Harlem renaissance and black INDEPENDENCE
Despite overt racism, how did Negro’s improve life in the 1920's for themselves?
In the 1920's the blacks increased their quality of life greatly. They were discriminated against on a regular basis, but that didn't stop them from embracing their culture. When the blacks moved from the rural south to the industrial north, they made a great step forward. They went from being seen as uneducated to being more civilized. From the city centers, the blacks started to move away from wanting to be white, something that would never happen, to embracing being black. When this shift in thinking occurred, they started to develop their own unique culture. From this, they developed their own unique music style; that went from being low culture to high culture. This fused with the mainstream American culture. They also had various contributions to America's culture in the fields of literature and art. All of these things made it "more acceptable" to be black. They stopped living under the shadow of wanting to be white, they started to embrace their culture and started living a better life. During the 1920's Blacks developed their culture and influenced the American culture. This allowed them to live better lives.
TLH
Change and Continuity- In the 1920's blacks were just starting to embrace their culture. They were no longer looking to be white, but were instead embracing being black. Their culture was just starting to have an effect on the rest of the United States. They were just finding how to live in the United States. In today's United States, I think blacks are at the same place if not worse compared to where they were in the 1920's. While racism isn't as big of a problem now as it was then, I believe that they have problems finding which culture they belong to. There isn't a strong black culture like the one developing back then. The black culture has now mixed with the white culture somewhat, and they have to find a niche to which they belong. But, everything is so main stream that these niches aren't easy to come by and many black people have trouble figuring out where they truly belong. The black youth are sometimes in limbo in today's society.
- What developments during World War I helped give rise to the Harlem Renaissance?
The most crucial event in the rise of the Harlem Renaissance was the Great Migration. The Great Migration was a large movement of blacks out of the deep south to the north in order to take advantage of the jobs available. These jobs were available due to the men going to war. When these blacks were moving to the north, they settled in dense city centers. These areas used to be white but grew into the blacks center in the town. This dense settlement pattern created segregation as the whites moved away. This dense settlement also caused the development of what we call the Harlem Renaissance. The blacks lived and worked together and the ideas grew from there.
- How was racial consciousness and racial pride affected by the Harlem Renaissance?
Racial Consciousness and Pride were affected greatly. Before the Renaissance, many blacks wanted to be as white as they possibly could be. They were almost begging to be "standardized', to become white. They wanted to fit in the same category as the white man. This was due to the racial segregation that they had faced due to the Jim Crow laws and the actions of groups like the KKK. During the Renaissance, however, this train of thought was changed. This was the era of blacks embracing being black, it is reflected in their writing, and music. Langston Hughes wrote a piece called "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain". This piece talks of how many black poets and writers wanted to be poets, and not black poets. Langston writes that this means that the poet is essentially saying that he wants to be white and that that is a sign that he will never be successful. Langston writes,"… it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro – and beautiful” This is essentially saying that the black community should stop being embarrassed about their blackness and embrace it. He is essentially saying I am black and black is beautiful.
- What contributions did African Americans make in the fields of music, literature, and the arts?
Jazz originated in New Orleans before the 1920's. It then moved "up stream" to the major cities of the north, including New York City. In New York City, Jazz evolved. It moved away from the extreme improvisations and the erratic beat of New Orleans Jazz, but stayed Jazz at its roots and its popularity grew tremendously. Then great musicians such as Duke Ellington and George Gershwin created an even more popular style of Jazz that was now considered a respectable form of music. From there great musicians have played and expanded jazz throughout the years. The new style of Jazz poetry was also introduced in this time frame. Jazz poetry reflected and imitated the sound of Jazz in the words of the poem. Langston Hughes was the most famous Jazz poet. The idea of Modernism art was also introduced by the blacks.
- How did mass media, the birth and evolution of jazz, and the Harlem Renaissance create a new blend of American culture?
At first, Jazz was a primarily black form of music. It evolved from a primitive sound into a sophisticated one that was enjoyed by all. This evolution created a hot commodity that was enjoyed by all types of people. The Jazz Poetry also was a more important part of the American culture that came out of the Harlem Renaissance. The women's liberation movement was also aided by the Harlem Renaissance. It used Jazz as a form of rebellion against the standard ideas of society. The culture created by the Harlem Renaissance effected the music, literature, fashion, and women aspects of society.
How did Marcus Garvey’s UNIA show an emergence of blacks asserting themselves?
The 1920's brought much change to the black culture. Before the 1920's they would speak out about racism but never really got to much accomplished, they kind of let things go. However, Marcus Garvey and his UNIA went after black right viciously. They tried to create a black shipping line and a movement to take back Africa for the blacks. The blacks of the time were no longer sitting back and watching, now they were taking initiative and sticking their nose into issues they had never fought for before. The UNIA was the start for blacks to actively pursue equal rights.
vocab
- Renaissance- a renewal of life, vigor, interest, etc.; rebirth; revival
- Jazz- a style of dance music, popular especially in the 1920s, arranged for a large band and marked bysome of the features of jazz.
APPARTS
- A- Langston Hughes, He is a poet, he writes jazz poetry
- P- This was written in 1926, during the Harlem Renaissance, when the black community was developing its own unique culture
- P- I know many blacks of this time period did want to be as white as possible and didn't want to be negro. They tried to live a white lifestyle in hopes of being considered better than the blacks.
- A- This is intended for the black population of the era.
- R- Langston Hughes was dissapointed that the black community was denying that they were black and trying to live a white lifestyle. He wanted to convince blacks to embrace the fact that they are black. He points out the soul behind the black culture and tries to show the black poets that it is a great culture and that they need to embrace it to be successful.
- T- The main idea is that blacks should embrace their skin color and the great culture and lifestyle that comes along with it.
- S- This piece shows how the black community didn't want to be black, and points out the change in thinking. It shows how they went from despising being black to embracing being black.