THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

The Harlem Renaissance Harlem Renaissance is the name given to the period from the end of World War I and through the middle of the 1930s Depression, during which a group of talented African-American writers, thinkers and artists produced a sizable contribution to American culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90PTxd sqfsA

The island of Manhattan Where is Harlem? The island of Manhattan Neighborhoods New York City is on Manhattan island

SOUTHERN BLACKS AND THE LURE OF THE NORTH BEFORE AND AFTER 1914 Most African Americans remained in the South nearly fifty years after the Civil War. There were plenty of reasons for blacks to leave the south, but little economic advantage to moving northward. With outbreak of World War I, this dynamic changes because: 1) war generates new opportunities for industry 2) much of existing labor supply leaves work force 3) immigrant labor pool evaporates. End result: The Great Migration, which congregated black populations in northern cities like Chicago and New York in unprecedented numbers. The concentration, in New York city, occurred on the upper west side, in Harlem. 

How does the Harlem Renaissance connect to the Great Migration? The economic opportunities of the era triggered a widespread migration of black Americans from the rural south to the industrial centers of the north - and especially to New York City. In New York and other cities, black Americans explored new opportunities for intellectual and social freedom. Black American artists, writers, and musicians began to use their talents to work for civil rights and obtain equality.

Causes What events and movements do you think may have helped lead to the Renaissance? Great Migration: the movement of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from rural areas in the South to urban areas in both the North and South. What push factors led to the migration? What pull factors led to the migration?

The Great Migration Racial Violence Economic Repression Push Factors Racial Violence Rise of the KKK Lynching Economic Repression Share cropping Tenant Farming KKK: Boycotts and Intimidation Political Repression Jim Crow Laws Sundown Towns Environmental Devastation Volatile Weather of 1915-16 (drought and flood) Boll Weevil

The Great Migration Economic Opportunity Political Rights Pull Factors Economic Opportunity Political Rights Unity and Solidarity Hope Mystery, Adventure and Myths

Where African-Americans Migrated To & Why The Great Migration Where African-Americans Migrated To & Why Primarily Chicago, Detroit and NY Also: St. Louis, Indianapolis, Philadelphia Industrial Towns with Booming Industries Towns With Supportive Networks

Music of the HR Bessie Smith Duke Ellington Louis Armstrong Cab Calloway

Duke Ellington Ellington was a jazz composer, conductor, and performer during the Harlem Renaissance. During the formative Cotton Club years, he experimented with and developed the style that would quickly bring him worldwide success. Ellington would be among the first to focus on musical form and composition in jazz. Ellington wrote over 2000 pieces in his lifetime. https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=cb2w2m1JmCY

Louis “Satchmo”Armstrong Louis Armstrong was a jazz composer and trumpet player during the Harlem Renaissance. He is widely recognized as a founding father of jazz. He appeared in 30 films and averaged 300 concerts per year, performing for both kids on the street and heads of state. https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=oGmRKWJdwBc

Literature of the time… W.E.B. Dubois Langston Hughes Zora Neale Hurston Richard Wright Sterling Brown

W.E.B. Dubois Among the important intellectuals writing and thinking during the Harlem Renaissance were W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Alain Locke. The notion of "twoness," a divided awareness of one's identity, was introduced by W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). and the author of the influential book The Souls of Black Folks (1903): "One ever feels his two-ness - an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled stirrings: two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder."

Langston Hughes Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful, realistic portrayals of black life in America. He wrote poetry, short stories, novels, and plays, and is known for his involvement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing. His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself.

Zora Neale Hurston Born in Alabama on January 7, 1891, Zora Neale Hurston spent her early adulthood studying at various universities and collecting folklore from the South, the Caribbean and Latin America. Hurston was a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance, rubbing shoulders with many of its famous writers. Zora Neale Hurston was an American novelist, short story writer, folklorist, and anthropologist. Of Hurston's four novels and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and essays, she is best known for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston died in Florida in 1960. http://www.biography.com/people/zora-neale- hurston-9347659 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teUi8N5ZaNs

Art of the Harlem Renaissance Visual artists played a key role in creating depictions of the New Negro. Alongside their counterparts in literature, music, and theater, art work of the time period exhibited:  bold, stylized portraits of African Americans during this period scenes of black life from a variety of perspectives. Connections to their homeland/history (Africa/slavery) Overcoming adversity 

Questions to think about: Study the picture for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the painting, then start to focus on individual details. Questions to think about: 1. What do you see? 2. What people do you see? 3. What objects do you see? 4. What colors do you see? 5. What actions/activities do you see? 6. What questions does this painting raise in your mind? “Ascent from Ethiopia”, Louis Mailou Jones. 1932

Hayden, The Tunnel

Palmer Hayden

Hale Woodruff, 1934

Hale Woodruff

Hale Woodruff

Edward Burra, 1934

Edward Burra

Jacob Lawrence

Poetry Activity: The number your group has been assigned corresponds to the poem you are responsible for below. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes page 902 “I, Too” by Langston Hughes page 904 “Dream Variations” by Langston Hughes page 906 “Refugee in America” by Langston Hughes page 907 “The Tropics in New York” by Claude McKay page 923 “A Black Man Talks of Reaping” by Arna Bontempes page 925 “Study the Masters” by Lucille Clifton page 915 “For My Children” by Colleen McElroy page 917

In your groups: Read and fill out the SOAPSTone chart for your poem (formative assignment) On the poster, incorporate the following information on your assigned poem in a creative, neat, organized manner (25 point Reading/Literature summative grade): Title and author of the poem Interpretation of the poem Connections to Harlem Renaissance/Spirituals Poetic devices evident Visual of the poem in the style of the Harlem Renaissance artists (bright, colorful, may be abstract) ***You will present these to the class Monday/Tuesday.

Dance

Dance-the Nicholas Brothers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKRm6H-qOU