Harlem Renaissance Notes By Mrs. Badore

definition A literary and intellectual movement composed of a generation of black writers born around the turn of the century (1900).

5 themes animating the movement 1.Africa as a source of pride in their race 2.Black American heroes 3.Racial political propaganda 4.Black folk traditions 5.Candid self-revelation (Watson 9)

Place and Dates Takes place between the end of WWI (1918) and the Great Depression (Oct 1929) Period of blooming culture and creativity in the African American Community

Reasons Influx of blacks to Harlem beginning in 1905 Covered an area from 130 th street to 145 th street, from Madison Ave to Eighth Ave Black soldiers returning home from WWI Nurtured by older black writers and intellectuals like W.E.B. Dubois, Alain Locke, Jessie Faucet, James Weldon Johnson, Charles S. Johnson, Booker T. Washington Started with newspapers and periodicals Dubois wanted African Americans to develop their own institutions, write about their own experiences and promote their own race

Names associated with Harlem Renaissance and brief biography

Langston Hughes Author and leader of the movement Born 1902 in Missouri Light-skinned black Came to NYC at 19 Studied at Columbia University but preferred Harlem

Claude McKay—Poet Born in Jamaica in 1890 Immigrated to the U.S. in became an associate editor of The Liberator, a white magazine Left in 1922 and went to Russia Then went to Western Europe

Zora Neale Huston-- Author Born in Eatonville, Florida Imaginative, curious Student of Alain Locke at Howard University Studied anthropology at Barnard College Rediscovered by Alice Walker (The Color Purple)

Countee Cullen African American poet Used traditional forms of poetry Like other Harlem Renaissance writers, poetry reflected racial concerns President of the Harlem chapter of the NAACP

Jean Toomer Born Nathan Eugene Toomer in 1894 Mixed race, could move between worlds and “pass” Most famous collection Cane Not comfortable as a “Negro” writer Not published by a major publishing house again

Some Other Authors of the Harlem Renaissance Sterling Brown Gwendolyn Bennett Nella Larsen Rudolph Fisher Eric Walrond Arna Bontemps George S. Schuyler Walter White Wallace Thurman

Other influences Nightclubs – Cotton Club—whites only clientele; black performers; lasted 4 years only – Savoy ballroom– open to clientele of all colors; integrated; lasted 32 years Theater – Apollo – “Shuffle along” – Musical review

Patrons There were wealthy people, both black and white, who supported these young writers and artists, including Charlotte Mason, a wealthy white woman) and A’Lelia Walker (wealthy black woman, daughter of CJ Walker who was the first female black millionaire)

Patrons and supporters (Watson 96)

Art Sculpture Painting Photography

Music Blues Jazz Ragtime Nightclubs – Performers include: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson

Citations Hillstrom, Kevin. Defining Moments The Harlem Renaissance. New York: Omnigraphics, Print Howes, Kelly King. Harlem Renaissance. New York: UXL Print. Hutchinson, George. The Harlem Renaissance in Black and White. Massachusetts: Belknap, Print Lewis, David Levering, ed. The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. New York: Penguin, Print Watson, Steven. The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African American Culture New York: Pantheon Print. Wintz, Cary D., ed. Remembering the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., Print Wintz, Cary D., ed. Black Writers Interpret the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., Print