1. 1920s-1930s
Harlem Renaissance

2. Overview ren·ais·sance A rebirth or revival
L. Armstrong
ren·ais·sance
A rebirth or revival
A revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor
The Nicholas Brothers
Archibald Motley

3. Harlem Renaissance Originally called the “New Negro Movement”
Fostered a new black cultural identity
An outpouring of creative expression that had long been bottled up by the constraints of segregation
Josephine Baker,

4. Alain Locke
“The Harlem Renaissance “ was a term coined from Alain Locke's The New Negro in 1925
Distinguished as the first African American Rhodes Scholar in 1907, Locke was the philosophical architect—the acknowledged “Dean”—of the Harlem Renaissance.

6. The Great Migration
At the beginning of the period, particularly in the South, racism was rampant, and economic opportunities were scarce.
At this time in the South, African Americans were restricted to "colored" facilities clearly inferior to those reserved for white citizens.
Lynching was used to instill fear in entire African American communities in the South.

7. Causes of Migration
New farm machinery drove thousands of tenant farmers off the land.
Southern states had fewer schools and higher rates of illiteracy than Northern states.
Northern states also had more cultural attractions and booming industries.

8. Harlem, NYC The most vibrant African American community in the nation
Teeming with talent and activity
A great magnet for the Negro intellectual

9. Langston Hughes on Harlem
“I can never put on paper the thrill of the underground ride to Harlem. I went up the steps and out into the bright September sunlight. Harlem! I stood there, dropped my bags, took a deep breath and felt happy again.” –The Big Sea

10. “Black Consciousness”
Approximately 200,000 blacks migrated to Harlem during the Great Migration
A blend of different cultures from the South and Caribbean islands
Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, was a proponent of Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism

11. “Back to Africa” movement
Garvey concluded blacks everywhere
were exploited
Black nationalism would combat exploitation
His Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) had some 2.5 million members

12. Garvey
“In a world where black is despised, he taught [African Americans] to admire black things and black people.”
UNIA flag also known as the Black Nationalist Flag

13. W. E. B. DuBois DuBois promoted African American artistic creativity.
He insisted that artists. recognize their moral responsibility—”A black artist is first of all a black artist.”
He became disillusioned with black artists that were not promoting black causes.

14. Jazz F. Scott Fitzgerald called the 20s the “Jazz Age”
F. Scott Fitzgerald called the 20s the “Jazz Age”
A truly indigenous American music form
Based on improvisation
Creatively blends African American blues, ragtime, and European-based popular music

15. Duke Ellington ( )
Duke Ellington became one of the most important early figures in jazz and probably its greatest composer.

16. Duke Ellington Orchestra

17. Blues
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer. Nicknamed “The Empress of the Blues,” Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s.

18. Harlem: The Club Scene

19. Authors: Countee Cullen
Heritage
What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea, Jungle star or jungle track, Strong bronze men or regal black, Women from whose loins I sprang, When the birds of Eden sang? One three centuries removed From the scenes his father loved, Spicy grove, cinnamon tree, What is Africa to me?

20. Authors: Claude McKay 1889-1948 If We Must Die
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 accurséd lot. If we must die, O 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! O, kinsmen! we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow! 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!

21. Authors: Langston Hughes
The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.
“My People" in Crisis (October 1923)

22. Authors: Zora Neal Hurston
“Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.”
Anthropologist & folklorist,

23. Actors: Paul Robeson
Was an African American singer and actor who became involved with the Civil Rights Movement
Rutgers Univ., (football, debate team, glee club)

24. Visual Arts: Archibald Motley
Blues, 1929, oil on canvas

25. Visual Arts: Aaron Douglas
Sahdji, c. 1925, ink and graphite on wove paper, 12 1/16 x 9 inches ↓
Rebirth, 1927, oil on canvas→

26. The End of an Era Great Depression Riot in 1935
NAACP and NUL shift focus to economic and social issues
Several prominent black leaders move out of Harlem such as DuBois and Hughes leave Harlem