1920 to 1936

1

• 1920 to 1936

2
Harlem Renaissance Defined

• Harlem Renaissance (HR) 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
  produced a sizable body of literature in the four
  prominent genres of poetry, fiction, drama, and
  essay.

3
Harlem Renaissance Defined (continued)

• Not limited to literature, the movement also
  includes philosophy, theater, the visual arts,
  and music.

4
Harlem Renaissance Dates

• Beginning dates range from 1914 to 1920
• Ending dates range from 1935 to 1940

5
Great Migration

• Beginning of World War I
• Job opportunities in North
• 1915-1918
• Some believe this to be the beginning of H.R.

6

• Key
• Figures

7
W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

• Philosopher
• Sociologist
• Civil rights activist

8
W.E.B. Du Bois

• African Americans must be taught racial pride and
  African cultural heritage
• Coined the term Talented Tenth

9
Charles Gilpin (1878-1930)

• Performing arts theater

10
Theater and Film

• Charles Gilpin founded the Lafayette Players
• Few plays were written by African Americans

11
Alain LeRoy Locke (1886-1954)

• Philosopher
• Educator

12
Alain Locke

• The New Negro
• Saw Harlem as race capital

13
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)

• Political leader
• Publisher and journalist
• Jamaican National Hero

14
Marcus Garvey

• Back to Africa movement

15
Claude McKay (1890-1948)

• Writer

16
Claude McKay

• If we must dielet it not be like hogs hunted
  and penned in an inglorious spotLike men well
  face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the
  wall, dying, but fighting back!

17
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

• Writer
• Anthropologist
• Folklorist

18
Jean Toomer (1894-1967)

• Writer

19
Jean Toomer

• Poet
• Envisioned an American identity that would
  transcend race
• Did not seek out black forms for his poetry

20
Bessie Smith (1895-1937)

• Jazz and Blues Singer

21
Aaron Douglas (1898-1979)

• Visual Artist

22
Duke Ellington (1899-1994)

• Jazz musician
• Jazz composer
• Jazz band leader

23
Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

• Writer

24
Langston Hughes

• We younger Negro artistsintend to express our
  individual dark-skinned selves without fear or
  shame. If white people are pleased, we are glad.
  If they are not, it doesnt matter.

25
Arna Bontemps (1902-1973)

• Writer

26
Countee Cullen (1903-1946)

• Writer

27
Countee Cullen

• Poet
• Wrote in accepted forms that white audiences
  could appreciate
• Did not believe race should dictate style and
  subject matter

28
Josephine Baker (1906-1975)

• Singer
• Dancer
• Actress

29
Cab Calloway (1907-1994)

• Singer
• Actor
• Fashion trendsetter

30
Dorothy West (1907-1998)

• Writer

31
End of World War I

• We return. We return from fighting. Make way
  for democracy! We saved it in France, and by the
  Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United
  States of America or know the reason why.
  W.E.B. De Bois

32
Whats in a name?

• Harlem Renaissance
• Negro Renaissance

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Creative Forms

• Writers
• Poets
• Philosophers
• Musicians
• Visual Artists
• Filmmakers

34
African-American Literature

• Sought to reach entire community, not just highly
  educated
• Periodicals (magazines) acted as a medium of
  intellectual discourse
• The Crisis (cover dated September 1927)

35
The Jazz Age

• Artistic expression in music
• Cab Calloway
• Duke Ellington
• Josephine Baker
• Bessie Smith

36
Visual Arts

• Aaron Douglas 1936

37
End of the Renaissance

• The Great Depression
• 50 of families in Harlem were out of work
• Harlem Race Riot, 1935

Aaron Douglas 1936
38
Gains of the Harlem Renaissance

• African Americans proved themselves to be
  talented and capable
• Created a new consciousness in blacks and whites
• New art forms
• Socioeconomic changes

Chain Gang William H. Johnson undated
39
The Harlem Renaissance
Saturday Night by Archibald J. Motley, Jr. 1935