The Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes And Countee Cullen

The New Negro and the rise of Harlem came about at a time when African-Americans began to urbanize and form a unique urban culture. These African-Americans defined themselves on their own terms, were proud to be both of African descent and American citizens, and were not afraid to push back against racism. After WWI more than one million African-Americans moved from the South to Northern cities beginning in 1915 in what became known as the Great Migration. There were several push and pull factors that contributed to the Great Migration. Blacks sought to escape poverty, Jim Crow, and racism as a new KKK formed.

Have you ever thought of the changes that had to take place for all races to gain equality? The Harlem Renaissance was the revolution in America's history when the black community was being accepted and they were getting closer to equality to all. There were many things that sparked the Harlem Renaissance such as, such as jobs, opportunities for freedom and self-expression. The Harlem Renaissance is considered a Renaissance as it involved a change in the majority of society creating a rebirth type of event. The social change in this Renaissance was caused by the whites and blacks both starting to converge and easing the racial tensions.

Hughes citied Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman as some of his main inspirations. Today we remember Langston Hughes for his insightful, and his very vivid portrayal and personal views on the black life in America from the 1920’s throughout the 1960’s. He wrote many novels throughout his life along with short stories and plays, as well as poetry. His life work were important in the early shaping of the artistic contributions to follow after him. Some have considered him to be one of the earliest innovators of jazz poetry.

This movement inspired a rise in African-American artists and gave them a way to express their feelings in many art forms. Langston Hughes, a popular writer from this point in history, used his magazine to lift young African-American artists on to

There are different factors that lead to the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance brought about great change. This was period a of cultural achievement for African American. The African American way of life became a well known lifestyle. The introduction of the uniqueness of art, jazz, literature and dancing became the new attraction.

The Harlem Renaissance was a phase of a larger New Negro Movement that had arisen in the early 20th century and in some ways ushered in the civil rights movement of the late 1940s and the early 1950s. The social foundations of this movement included the Great Migration of the African Americans, from rural to urban spaces, and the dramatically advancement of literacy. The creation of national organizations dedicated to helping African American civil rights, and “uplifting” the race by developing race pride. The Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and meaningful movement that sparked a new black cultural identity that lasted until the 1920s to the mid 1930s. Essence summed up by critic and teacher Alain Locke in 1926 when he declared that through art “Negro life is seizing its first chances for group expression and self determination”.

The Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation where ninety percent of black Americans lived. This gave black people hope for a new better life in the Northern states where those laws weren’t enforced. This renaissance was a cultural party that helped expose black writers, musicians, poets, artists, etc. This changed the culture forever and the talent started to spillover within the black community. Art was pushed to its limits and was a form of a statement and representation.

While the Renaissance built on earlier traditions of African American culture, it was greatly affected by the trends of the Europeans and white Americans. The Harlem Renaissance left a great cultural impact on modern society by its literary works, music, and visual arts. The literary works during the Harlem Renaissance impacts people greatly

The 1920s paved the way for many developments in African American culture and resolutions to their challenges. Consequently, out of the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance was born. The Harlem Renaissance was a reawakening of African American culture throughout the decade. During this period, an explosion of art and music, particularly jazz, advanced the perception of African American culture and people (Document H). Additionally, the Great Migration made a better life possible for African Americans.

The Harlem Renaissance was given its name because cultural, social, and artistic explosion took place in Harlem between 1918 and mid-1930’s. During this period Harlem was the go to place for black writers, artists, musicians, poets, and many others. A majority of people came from the South, because they were fleeing its caste system to find a place where they could freely express themselves and their talents. Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Walter White and James Weldon Johnson were amongst the many artists who became very well known. Du Bois, editor of THE CRISIS magazine, the journal of the NAACP, published the poems, stories, and visual works of many artists.

He worked to help other African American artists find employment, as it was difficult to do so considering that “with this rebirth of traditional African culture, the number of African American artists rapidly increased” (1). This source will be extremely critical throughout the development of my thesis as it entails the story of Aaron Douglas, the artist of Aspects of Negro Life, and also a description of what the Harlem Renaissance is. This source is reliable as it is published through e-Vision at James Madison

After the end of World War I, America entered a new age of cultural and artistic growth. One area in particular, Harlem, New York, became the cornerstone of an African American movement called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance spanned across all of the arts embracing and presenting African American culture. This movement experienced the beginnings of numerous influential African American writers and works. One of these important writers was Langston Hughes.