African Americans During The Renaissance

In the 1920’s many African American were searching for a refuge to escape from racism,discrimination, and violence. Many went to place called Harlem, a neighborhood in New York, where they commenced a new style of art, writing, and music. This was known as the Harlem Renaissance, where African Americans had their chance to be known for their skill. Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, were some of the important people who help express the African culture through writing and and music. They became an important figure in the birth of the Harlem renaissance. Even today they are remembered for their African American cultural success.

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social and artistic explosion. This event took place in Harlem, New York between World War I and the mid-1930’s. It was known as the “Negro Movement”. During this movement 1.6 million African Americans moved away from the racial discrimination looking for new opportunities. These African Americans went out and expressed their racial pride with different forms of art.

African Americans have fought a great battle to become a part of society in America. Since being taken from African as slaves in the 1600’s there has been a continuous battle for equality since. Since the end of slavery Black Americans have had many accomplishments along with hardships. In this paper I will discuss some of the Major events in African American history beginning with the end of slavery which has lead to the America we know today.

In the past, the ideologies of removed legislation have not died out. For instance, the Naturalization Act of 1790 stated that only white people could become naturalized citizens. This racist legislation was “reversed” by the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 (“Race-The Power of An Illusion, EXPLORE 1790-1854”). This amendment was created during the reconstruction period after the Civil War, and it attempts to unify the nation by allowing African-Americans to become citizens and promises that all citizens will receive protection and due process of law (“Race-The Power of An Illusion, EXPLORE 1790-1854”). Although this was a positive addition of legislation for minorities, not much changed in terms of the social atmosphere.

The Harlem Renaissance started because many African Americans moved North during war times and sought out new opportunities. As Jim Haskins writes, many white people headed off to World War I, which freed up many jobs in the North. This gave African American peoples the option to migrate North to seek new opportunities. This later became known as the Great Migration (24-25). This caused many of them to flee to the North (Haskins 27).

In 1800 over 1 million settlers lived between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains. Most of these settlers were farmers and merchants, looking to ship their products to the New Orleans port. The United States and Spain signed the Pinckney Treaty to give Americans the right to sell their products. But in 1801, a Spanish governor had given New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory to Napoleon Bonaparte. Then in 1802, the Spanish Governor of New Orleans withdrew from the Pinckney Treaty, outraging Americans. Jefferson figured the best option was to buy the port of New Orleans.

In a 200-year period spanning from the early 1500s to the late 1600s, three prominent titans of Europe would set their eyes on the New World with the goals of colonization and profit. When Columbus first sailed to the New World, he came across the Taíno, a native people of the island of Hispaniola. Upon seeing them, he remarked, “They were very well built, with very handsome bodies and very good faces...They do not carry arms or know them...They should be good servants” (Poole). This statement was simply the foreshadowing of something unimaginable; a series of conquests that would leave millions dead and millions more enslaved. Although the Native Americans were treated fairly by the French but at constant odds with the English, the true terror

In the 19th and 20th centuries Europe was thriving and wealthy while most of their colonies in Africa were suffering under their rule. The Europeans all wanted a piece of Africa’s land with its plentiful resources and free labor. Around this time, Europe was going through the industrial revolution and because business was booming the European countries need more resources than they already had. The Africans had the land the Europeans wanted to use to continue having booming businesses, they also had African slaves and workers that they can use so they don’t have to pay for labor. In the 19th century leader of the Europeans countries want to discuss how they will divide Africa without the leaders of Africa knowing. The Europeans then started to invade Africa and take control over the citizens. As the Europeans got more powerful, the Africans become more miserable. Unable to match the guns Europe had, African countries began getting claimed, one by one with the exception of two. The Europeans ruled in a cruel way that left many Africans dead or suffering. Many countries tried and successfully broke away from Europeans after many years under colonization. The Europeans had a negative impact on the lives of many Africans in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially with racism and assimilation. People were taught to be a human they had to be like a European which led to many racist views on African people and culture and is why some nations like France used assimilation to make

It was time for a cultural celebration. African Americans had entered hundreds of years of slavery and the struggle for abolition.The end of slavery did not bring them their promised land like they thought they were getting.Ninety percent of the African American culture lived in the South,but during the 1890s they started migrating to the North.That’s when the Harlem Renaissance started.Violence of the whites started to become legally and publicly.That’s kinda the reason why African Americans started migrating.

The life of African Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries has been a truly storied past. One of the most astonishing aspects of African American life, in this period, is the degree to which it was heterogeneous. The experiences of African Americans differed widely based on geographic location, class, gender, religion, and age. Despite a high degree of variability in the experiences of Blacks in America, if one were to consider the sociopolitical fact that Black people as a group in America were a subordinate caste in dominant society, then it becomes possible to make certain overarching connections. One such connection is the presence of secretive subversive ideologies and actions. The existence of these secretive subversive activities is apparent if one examines the labor tendencies, the folklore, and the outward societal projections of black people. By briefly examining the labor practices of Black women in Atlanta during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, The Uncle Remus tales, and cultural icon Louis Armstrong, one can deduce that secretive subversive actions and beliefs were an integrated aspect of Black existence during this period.

The Harlem Renaissance represents the rebirth and flowering of African-American culture. Although the Harlem Renaissance was concentrated in the Harlem district of New York City, its legacy reverberated throughout the United States and even abroad, to regions with large numbers of former slaves or blacks needing to construct ethnic identities amid a dominant white culture. The primary means of cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance were literature and poetry, although visual art, drama, and music also played a role in the development of the new, urban African-American identity. Urbanization and population migration prompted large numbers of blacks to move away from the Jim Crow south, where slavery had only transformed into institutionalized racism and political disenfranchisement. The urban enclave of Harlem enabled blacks from different parts of the south to coalescence, share experiences, and most importantly, share ideas, visions, and dreams. Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact in framing African-American politics, social life, and public institutions.

Matthew Anderson Nikkele Shelton AML 2600 October 16, 2014 African American Identity Poetry and literature of the early 20th century greatly emphasizes the depth of the societal struggles African Americans fought during the Harlem Renaissance. During the period following the Civil War a large population of African Americans migrated from the south northward. Harlem being one of popular destinations. With the returning blacks from World War 1 along with intelligent and educated blacks created a diverse culture and society in Harlem. Acceptance and the quest for identity in the white society became the most important drive for the suppressed African American community.

Art has always been used to voice emotions or stories in a way that can easily be understood. Conquering nations used art to immortalize their leaders, warriors and conquests. Similarly, conquered nations used art to keep their cultures alive. This pattern of dueling voices, those in power versus the oppressed, is shown throughout American art. From slavery and the Civil War to World War II to the modern day, art has been there to stand up to oppressors and keep faith alive for the oppressed. No era better shows a revolution against oppression and cruelty through art than the Harlem Renaissance of the early 1920s.

Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti was born May 2, 1660 in Palermo, Sicily and died October 22,1725 in Naples, Italy. Around the age of twelve, Scarlatti was sent to Rome to study music. While in Rome he studied with Bernardo Pasquini. Scarlatti wrote his first his first opera, Gli equivoci nel sembiante, in 1679. Queen Christina of Sweden made Scarlatti her Maestro di Cappella at the age of nineteen. He worked for the Queen until 1684. At this time Scarlatti was commissioned to write operas in Naples. As a result, he moved to Naples where he became the Maestro di Cappella of the royal service. Scarlatti worked in Naples until 1702. During his time in Naples he wrote over forty operas for the royal service. In 1702 Scarlatti moved to Florence,

While Jackson’s accomplishments may have shown how great democracy can be at reforming governments and regenerating a race of men, his words likely rang hollow for the oppressed people of this period. Early Americans experienced varying levels of prosperity and prejudice depending on where they fit into the society. The Anglo-American male had opportunities available to gain wealth, land, and increase their social standing. For certain populations like the African-Americans, Native-Americans, and women to a certain extent, this wasn’t the case. Due to the lack of equal opportunities experienced by many, the nineteenth century America resembled more of herrenvolk republic, than that of a true republic.