The Theme of Double Consciousness in the Poetry of Harlem Renaissance

This poem is titled “Heritage” and is by Countee Cullen (for Harold Jackman). The social issue that motivated Cullen to write Heritage is the oppression that blacks faced and their eagerness to go back to the place that their ancestors were taken from. In the poem Cullen reflects the urge to reclaim the African arts, during this time, the Harlem Renaissance, blacks called this movement negritude. Cullen depicts the negro speaking on the view of Africa, by the all negroes. In the poem, Cullen uses auditory imagery, organic imagery, and visual imagery.

The idea Double Consciousness has been the overarching struggle in many Afro-Hispanic and Latin X literature. Double Consciousness is a term coined by W. E. B. Du Bois to describe an individual whose identity is divided into several facets. Double Consciousness complicates the feeling of belonging because it makes it difficult for one to develop a sense of self. In the autobiography Down These Mean Streets, written by Peri Thomas, the reader gets to experience the authors struggles with Double Consciousness of being both Hispanic and Black. In a similar fashion, Langston Hughes’ autobiography, Big Sea, gives the reader understanding of the shortcoming of dealing with Double consciousness with class and economic status. In this essay, I will be exploring how movement and location has a strong impact on identity, while simultaneously highlighting the importance to the journey that help develops a sense of self.

“One of the greatest writers of our time,” says Toni Morrison referring to Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston (Anna Lillios, 2014).. Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most famous writers of this era left a legacy through her pieces of writing during the Harlem Renaissance by celebrating black culture in her pieces. Her writing was known to be very original and artistic. Zora Neale Hurston was bold with her ideas for writing. Her writing wasn't limited by conventional expectations. Hurston was confident and courageous in her writing leading others to be inspired by her work. Hurston changed history though writing. Her writing still affects us today because of how powerful her words were. Zora Neale Hurston changed history and

The Harlem Renaissance was an evolutionary period in terms of African-American cultural expression; in fact, the movement changed the way that black musicians, poets, authors, and even ordinary people perceived themselves. One of the most influential poets of the time was Langston Hughes. Hughes’ works display a pride in being black that most African-Americans are too afraid to show, even today. Moreover, he adamantly refused to submit to the sentiment that he should be ashamed of his heritage, instead believing that “no great poet has ever been afraid of being himself.”(p1990 From the Negro Artist). In the article “‘Don’t Turn Back’: Langston Hughes, Barack Obama, and Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Jason Miller, Miller analyzes how Hughes’ poetry has been used by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama and how the House of Un-american Activities Committee affected that use.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time where creativity flourished throughout the African American community. At the time many African Americans were treated as second class citizens. The Harlem Renaissance acted as artistic and cultural outlet for the African-American community. The Harlem Renaissance, otherwise known as “The New Negro Movement” was an unexpected outburst of creative activity among African Americans In the poems Harlem by Langston Hughes, America by Claude McKay, and Incident by Countee Cullen all use frustration and hope as reoccurring themes to help empower the African-American population and realize the injustices they face day to day. The Harlem Renaissance was a period marked by great change and forever altered the

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement in the 1920s that led to the evolution of African-American culture, expression through art, music, and literary works, and the establishment of African roots in America. Zora Neale Hurston contributed to the Harlem Renaissance with her original and enticing stories. However, Hurston’s works are notorious (specifically How it Feels to Be Colored Me and Their Eyes Were Watching God) because they illustrate the author’s view of black women and demonstrate the differences between their views and from earlier literary works.

     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:

Harlem Renaissance was undoubtedly a cultural and social-political movement for the African American race. The Renaissance was many things to people, but it is best described as a cultural movement in which the high level of black artistic cultural production, demanded and received recognition. Many African American writers, musicians, poets, and leaders were able to express their creativity in many ways in response to their social condition. Until the Harlem Renaissance, poetry and literature were dominated by the white people and were all about the white culture. One writer in particular, Langston Hughes, broke through those barriers that very few African-American artists had done before this

Bumanglag 1 Elizen Bumanglag Ms. Pyzel Expository Writing 2 5 March, 2018 The Harlem Renaissance Do songs of hymns really give people something to hope for? During the Harlem Renaissance, it did. The poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” which later became a hymn was a song of hope and faith for the African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance.

taste, hear and touch. ' Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun' this

The great philosopher Plato once orated: “Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. PBS defines the the Harlem Renaissance a “Cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem between the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s. During this period Harlem was a cultural center, drawing black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars.” Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.”Authors such as Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and Colleen McElroy explore their cultural heritage through hard-hitting poetry.

The two authors I picked were W.E.B Du Bois and Langston Hughes. The reason why I picked these two is because of the dedicated work they have flourished during the Harlem Renaissance. W.E.B Du Bois was one of the most famous black political leaders during that time. Du Bois had a lot of talent to bring

In the poem ,“America”, Claude McKay uses figurative language and diction to create a dark tone, a powerful empowering tone, and an optimistic tone. The theme of double consciousness of African-Americans is supported in the poem and the poem itself also connects to the purpose of the Harlem Renaissance which was to fight back racial hate and stereotypes with black empowerment.

Alain Locke, a Rhodes scholar with a PH.D. from Harvard, describes Harlem as “the first concentration in history of so many diverse elements of Negro life”. The Harlem Renaissance took place in Harlem, New York between the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s. At that time, since African- Americans were living with racism and economic injustice in society, they exercised freedom and claimed their civil rights through the arts. The Harlem Renaissance writers did not only write to blacks to inspire them; they also wrote to whites to warn them. As an example of this, “If We Must Die” was written by Claude McKay, after the 1919 “Red Summer” in Chicago, during which rioters threatened the livelihoods and lives of blacks; this poem was

The Harlem Renaissance sought to revitalize African American culture with a focus on arts and literature and creating socioeconomic opportunities (Harlem Renaissance). This temporal setting, predominantly the influence of the Harlem Renaissance, of Hughes’s life explains the purpose of Hughes’s writing: to express the oppression of African Americans and the imperfections of Hughes’s America and to heighten African American morale during his life through his writing.