1919-1940

The Great Migration 1910-1920: Hundreds of thousands of African Americans moved North to the big cities (Chicago, Detroit, NYC) in search of jobs. By the end of the decade, 5.2 of the nation’s 12 million African Americans (40%) lived in cities. PUSH Factors: Racial Discrimination, Poor Cotton Yields PULL Factors: Job Opportunities, Less Discrimination?

The Harlem Renaissance Harlem is vicious Modernism. BangClash. Vicious the way it's made, Can you stand such beauty. So violent and transforming. - LeRoi Jones

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s “Take The A Train” Billy Strayhorn for the Duke Ellington Orchestra You must take the A train To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem If you miss the A train You'll find you missed the quickest way to Harlem Hurry, get on, now it's coming Listen to those rails a-humming All aboard, get on the A train Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem What is the tone or mood of this recording? Why do you think the original recording was made and for what audience? List two things in this sound recording that tell you about life in the United States at the time.

The Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance represents an era in American history during which the uniqueness of African-American culture was celebrated. The Harlem Renaissance took place in newly-formed black communities in the neighborhood of Harlem, NY. It was a period marked by an active and vibrant nightlife; by the publishing of a great number of short stories, plays, poems and novels by African-Americans; by musicals written by and starring African-Americans; and, by the creation of artwork by African-Americans. African-American artists, writers, and musicians employed culture to work for goals of civil rights and equality.

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

Where was the Harlem Renaissance centered? Centered in the Harlem district of New York City, the New Negro Movement (as it was called at the time) had a major influence across the Unites States and even the world.

People of The Harlem Renaissance Musicians: Louis Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Billie Holiday, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, and Ethel Waters. Writers: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and W.E.B. DuBois. Artists: William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawerence,and Archibald Romare Bearden and the sculptor and printmaker , Sargent Clauded Johnson. These people listed above are only a few people important people during this time. There are TONS of other people who were important during this literary, artistic, and culture movement of the 1920s to 1940s.

The Cotton Club The club helped jumpstart many famous black Americans careers such as; Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, and Lena Horne. It was safe to say this was a very popular spot to let loose and hang out, however it was not the only place in Harlem. Only white people were allowed as guests here.

Billie Holiday                                                                

Langston Hughes

The Negro Speaks of Rivers I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. Ancient, dusky rivers. (1919) One of Hughes's poetic innovations was to draw on the rhythms of black musical traditions such as jazz and blues, but in 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers' it's the heritage of Negro spirituals which is recalled by the poem's majestic imagery and sonorous repetitions. Written when Hughes was only seventeen as he traveled by train across the Mississippi, 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers' is a beautiful statement of strength in the history of black people, which Hughes imagines stretching as far back as ancient Egypt and further into Africa and the cradle of civilization. The poem returns at the end to America in a moment of optimistic alchemy when he sees the "muddy bosom" of the Mississippi "turn all golden in the sunset". What is the tone or mood of this poem? Why do you think the poem was written and for what audience? List two things in this poem that tell you about life in the United States at the time.

Artwork of the Harlem Renaissance

Artwork of the Harlem Renaissance

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? 7. How does this painting relate to the Harlem Renaissance? 8. Based on what you have observed, list what you may infer from this painting. “Ascent from Ethiopia”, Louis Mailou Jones. 1932

Rent Parties! With astronomical rent prices, renters had to come up with creative solutions to pay their landlords every month. With Jazz's popularity and the large number of talented musicians, rent parties were frequent. A family would hire a jazz musician and admission for all comers would be charged at the door or by "passing the hat" around. The walls would bulge with the number of people and the volume of Jazz being played. Cutting contests were held as one pianist would battle another to find out who was better, this type of contest has merged into the freestyle rap battle. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, jazz set the table for much of the musical experimentation that would come in the later decades.