African American Identity

Names such as Marcus Garvey, Richard Wright, Zora Neal Hurston and Langston Hughes were some of the top figures of this movement. The Harlem Renaissance is important in history, because it is the first time in which African Americans openly expressed literary writing. A sense of liberation, and freedom was felt for the first time. Blacks were coming together to share in the “New Negro”. This movement was marked by advancements in the arts. Poetry, fiction, drama, and essay were the major components of the writings. These works express the hardships of slavery as well as racism, and discrimination. These works also called for a sense of racial consciousness, and if self internalization. A push toward racial integration was pursued, as well as the development of music, especially jazz, spirituals and blues, and many other genres. With so many prominent and intellectual African Americans of that time period, it is hard to touch on the advancements and contributions that each person made to the movement, but the few great ones will always be remembered. As the years passed during the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans began to establish themselves economically, paving the way blacks to be able to survive in a capitalistic society. For a period of about ten years, Harlem became one of the most thriving, and exciting cities in the North. The Renaissance reigned on for around ten years, but eventually fell, mostly due to the

Back in the early 20th century there was a movement that took the world by storm; it was something that would change the United States forever. This movement was called the Harlem Renaissance. This movement started when African American writers and poets began to explore what it means to be an artist, what it means to be black, what it means to be an American and what it means to be all three of these things at the same time. The author of the “Cultural and Historical Context: The Harlem Renaissance”, Kelly J.Mays, goes on to say that the “Harlem Renaissance, [was] a period of ten or fifteen years in the twentieth century, when an extraordinarily talented group of people came together in uptown Manhattan to celebrate and embody the awakening

The period in where an outburst marked a time in where political, creative and educational influences of African Americans was due to the Harlem Renaissance after the first world war. During this time of cultural celebration, African American artists took pride in their intellectual expertise (Bloom, 2004). It is critical to note that the event of the Great Migration influence the advancement of the Harlem Renaissance.

"Race pride" and "race consciousness" cornerstones to the Harlem Renaissance, were closely linked to a new understanding of the African heritage of Black American(Marx 170). The Harlem Renaissance was a period between 1920 and 1940 of great cultural, economic and identity assertion among talented and expressive African Americans. Its high point occurred between 1920 and 1930 but it had started before then and continued after. The art, literature and music of the Harlem Renaissance expressed the rebirth of the African American spirit and it was born in the minds of its poets and in the hears of its common people. Such emotions were expressed in songs, essays, artwork, and dance. The Harlem Renaissance brought along racial pride for blacks.

The era in American history known as the Harlem Renaissance was a turning point in the lives of blacks in the United States. Harlem, a predominantly black urban community in New York, was the primary destination of the Great Migration. As such, it became the birthplace of a historic cultural movement. The movement of blacks from the southern states to the northern states after the Civil War kick-started the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement among blacks in the 1900’s that positively affected not only black Americans but the world around them.

Even though individuals of the African American race faced racism, discrimination, and oppression, the Harlem Renaissance provided them with a sense of enlightenment the and became provided encouragement for not only today’s society but also in the African American realm as well. It is apparent that the period in which the Harlem Renaissance occurred, ultimately enriched the African American race through art, literature, and music, thus challenging the governing culture’s stereotypical

The Harlem Renaissance, also known as “The Negro Movement” was the rise of African American cultures, it gave African Americans the chance to express themselves through literature, art, and music, it was a leading factor in The Great Migration, but the Great Depression of the 1930s brought this celebration of black voices and black ways to an end. The Harlem renaissance came about during the 1920s and took place in Harlem, the center of New York. American writer, philosopher, and educator, Alain Locke, described this time as a “spiritual coming of age”. Although the Harlem Renaissance was a good time for the African American community, a few whites did not see it that way, which caused great controversy with white venues and audiences.

“Just as the onset of the Great Depression signaled the end of the Harlem Renaissance.”(Howes) Despite the ending of the Harlem Renaissance, this movement had been the fire that lit an explosive bomb of social reforms for African Americans. Historians would like to argue that the Harlem Renaissance did not bring about any social justice. Be that as it may, African Americans found a sense of security within themselves. They clenched an indescribable pride and integrity during this time period which essentially shimmered among America. In brief, the Harlem Renaissance left a long standing legacy of resilience, strength, and, dignity. African Americans slowly transitioned from the perception of being property to the new found acknowledgement of being intellectual individuals with creative ideas and essential contributions to

Occurring in the 1920’s and into the 1930’s, the Harlem Renaissance was an important movement for African-Americans all across America. This movement allowed the black culture to be heard and accepted by white citizens. The movement was expressed through art, music, and literature. These things were also the most known, and remembered things of the renaissance. Also this movement, because of some very strong, moving and inspiring people changed political views for African-Americans. Compared to before, The Harlem Renaissance had major effects on America during and after its time.

I identify myself as a person of African descent. Therefore, I call myself an African American. What is generally understood by the term African American is that African origination became mixed with American culture to produce a hybrid identity, a mixed identity. The phrase also can be used to identify my ancestors that were brought here from Africa by the European settlers. As an African American, I think that term is politically correct because it helps us to find an identity, to position ourselves, within American culture and on the other hand, it also gives recognition to my African origin.

Although “The Negro Movement” has been over since, but the effects are still known today. African American artist engaged culture to work for goals of civil rights and equality. While it has been made clear that African Americans Literature has a stand which Harlem Renaissance, May still feel that the Harlem Renaissance did not redefine African Americans expression. Nathan Irvin Huggins, an American historian, also an

During the 1920’s and 1930’s African Americans began to face a reality that they were not first class citizens in America. This led to the the creation of the Harlem Renaissance movement that strove to promote African American in the Fine Arts. The African

It was a hot August day as sweat beat down on Thomas Jefferson Brown. He had been working in the field 2 hours before the hot sun had made its presence known. He looked back over the drying field, hoping that this crop would provide for his family better than last years crop had. Thomas watched his oldest son, Nathan, who worked down one row of the field while staring intently at the cotton plants as he picked the cotton. Nathan was a very inquisitive young man who had just yesterday asked his father what it was like being a slave for Mr. Walter Johnson. When his father had told him that in a lot of ways life was so much easier than now, Nathan had given him a look that allowed Thomas to know that his son could

Although slavery was formally abolished in 1865, many African Americans were still treated quite unfairly and were not accepted as equals into the American society. White Americans during this era were seen as superior and possessed institutional power that no dark-skinned person could ever have. To surmount this inequality, those who were considered as ‘mulatto’ (of both Black and White racial identity) had the ability to ‘pass’ — in which a mulatto would be mistaken as White. Even with this ability, as generations go on, many African Americans lose their history. Families began to continue living a passing lifestyle, leaving individuals ignorant to their roots. They begin to lose their heritage and living the unknowing life of something that

The Harlem Renaissance acted as the crossroads for black to interact with others and expand their contacts, even internationally. Also, African Americans began to change their image from rural to urban. In other words, they were transforming themselves from peasants to sophisticates. The Harlem Renaissance allowed for African Americans to be a force in America even if they couldn’t be employed and seen as equals to whites. It was so influential that African Americans began to gain power in northern cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia. The Harlem Renaissance phenomenon sparked the idea of “New Negro” and led to the drive for change, giving a sense of Black Nationalism and the ability to express their ideas and concerns in ways they were