African Americans In The Civil Rights Movement

What if social tensions between whites and blacks were relieved? For most African Americans, that was not the case. The early twentieth century was characterized by racial segregation and great economic hardship. While many were subject to the threat of Jim Crow laws on a daily basis, others became victims of farmers’ debt. Unsurprisingly, this phenomenon fueled the Great Migration, where more than six million African Americans escaped from the rural South and migrated to major communities in the North and West in search of economic opportunity and success. Located in the heart of New York City, Harlem served as a transit neighborhood, harboring around 200,000 African Americans in 1920 (Norton, Sheriff, and Blight). An acclaimed historian, Clement Prince, once said, “Notwithstanding the memories of slavery, and in the face poverty, ignorance, terrorism, and subjugation still deeply woven into their lives, the embittered past of blacks was taken onto a much higher plane of intellectual and artistic consideration during the Renaissance,” (Clement). The words of Clement Prince describe the Harlem Renaissance, also known as the New Negro Movement, an intellectual explosion that brought unprecedented changes to African American music, poetry, dance, and literature. One of the many influential figures in the Harlem Renaissance was Adelaide Hall, a prominent African American entertainer and jazz singer. Through her pioneering of jazz and scat singing, Adelaide Hall sparked an

Relationships between races were very sketchy during the early 1900s. Racism was still very strong in the country, and ethnic groups settled in an area and created their own little communities. Harlem, New York was a black community in the north, many of the people having settled there because the north held many economic opportunities. Yet despite racism, cultures flourished. The Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of black culture in the 1920s, is a great example.

Furthermore, I believe the labels for adults of color should be cared more. I believe that adults of color should care more about labeling because the terms African American and Black are different. I think that African American label in America should be used for people that have influence in Africa or just immigrated to America. The label of African American is being stressed from its original intent. McWhorter stresses the point that people of color are not African to any significant extent. He explains, “It carries an air of protest, a reminder that our ancestors were brought here against their will…and that we have come a long way since then” (528). From a stand point, I think that that using the label “African American” is being stressed out too much because using the term African has no significance on the Black society today. The label Black should be used for people that have influence in America. For a person of color being Black, I think that it would be an appropriate term for the Black society of the present age. I feel it is not perfect but one step of improvement versus the previous labels in the past. It

Thousands of white Americans came to Harlem to experience the night life. The nightclubs in New York appealed to the whites as they were very famous. Jazz music was thriving in the area. It originated in the Unites States among African-American musicians. It was at this time that jazz was at its most famous point. Many people would host rent parties which were very popular at the time. Apartment owners would hold a party and would charge a fee to those who wanted to enter. They used this money in order to pay off their rent (Worth). The influence of jazz also brought musical reviews. Soon white novelists, dramatists and composers started to exploit the musical tendencies and themes of African Americans in their works. Composers used the literary works of African-American poets in their songs. Negros began to merge with Whites into the classical world of musical composition (Wikipedia). Soon, the works of artists were being displayed in nationwide magazines. Their culture began to spread with great velocity.

African Americans were a very important addition to the American Civil War such as fighting and spying for both the north and the south sides. The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States between the North and South states. The war was from 1861-1865 and was because the South wanted to establish itself as a separate nation. The northern states were called the Union and the southern states were called the Confederate. Between the north and south states were the Border States, which did not belong to either of the sides. The Border States included Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri. In the north, slavery did not exist but the south was the opposite. In the war, the north and south states fought against each other while the Border States were neutral. Before the war and during the war, African Americans were treated very unfairly compared to white people. This essay will examine how African Americans were treated before, during and after the Civil War.

As black populations rose, many northern cities became increasingly more integrated. African Americans were working along with European immigrants as well as other white residents. These cities became important centers for African American cultures. As a part of a movement to reexplore black culture, African Americans established newspapers, churches, businesses, and political organizations. Harlem became the center of much of this activity. Musicians, writers, and artist moved to the area, creating the era known as the Harlem Renaissance.

     Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. According to Wintz:

During The Reconstruction era, African Americans faced many obstacles on their way to success. Reconstruction of the United States refers to the remodeling that took place after the civil war. The country was injured in all areas. Its society, economy and physical structure had been In January of 1863; President Abraham Lincoln lifted the chains off thousands of African Americans’ shoulders by releasing the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this relief was short-winded. The Emancipation Proclamation stated that all people who were deemed as slaves, were to be set free from slavery and guaranteed to no return to it. At first glance, this new legislative act appeared to provide endless opportunities for newly freed African Americans. Instead, life after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation conceived more problems for African Americans than those they possessed during the bondage of slavery. After the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, African Americans faced various issues including a lack of opportunities, an unfair starting point and continuous discrimination.

What was the Harlem Renaissance? The Harlem Renaissance was a period of time in American history that emphasized African American culture in the form of music, art, and poetry. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was plagued by poverty and racial inequality. African Americans held the dream of upward mobility and racial equality, through mediums such as poetry and jazz: a new form of music originating from the African American community of Harlem. The community of Harlem was initially designated as a place where ambitious middle class workers could live. However, the community and housing of Harlem outgrew the transportation system. This caused the white real estate owners to sell their property to a lower income group of people which were mainly African Americans. By the time that the public transportation systems were extended to Harlem, many African American intellectuals, artists, and poets had already “set up shop” there. One of the places in which they did so was Harlem’s Cotton Club. This cabaret was famous for launching the careers of jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. However, the club was owned by whites, and its primary audience was whites. Still, the importance of the club is untestable. It was "the" way for upper class White Americans to experience what the African American culture was like at the time. A select group of prestigious African Americans would go to the cotton

The term “black” dates to the 1960s and 1970s and the civil rights movement. The Black Power movement advocated strongly for the use of “black” to replace the outdated “negro,” and many Americans of African ancestry started to embrace the term. In the 1980s, “African American” began to see common usage, and the term quickly became very popular. The argument for not using “black” is that it is a term, which refers purely to skin color, recognizing the fact that people from Africa come in a variety of shades and hues. The argument for using “black” also allows people to distinguish between Americans with slave ancestors, who may not have a close connection with Africa, and recent immigrants from Africa. This term also includes Americans of slave ancestry who immigrated from the Caribbean, as these individuals may feel more closely connected to places like Haiti or Jamaica than Africa (wisegreek.org).

     The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.

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.

     Between 1910 and 1920, in a movement known as the Great Migration, hundreds of thousands of African Americans uprooted from their homes in the South and moved North to the big cities in search of jobs. They left the South because of racial violence and economic discrimination. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many migrants moved to Harlem, a neighborhood on the upper west side of Manhattan. In the 1920's, Harlem became the worlds largest black community; also home to a highly diverse mix of cultures. This unprecedented outburst of creative activity exposed their unique culture and encouraged

The African American civil rights movement was a long journey for African American nationwide. The success involved many people, hardships and time in order to advance the African American community in America. The purpose of the movement was to achieve their rights, cease discrimination, and racial segregation.

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