The Harlem Renaissance

1
The Harlem Renaissance

• I can never put on paper the thrill of the
  underground ride to Harlem. I went up the steps
  and out into the bright September sunlight.
  Harlem! I stood there, dropped my bags, took a
  deep breath and felt happy again.
• Langston Hughes

2
Why it Matters

• As a result of WWI
• Millions of African Americans migrated from the
  rural south to the urban North
• Continued through the 20s and inspired a
  flowering of music and literature
• Jazz/Harlem Renaissance
• Made a lasting impact on the culture Americans
  share today

3
Migrants Face Changes Challenges

• Wages
• In the North were better
• Blacks had a growing political voice in the North
• Professional jobs available to them
• Did not escape racism/oppression
• Forced to live poor housing
• 1919 Race riots broke out
• New Yorks Harlem became a focal point of
  inspiration
• 200,000 blacks settled in Harlem

4
Garvey Calls for Racial Pride

• Marcus Garvey
• Immigrated in 1916
• Felt everywhere blacks were exploited
• Back to Africa movement
• Advocated the separation of races
• Universal Negro Improvement Assoc.
• Movement died but his ideas didnt fade
• Nation of Islam
• Black Power

5
A Unique American Music Emerges

• Jazz
• Emerged in the South (New Orleans)
• Spread north with the Great Migration
• Louis Armstrong
• Unofficial ambassador of jazz
• Bessie Smith
• Empress of the Blues

6
Jazz wins worldwide popularity

• Symbol of roaring 20s
• Played in speakeasies
• Sound of the Cotton club
• Phonographs/Radio spread the influence
• Jazz announced that the U.S. was a land of shared
  cultures
• Bridged races
• Changed popular music

7
African American Literature Flowers

• Harlem Renaissance
• New Negro
• Writers explored the pains and joys of being
  black in America
• Claude McKay-showed ordinary African Amer.
  struggling for dignity

• If we must die-let it not be like hogs,
• Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot.
• While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
• Marking their mark at our accursed lot
• What though before us lies the open grave?
• Like men we will face the murderous cowardly
  pack,
• Pressed to the wall, dying but fighting back

8
Cont..
Langston Hughes

• Langston Hughes
• Not political, but a celebration of
  African-American culture
• 50 works of poetry
• Captured the diversity of everyday life
• Nora Neale Hurston
• Folk tales
• 1937-Their Eyes were watching God
• Longing for independence for both blacks and women

Their Eyes were watching God
9
The Harlem Renaissancehas Lasting Impact

• Gave a voice to African American culture
• Altered the way white Americans viewed
  African-American culture
• Sense of group identity and solidarity that would
  become a bedrock for the Civil Rights movement