"Harlem was my first positive reaction to American life -- it was like entering a paradise of my own people; the rhythm of Harlem still remains one of the most pleasurable sensations of my blood."
Claude McKay, 1940.

 

 

Many of the various works produced by artists of the Harlem Renaissance have acommon affect. The majority of works inevitably force the audience to dwell on certain thoughts. The following questions/actions have become the favorite and most popular topics amongst both amateur critics and longtime connoisseurs. Try to see how you fare:

 

- LIST THE OBJECTS OR PEOPLE YOU SEE IN THE ARTPIECE.

- DESCRIBE THE ACTION(S) TAKING PLACE.

- LIST TWO THINGS THAT THE ARTPIECE TELLS YOU ABOUT LIFE (OR ABOUT THAT SPECIFIC LIFESTYLE) AT THE TIME THE ARTPIECE WAS MADE.

- WHAT IS THE MESSAGE(S) OF THE PARTICULAR PIECE?

- WRITE A QUESTION THAT OCCURS TO YOU AFTER STUDYING THE ARTPIECE. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

 

Imagine the hippest neighborhood in town, where every weekend the most entrancing writers rub elbows with the most innovative musicians at the most intelligent doctors' parties.This was Harlem, a black section of New York City, from about 1910 to 1930. During those years, over 100,00 people moved there. This massive influx of bodies and energy blended together to create a melting pot of black culture and class. On any given weekend night, visitors and residents could go hear Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Fletcher Henderson at the Apollo Theater, while clutching books signed by neighborhood authors Claude McKay, Wallace Thurman, Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes.(Floyd, 1990)

This time period did so much for so many different people. The Harlem Renaissance paved the way for jazz musicians to experiment in the 1940s and 1950s, but its spirit was a precursor to the black pride movement of the 1970s. Harlem during this time, was a place where blacks could finally achieve all of their dreams. Proud parents raised well-groomed children, jazz musicians swung into the cool urban evening and black writers witnessed it all. Beyond the arts, Harlem was considered a safe haven from the rampant racism found in many parts of the U.S. at that time. People literally flocked to the friendly sidewalks of Harlem in search of a hassle-free getaway from the oppressive plight of life in the South.(Campbell, 1987)

Please feel free to visit my

Harlem Renaissance links:

• http://encarta.msn.com/schoolhouse/harlem/harlem.asp

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• http://www.unc.edu/courses/eng81br1/harlem.html

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• http://www.oup-usa.org/docs/0195093607.html

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• http://www.users.interport.net/~sperkins/MA_WEB/harlren.html

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• http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/9intro.html

My Sources:

Campbell, Mary. Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America. New York: Abrams, 1987.

Floyd, Samuel. Black Music in the Harlem Renaissance: A Collection of Essays. New York: Greenwood, 1990.

Schoener, Allon. Harlem on My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America, 1900-1968. New York: Random House, 1969.

Wintz, Cary. Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance.Houston: Rice UP, 1988.