The Harlem Renaissance was a good way to allow more expression of African American culture. This allowed African Americans to express themselves through art or music. With the Harlem Renaissance came jazz and the blues, music that has a special interest in everyone’s hearts.
Full Answer
The Harlem Renaissance was the development of the Harlem neighborhood in New York City as a Black cultural mecca in the early 20th Century and the subsequent social and artistic explosion that resulted.
Harlem Renaissance Ends The end of Harlem’s creative boom began with the stock market crash of 1929 and The Great Depression. It wavered until Prohibition ended in 1933, which meant white patrons no longer sought out the illegal alcohol in uptown clubs. By 1935, many pivotal Harlem residents had moved on to seek work.
Harlem Renaissance 1 Great Migration. ... 2 Langston Hughes. ... 3 Zora Neale Hurston. ... 4 Countee Cullen. ... 5 Cotton Club. ... 6 Paul Robeson. ... 7 Josephine Baker. ... 8 Aaron Douglas. ... 9 Marcus Garvey. ... 10 Harlem Renaissance Ends. ... More items...
Aaron Douglas. The most celebrated Harlem Renaissance artist is Aaron Douglas, often called as “the Father of Black American Art,” who adapted African techniques to realize paintings and murals, as well as book illustration.
The Harlem Renaissance—the emergence of black culture that flourished and spread from the Harlem neighborhood of New York City—contributed heavily to every aspect of creative arts in the United States.
During the Harlem Renaissance authors Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson, along with painter Aaron Douglas, changed how many viewed African Americans and the African American experience.
Author Zora Neale Hurston and sculptor Augusta Savage contributed powerfully to the Harlem Renaissance as they crafted vibrant literary portrayals of African American culture and robust sculptural forms.
Harlem Renaissance Ends. The end of Harlem’s creative boom began with the stock market crash of 1929 and The Great Depression. It wavered until Prohibition ended in 1933, which meant white patrons no longer sought out the illegal alcohol in uptown clubs. By 1935, many pivotal Harlem residents had moved on to seek work.
Sociologist Charles Spurgeon Johnson, who was integral in shaping the Harlem literary scene, used the debut party for There Is Confusion to organize resources to create Opportunity, the National Urban League magazine he founded and edited, a success that bolstered writers like Langston Hughes.
Two of the earliest breakthroughs were in poetry, with Claude McKay’s collection Harlem Shadows in 1922 and Jean Toomer’s Cane in 1923. Civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man in 1912, followed b y God’s Trombones in 1927, left their mark on the world of fiction.
The cultural boom in Harlem gave Black actors opportunities for stage work that had previously been withheld. Traditionally, if Black actors appeared onstage, it was in a minstrel show musical and rarely in a serious drama with non-stereotypical roles.
The music that percolated in and then boomed out of Harlem in the 1920s was jazz, often played at speakeasies offering illegal liquor. Jazz became a great draw for not only Harlem residents, but outside white audiences also.
By 1920, some 300,000 African Americans from the South had moved north, and Harlem was one of the most popular destinations for these families.
The end of Harlem’s creative boom began with the stock market crash of 1929 and The Great Depression. It wavered until Prohibition ended in 1933, which meant white patrons no longer sought out the illegal alcohol in uptown clubs.
Harlem Renaissance really was an inspirational time for African Americans during the 1920’s and 30’s. It was a huge movement that gave a sense of equality and freedom to the African Americans.
Harlem was the center of African-American culture at this time. Black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets and scholars were drawn to Harlem and even other places in the North because they were all looking for a way to freely express their talents. Many came from the oppressive South where whites still reigned supreme and where segregation was still rampant. Therefore, there is no doubt that blacks were still struggling with gaining complete freedom and still suffering in countless ways at this time. However, in my opinion, it is simply amazing that even amongst all of their pain, suffering and hardships, African-Americans still found reasons to celebrate. The Harlem Renaissance is proof that there was hope for equality and freedom. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, African-Americans took a stand and chose to pridefully celebrate their culture and freely express their talents and abilities. It is truly inspiring to hear about people like Claude McKay and Langston Hughes, who urged their fellow African-Americans to stand up for their rights, using their artistic talents. Overall, the Harlem Renaissance deserves to be recognized as a successful movement because it proved that anything is possible.