create a new blend of American culture?
Mass media, jazz, and the Harlem Renaissance all brought African-Americans to the forefront of society. The Great Migration brought blacks to the cities, where they were urban, cosmopolitan, and sophisticated. Jazz brought rich and poor blacks together, it bridged the gap between whites and blacks. It allowed for some degree of mutual assimilation that did well to create the stepping stone to civil rights. The mass media's portrayal of African-Americans through jazz and race riots, through intellectuals and artists, worked to improve how America and the world saw the Negro. Through the Harlem Renaissance, through all of its ups and downs, African-Americans emerged newly-defined, socialized and intellectual. They were ready for change.
How did Marcus Garvey's UNIA show an emergence of blacks asserting themselves?
Marcus Garvey started the UNIA, the Universal Negro Improvement Organization, in response to segregation and discrimination in America following the Great War. Garvey advocated a black-led nation in Africa where all African-Americans should go to live without discrimination and to govern themselves. With the movement's popularity and the African-Americans support of Black Star Line, it is quite apparent that African-Americans were ready to deal with their problems. They didn't want discrimination and segregation, they were tired of it. Instead of sitting around and doing what Booker T. Washington advocated, they decided to take action. Had Garvey's intentions been more domestic, civil rights may have even come sooner!