African-Americans in the 1920s

The Great Migration “Push” Factors: “Pull” Factors: Reduced opportunities for employment, political participation and better quality of life due to Reconstruction failure and 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson Supreme Court decision Increased racial violence Boll weevil infestation devastates the cotton crop, 1915, leading to increasing economic depression. “Pull” Factors: Racism still a serious obstacle, but much less brutal up North than in the South Better access to political participation (not prevented from voting) More educational opportunities More varied job opportunities as a result of WWI and massive industrialization Over 7 million African Americans migrate from the South to North between 1900 and 1920

New Jobs, New Communities Vast majority of African Americans worked in manufacturing, service and administrative positions 1920s saw the beginning of a small, but burgeoning black middle class: lawyers, teachers/professors, businessmen, doctors, nurses Cities like Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York gradually developed neighborhoods which became centers of black culture In Northern black communities, new creative expression in the forms of art, music, poetry and literature gave voice to the struggles of the black experience, and galvanized an entire generation of young African Americans to add their voices to the Civil Rights Movement

Black Activism The NAACP steps up its Anti-Lynching Campaign W.E.B. DuBois leads 8,000 – 10,000 silent protesters in a march against murder, violence and discrimination. July 28, 1917 Worked throughout the 20s to facilitate increased access to education Fought against the denial of voting rights in the South Demanded justice for racial violence Fought against segregation

Black Activism Marcus Garvey approached civil rights from a different perspective than the NAACP, established the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)in 1914 UNIA had over a million members by the mid-1920s An advocate of Black Pride, he advocated racial segregation for the benefit of the black community and founded the “Back to Africa” movement

The Beginning of the Harlem Renaissance Housing executives in the early 20th century planned Harlem for middle class workers who worked in the city, but couldn’t afford city housing prices – originally designed for white professional suburbanites. Overambitious building outpaced the growth of public transportation and led to a drop in property values. White Harlem landlords began to sell properties to black real estate agents and developers, who were more likely to rent to black tenants. Meanwhile, gentrification in Midtown Manhattan pushed many African Americans out of the Metropolitan area. With the flourishing of art, literature, music and black-owned businesses, African Americans began moving to Harlem en masse. The neighborhood’s population doubled between 1900 and 1920. A diverse community with people from all over the United States and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba and Puerto Rico) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhm8wQvQZeo

Harlem Renaissance Zora Neale Hurston Langston Hughes Claude McKay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhm8wQvQZeo EXPLOSION, CELEBRATION OF BLACK CULTURE LITERATURE, MUSIC, INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENT BURGEONING BLACK MIDDLE CLASS CENTER FOR BLACK ACTIVISM “MECCA OF BLACK AMERICA” Zora Neale Hurston Langston Hughes Claude McKay

How did the Harlem Renaissance Impact History? The Harlem Renaissance helped to redefine how Americans and the world understood African American culture. It helped to begin a more successful integration of black and white cultures, and marked the beginning of a black urban society. The Harlem Renaissance set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.

Claude McKay Claude McKay, who was born in Jamaica in 1889, wrote about social and political concerns from his perspective as a black man in the United States, as well as a variety of subjects ranging from his Jamaican homeland to romantic love. If We Must Die Claude McKay, 1889 - 1948 If we must die—let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die—oh, let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe; Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

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. 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.

I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.  Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen,“ Then.  Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed--  I, too, am America. I, too, sing America (1920s) 'I, Too' written just before Hughes’ return to the States from Europe and after he'd been denied passage on a ship because of his color, has a contemporary feel in contrast to the mythical dimension of 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers'. It is no less powerful however, in its expression of social injustice. The calm clear statements of the 'I' have an unstoppable force like the progress the poem envisages. Hughes's dignified introductions to these poems and his beautiful speaking voice render them all the more moving. From PoetryArchive.org

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Lawrence grew up in a settlement house in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance Lawrence's parents were among those who migrated between 1916-1919, considered the first wave of the migration. His own life in Harlem and the struggle of other black Americans inspired his earliest work

Lawrence’s Work Jacob Lawrence painted his Great Migration series during the 1940s to capture the experience of African Americans during the 1920s http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonn ell/w1010/edit/migration/migration.html

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.

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.