The Harlem Renaissance and a New Cultural Identity
A New Cultural Identity
By Ansu Overstreet AkA Awesome, Cool, Brilliant and any other synonyms of these qualities
Originally known as the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance was a period of immense social activity and great innovations among artist and writers. The movement’s name is derived from its origin; Harlem New York. At this time Harlem became the Mecca to which scholars, writers, musicians and photographers traveled. African American migration to the northern states played a major role in the initiation of this intellectual movement which harbored and preserved a new black cultural identity in multiple aspects. Prolific writers such as Langston Hughes influenced many poets. The improvisation of Jazz and its syncopated rhythms was popularized by jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
The Harlem Renaissance began in the late 1930’s after World War II. However much of the foundation of this movement was established by earlier generations of African American educators, students, and intellectuals. In the decades following the Civil War, multiple racial barriers to education were removed and African Americans took advantage of the new educational opportunities in prodigious numbers. Due to the harsh aspects of the Jim Crow laws in the south (which contained approximately 90 percent of the Black population at the time) and the discrimination and mistreatment that followed, African American individuals migrated to the urban northern states to escape the oppressive system of the rural south where they were able to find work.
Some of the most prominent works created during this era were in the field of literature. Langston Hughes was the epitome of prolific writers and a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his pomes which he wrote with the rhythmic pattern of jazz and blues which influenced many poets. Hughes’s first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926. The book was very popular and
By Ansu Overstreet AkA Awesome, Cool, Brilliant and any other synonyms of these qualities
Originally known as the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance was a period of immense social activity and great innovations among artist and writers. The movement’s name is derived from its origin; Harlem New York. At this time Harlem became the Mecca to which scholars, writers, musicians and photographers traveled. African American migration to the northern states played a major role in the initiation of this intellectual movement which harbored and preserved a new black cultural identity in multiple aspects. Prolific writers such as Langston Hughes influenced many poets. The improvisation of Jazz and its syncopated rhythms was popularized by jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
The Harlem Renaissance began in the late 1930’s after World War II. However much of the foundation of this movement was established by earlier generations of African American educators, students, and intellectuals. In the decades following the Civil War, multiple racial barriers to education were removed and African Americans took advantage of the new educational opportunities in prodigious numbers. Due to the harsh aspects of the Jim Crow laws in the south (which contained approximately 90 percent of the Black population at the time) and the discrimination and mistreatment that followed, African American individuals migrated to the urban northern states to escape the oppressive system of the rural south where they were able to find work.
Some of the most prominent works created during this era were in the field of literature. Langston Hughes was the epitome of prolific writers and a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his pomes which he wrote with the rhythmic pattern of jazz and blues which influenced many poets. Hughes’s first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926. The book was very popular and