The Role Of African Americans In The 1920's

The 1920’s was a great and important decade for the United States. After World War I, the United States went through events and changes that, overall, made the United States a much better place to live. New advances in technology and industry improved American life in more ways than just one. Americans had better wages during this time, more leisure time, and overall, had a better life than ever before. In addition, the 1920’s advocated social and cultural change as well. During this time period, the United States did not return to Normalcy, and instead developed attitudes that changed the life of the people of the United States forever thanks to social changes, cultural changes and changes in technology.

In the 1920s America was changing we just came home for the first world war and everything from economy to culture changed. The culture changed due to the Jazz Movement in 1929. Jazz became part of everyday culture in America due to its smooth and new sound. The creation of the Jazz movement in america is largely credited to African Americans, because they were the ones who originated it. One of the key people in the Jazz Movement was Louis Armstrong a famous trumpeter, composer, singer and actor who changed the 1920s with his musicianship, his fashion, and he eased the racial tension between blacks and whites at his time.

Some social limitations African Americans went through in the late 1800s was that job opportunities were scarce. If one eventually did find a job, there was almost no chance of earning the income a white man would. Restrictions weren’t only found in employment as many African Americans also had to stay away from segregated places and their children were put in separate schools in fear of being sent to jail. the Jim crow laws are an example of discrimination and segregation towards African Americans.

The period after the Great War, or World War 1, of the early 1900s was a period of great prosperity for African Americans, women, and especially African American women. Though, on the other hand, the 1920s had some conflicts that many Americans could have seen coming. In many ways, the United States had been moving from an older world with not much individuality, to a more modern new world that we can recognize, more clearly, today. The 1920s had consisted of famous riots and restricts many immigrants had to abide by, amendments to the Constitution, and new ways of Blacks expression with the formation of Jazz music.

Although there were many up sides to the Roaring 20s, such as flappers and jazz, higher levels of education and cultural movements such as the Harlem renaissance and the “New Women”. The 1920 however also hosted many negative things such as Prohibition, Fundamentalism and the corruption within the government. And although there were many positive things make it easy to overlook these blemishes it is necessary to acknowledge that, the 1920s were also a time of strife for many Americans

The 1920’s were a very important era in America for better or worse. There were many issues in relation to race and how people of different ethnic groups were treated. African American had a cultural rejuvenation that being the Harlem Renaissance. The advent of the Ford Model T change the way how people traveled. Many may say an era like the 1950’s were highly comparable. Race related issues were on a decline as America as whole sought to be more accepting and the oppressed started to speak out on it. While some may argue that the 1920’s and the 1950’s were similar time periods, you can say they were different due to how the way minority ethnic groups were treated and the new consumerist lifestyles of people in the 1950’s. I believe that

For many African Americans, the 1920’s became a period of retrospection and evaluation of who they were and what their new role would be in American society. The “New Negro” trope was conceived to separate contemporary African Americans from the perceived “Old Negro” stereotype. The “Old Negro” stereotype had become “more of a myth than a man”10 which was perpetuated by American minstrel shows that began in the mid-1800’s. White actors would wear black stage make-up and stage a mockery what was believed to be Negro.11 The term “New Negro” was to help African American remove themselves from the “ignorant, happy-go-lucky” and “the supposed naive and simple-minded”12 stereotype. The new and contemporary African American saw themselves as a valuable part of society. No longer thought of as ignorant, the “New Negro” was educated and self-reliant. In visual arts, the image of the “New Negro” can be seen through a wide variety of scenes. In the artwork of Archibald Motley, he represents the “New Negro” through the social life of the urban

Being a full citizen in America was for the Blacks a long trajectory replete with a vehement resistance and relentless perseverance. Blacks fought heart and soul in order to put to an end the infringement of their civil liberties by the Whites. Indeed, after the discovery of America, the new settlers sought for cheap and hard workers who would willy-nilly perform and bear the intensive plantation’s work in their behalf. Therefore, after the inability of the Indian labourers and white indentured servants to withstand the harsh conditions, Africans seemed to be the sought after. Accordingly, Blacks’ relations with their homeland were torn up. Unwillingly they transported to American and for about three centuries they were treated as slaves and

During the early twentieth-century, the world had suffered a major blow. With World War I lasting from July 1914 to November 1918 and claiming the lives of 35 million Europeans. World War I was the European war, but World War II was a global war that claim the lives of roughly 10 million. The World War II era had seen France expelled from Algeria due to their prolonged war against Muslim natives; 100,000 died from an Indonesian Civil war; Soviet Union invasion of Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary; communism began when China came to power; America fought alongside South Korea after North Korea invaded their country; immediately after the African nation gain their independence, they became devastated by a major civil war and lastly, a dispute between Central and North America experienced an American intervention.

April 12, 1961 marked the tightening of the tensions between African American slaves and the free white man. The American civil war was fought to keep the peace between the Industrial north and the rural south. The south decided to leave the Union out of the fear they would lose their economic power, the slave labor force. Eventually this fear would become reality four years later when they lost their fight. The slaves were freed and given the same rights as the white men and women living in America. The slaves, who have never been free before in their lives, didn't know or practice their rights to their full potential.

Although our current generation has vastly progressed and advanced since the “roaring 20s,” there are countless attributes in which both eras directly resemble one another. These periods were the focal points of advancements in technology, women’s rights, and culture. The groundbreaking advances in technology for both generations had sparked a whole new outlook on our nation’s future ahead. Women’s rights were also a major turning point for education and the workforce, both in the 1920s and the modern day. Lastly, the influence of many individuals in the cultural communities of the “roaring 20s” and the modern day have greatly impacted the foundations of art, music, and sports. Without a doubt, the way of life for individuals in both eras have extremely similar concepts, where both seem to focus on establishing a progressive and strongly developing future.

When the Great Migration occurred end many African Americans moved up north to avoid the Jim Crow laws and to start over with a new start, in Langstons poem (“Good Morning”) he says “planes from Ouerto Rico, and holds of boats, chico, up from Cuba Haiti Jamaica, in buses marked New York from Georgia Florida Louisiana to Harlem Brooklyn the Bronix but most of all to Harlem dusky sash across Manhattan I’ve seen them come dark wondering wide-eyed dreaming”. In this part Of the poem Langston Hughes is talking about help people came from all corners of the world to migrate to Harlem to see the wonderful art and inquisitive poetry that was being offered. not only did these people travel all around the world just to see Harlem, but they came for the

The 1920s was a major time for change and reform, especially with the end of World War One. Many people were ready to move on after the war, and start their search for a “better life.” During the war, many roles in society changed, including the roles of women and African Americans. Furthermore, people and the general attitude in America changed, as soldiers from World War One returned home and the “lost generation,” the generation of young people after the war, began to have a greater influence on Americans. Moreover, the popular literature of the 1920s and 1930s exhibits these changes.

Before the Depression, Americans prospered during the roaring twenties. This was an exuberant era in which traditional values made way for new morals. The 20s were known for the freewheeling spirits of the flapper, new dances like the Charleston, and new and legendary literary writers. Subsequently, “the Works Progress Administration enabled ‘fantastic’ new opportunities for black performers, artists, and writers to mobilize the popular front as an anodyne to the economic hardships of the 1930s,” (Johnson 354).

The 1920s, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great change and a time of powerful enthusiasm in many areas of society. The world had just finished the biggest war in history, the First World War, and the United States was left almost unharmed by the war. The United States was able to experience a decade of peace and success following the war. During this decade, America became the wealthiest country in the world (Trueman, 2000). The people in the United States went through a colorful period during the twenties. However, at the same time the 1920s was also a very rebellious and difficult time for many. The culture of the 1920s has influenced the culture of America’s society today.