African American History: The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance

·        This was an African American cultural movement that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

·        It started right after WWI in 1918 and ended in the mid-1930’s.

·        This was the first time mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously.

·        It was primarily a literary movement but it also was closely related to developments in African American music, theater, art, and politics.

·        During WWI, African Americans moved north for jobs and Harlem was the area where a large number of the most well educated and socially conscious blacks centered at.

·        What the movement pushed for was political and social equality and a sense of strong racial pride.

·        The thing that made the Harlem Renaissance unique was the many different and diverse ways it was expressed.

·        Audiences for the movement were of mixed racial groups, appealing to both whites and blacks.

·        African Americans wanted to freely express themselves at this time, no matter what the mixed public thought.

·        One of the major reasons the movement declined was because of the Great Depression.

Information from:

Wintz, Cary DeCordova. "Harlem Renaissance." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

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