21-4 The Harlem Renaissance
pp. 630-635
EQ: Why were the 1920s such a crucial era in African-American history?
Subquestions:
a. What were the causes and results of the migration of so many African Americans to Northern cities in the 1900s? (be specific...follow a story that interests you!)
b. How successful were blacks in meeting economic, social or political goals in the early-to-mid 1920s?
c. Why was the anti-lynching campaign so important? What do we need to know about this movement?
d. According to our text, is there a unifying "voice" or theme to African-American literature from this time period? Explain.
Extra inspiration: your opinions:
e. What do you think of Marcus Garvey: hero? Grandstander? Did he help or hurt average African-Americans in their pursuit of increased opportunities?
f. Which writer seems most interesting to you? Why?
g. Which musicians seem most important--musically or culturally? Explain your thoughts. Include a link to their music if you can.
h. Why do you think a "flowering" of artistic and cultural expression happened at this time for African-Americans?
i. Do you think the Harlem Renaissance's effects were widespread, or were they more likely limited to the metro NY area? Explain.
Why was the anti-lynching campaign so important? What do we need to know about this movement?
ReplyDeleteI think that the anti-lynching campaign was very important becuase it showed that the National Association for the Advancements of Colored People (NAACP) had a voice and were respected even with so much racail violence. The NAACP's main priority was to make lynching of African Americans illigal. James Weldon Johnson led the fight in 1919 (Danzar p.631) Three anti-lynching bills were introduced to the Senate in 1919 (Danzar p.631) The NAACP campaigned and campaign and gradually the number of lynching reduced. In NAACP's Anti-Lynching Campaigns: The Quest for Social Justice in the Interwar Years
(http://edsitement.neh.gov/curriculum-unit/naacps-anti-lynching-campaigns-quest-social-justice-interwar-years) shares that the bills never did get passed by congress, and that textbooks, expecially American History textbooks, rairely say that information. The artical also says that much can be learned about how "Americans in the interwar years understood the federal system, interpreted the Constitution, and responded to calls for social justice" just from this one act of trying to end lynching of blacks. The NAACP was very impactful having a lot of organizations established making lives better for African Americans. It represented the voice of the African Americans trying live in a better place in America, just like all immigrants coming over to America try and do.
How successful were blacks in meeting economic, social or political goals in the early-to-mid 1920s?
ReplyDeleteduring the early 1920's, African Americans moved from their rural neighborhoods to the cities that held promise. Politically, the NAACP and Ida B Wells-Barnett helped with the decrease of lynchings.(Danzer 631) Organizations like the UNIA gave a sense of pride and economic independence. The Harlem Renaissance promoted individual voice among hundreds of blacks. New ideas flourished and songwriters and performers were even attracting whites. The significance of this movement was that it gave people the courage and freedom to express themselves politically and creatively.
I found a picture that shows the courage of the NAACP because they are leading the struggle to win civil rights.
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-07-11-silentmarch.jpg
Which writer seems most interesting to you? Why?
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Renaissance was led by well-educated African Americans. These people celebrated the African American experience within their pieces and poems. The writer I think was the most interesting was Countee Cullen. He became famous in 1925 for his collection of pieces called "Color." People began bringing in jazz and blues into their pieces of work and Countee was one of the first to do it. He took a bit of a different spin by using a classical style to capture the black struggle. He wrote of the conflict's of a black artist during this time, "Yet I do marvel at the curious thing:/ To make a poet black and make him sing!"
Here is one of Countee Cullen's poems.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/heritage/
This poem is called Heritage and that narrator realizes that now he is in America and while he may have to give up his African heritage he will never give up his black heart and mind to white civilization.
Information about poem from:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/countee-cullen
How successful were blacks in meeting economic, social or political goals in the early-to-mid 1920s?
ReplyDeleteThe Great Migration prompted many blacks to move north, to escape the racial violence and economic discrimination. In a social spectrum, blacks flourished. The Renaissance had many different characters, each defined by their own special talents. Independence was definitely a core value of the Renaissance period. The NAACP and the UNIA were both attempts to increase the power blacks had in political society. The popularity of the NAACP increased, and "By 1920, the NAACP's membership had doubled." (Danzer 631) People like James Weldon Johnson, were key leaders in the blacks' fight for political rights. Thousands of blacks joined the NAACP. As a race, the blacks made great strides toward equality.
Here is the link to a Smithsonian Institute website, showing the membership card of a NAACP member, in 1927.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/detail/naacp-group-objects.html#memcard
a. What were the causes and results of the migration of so many African Americans to Northern cities in the 1900s? (be specific...follow a story that interests you!)
ReplyDeleteThe main causes of the Great Migration were racial violence, economic discrimination, and natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and the destruction of cotton crops by the boll weevil insect. More than 40% of African Americans lived in cities by the end of the 1920s. Danzer makes it clear that the newcomers, however, were not welcome. "Temsions had escalated in the years prior to 1920, culminating, in the summer of 1919, in more than 25 urban race riots."
This section of the chapter gives plenty of reasons for the Great Migration but does not follow specific stories like this question asks for. I found a website, http://www.hrm.org/Migration/Sarahmoore.html, that lets you pick a story to follow of an African American travelling north during this time period. I read one of a woman called Sarah Moore who moved North after the passing of her mother with her sister. She talked about her job in the South, saying that most of the burden was all on her and that she often felt overworked. This unfairness is something alot of African Americans felt. I liked reading a first-person story.
Kim, awesome site. Love it. The Great Migration is essential as "backstory" to the Harlem Renaissance. So many displaced people, and new arrivals from the Caribbean, Central America and Europe, made the inexpensive neighborhood of Harlem crowded, noisy and very very alive. The explosion of creative energy is really amazing. I can't wait to read Sarah Moore's story. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteMike, love the card...and I liked the pictures below it. What could you say ABOUT the card, in a WWSA kind of way?
ReplyDeleteAnd Emma, you sure did choose a L-O-N-G Cullen poem! I really like how you focus your insight into such a brief explanation. That's a valuable skill!
Kate, it's impossible to stress the horrible importance of lynching in this country in the history of race relations. It's one of the most gruesome forms of terrorism I can think of for local communities. Imagine how brave people were to stand up against it. And Congress never ever passed the proposed (and oft-debated) anti-lynching law. Can you believe it??
p.s. Hanna, you're not being ignored. Just didn't have a comment. You're off the hook!!
h. Why do you think a "flowering" of artistic and cultural expression happened at this time for African-Americans?
ReplyDeleteThis explosion of art and culture happened during the Harlem Renaissance, a neighborhood described by Danzer as, “Suffering from overcrowding, unemployment, and poverty.” (Page 632) Even before Harlem, African Americans had felt their fair share of suffering through slavery and discrimination. But what does this have to do with art? All good art needs emotion. No great literature, song, or painting has been crafted without some form of emotion. And not that I know anything remotely about it, suffering is one of the strongest of all emotions. It creates a need for release, and for so many in Harlem, art was the eruption of a century worth of pain. “Whatever pain and suffering you've experienced in your life has been a blessing at least in this one regard: you now know some true things that you couldn't have learned any other way.” (Eric Maisel) How else could writers such as Cluade McKay expressed the pain of life in the Ghetto in his poems without actually enduring one. One thing that so many Harlem artists have in common is the suffering that shows up through their work. With the harsh conditions of poverty and racism in Harlem gave birth to the art. Without the suffering, the art couldn’t have existed. It is a necessary evil to truly express yourself in the deepest nature. "Don't look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you'll know you're dead” (Tennessee Williams)
SQd: According to our text, is there a unifying "voice" or theme to African-American literature from this time period? Explain.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the text there is a unifying “voice” or theme. Danzer says on page 632 that, “…. these young writers expressed a new pride in the African American experience. They explored and celebrated their African heritage and their people’s folklore. They wrote with defiance and poignancy about the trials of being black in a white world.” This was the theme of African American literature at the time. They had been given a chance to demonstrate what they could do and with the rebellious feelings of the 1920’s they had gone with it.
http://hennessyhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/langston_hughes.jpg/76865075/langston_hughes.jpg
http://web.ncf.ca/ek867/claude.mckay.abbott.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg/240px-Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg
What were the causes and results of the migration of so many African Americans to Northern cities in the 1900s?
ReplyDeleteAll stories of people that took part in the Great Migration were different like that of Zora Neale Hurston who had a passion for adventure and excitement and so she traveled north to New York City to look for the good life(Danzer 630). However there are some underlying factors that could be common with most families that were not as optimistic as Zoras reasons for travel. These factors were; extreme racial violence, economic discrimination, floods, droughts, and the dreaded boll weevil.(Danzer 630).
Below is a link to the official Zora Neale Hurston site:
http://www.zoranealehurston.com/
How successful were blacks in meeting economic, social or political goals in the early-to-mid 1920s?
ReplyDeleteAfrican Americans went to the city area because it held reachable goals for them. the NAACP which was established in 1909 "urged blacks to aggressively protest such racial violence." (631 Danzer) The NAACP in 1919 tried to make anti lynching laws more of a main priority. James Weldon Johnson led this fight in 1919. He was also a poet and a lawyer along with being executive secretary of the NAACP. The UNIA was an organization that gave blacks the sense of pride. soon there became songwriters and performers that even white's enjoyed. "During this time period, the musical style of blacks was becoming more and more attractive to whites." Also during this time it gave them a feeling to economically grow. The Harlem Renaissance gave these people the opportunity to become more independent as an individual and also allowed them to express themselves freely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance