The End!

Courtesy: http://faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/jazzage.html

Thank you for viewing our blog - we hope you enjoyed it!

Alexis, Brittany, Danesse, Jayne,

 Julie, Michael, Nicholas, & Theresa

Education

Booker T. Washington
Courtesy:

Blacks had always been interested in finding a better education for themselves, but during the Harlem Renaissance, thousands of African Americans from the South and West Indies where drawn to Harlem, New York, for better economic and educational opportunities.  Some schools discriminated this race, while others allowed them fair and equal educational opportunities. This later enhanced the population which would act as a cultural movement (HR Multimedia, n.d.).

The following are some philosophies and institutions that influenced public education in New York. Although the schools in Harlem were open to black and white students, a lot of schools maintained an all black population, primarily because of the increase of black residents in Harlem. As the number of African Americans took advantage of free public education, schools quickly became overcrowded. Some principals did not allow blacks to enter their educational institutions, which led to racial slurs by teachers and other students (HR Multimedia, n.d.).

The philosophical controversy that engaged African American educational thought was the teachings of Booker T. Washington’s doctrine of education and W. E. B. Dubois' educational philosophy. Washington did not deprecate the study of history, mathematics, etc. but viewed these subjects as more impractical for the education of African Americans than anything else. He believed that African Americans should be trained to become farmers, mechanics, or domestic servants who would later provide many of the services and products that the white community needed. Washington’s doctrine and practices of education continued to influence education in the North and South well into the Harlem Renaissance (HR Multimedia, n.d.).

As stated above, W. E. B. Dubois opposed Washington's beliefs. He censured Washington’s views as too narrow, too economic in its objectives, too deprecatory to higher institutions of learning, and too conciliatory to the South’s virtual destruction of political and civil status of African Americans. DuBois encouraged an educational group for the African Americans called "The Talented Tenth”.  Click on link below to view the the manuscript:

Talented Tenth Manuscript by W. E. B. Dubois 
Courtesy: http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~mbenneki/The%20Talented%20Tenth.pdf

The point of this group was to improve race relations in a time of extreme nationwide backlash following WWI by using a small number of well-educated professionals to lead the way. This act would later jump start the new Negro Movement (Harlem Renaissance) through organizations such as the American Negro Academy and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Access to books was critical to African American education, but the South lagged far behind the rest of the nation to provide African Americans the use of library facilities and resources. Between 1900 and 1910, some public libraries in the South began to extend services to African Americans through restricted services or the establishment of black branches (HR Multimedia, n.d.).

---Nicholas P.

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Harlem Resource Multimedia. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.jcu.edu/harlem/education/page_1.htm

Political Issues

GARVEY
Courtesy:
http://www.africawithin.com/
garvey/mgp01.jpg

The Harlem Renaissance was filled with some important black political leaders, such as W. E. B. Dubois and Marcus Garvey. Garvey founded the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) and was later elected President. He was a Nationalist advocate of black migration to Africa. Garvey and Dubois' views were in direct conflict. Garvey favored separation, while Dubois favored integration (HR Multimedia Resource, n.d.). 

DUBOIS
Courtesy: http://www.nps.gov/hafe/
historyculture/images/dubois285.jpg

Examples of social and political conditions during the Harlem Renaissance included emancipation, southern diaspora, and the "Scottsboro Nine". Emancipation progressed about 20 years before the Harlem Renaissance; it is easy to say that slavery was still alive in the mind of the U.S. The abundance of jobs compared to the racial South began The Great Migration to the North. This was also known as southern diaspora. The "Scottsboro Nine" were nine boys rumored to be looking for government work and were forced off a train and jailed in Scottsboro. Over the next 20 years the case would make certain people famous and change the way people viewed southern justice (HR Multimedia Resource, n.d.).

Courtesy: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/trials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

---Alexis T.

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Harlem Renaissance Multimedia Resource. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jcu.edu/harlem/
     politics/page_1.htm

Langston Hughes Speaks!

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Click on the above link to listen to this famous poet!

---Julie M.
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Poets.org. (2010) The negro speaks of rivers. Retrieved from http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.
     php/prmMID/15722

Literature

The roots of modern black American literature took hold during the Harlem Renaissance. Concepts such as primitivism, pride in black heritage/solidarity, oppression, inequality, and racial conflict permeated themes of various literary works by African American authors during the Harlem Renaissance.  Threads of racial uplift and optimism for a bright future were also weaved into literature during this time of cultural awakening.  The mood of the day for the African American community was brought to life through protest literature, autobiographies, novels, and poetry.

Courtesy:
 http://www.singleandhappy.net/singleindc/2009/04/index.html#tp

The Harlem Renaissance represented an outpouring of African American literary culture that corresponded to the migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North during the first part of the 20th century. Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jean Toomer were all prominent African-American writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance.  Richard Wright was the first African-American author to publish a work that appeared on the national bestseller list.  Langston Hughes, poet, novelist, and songwriter, was arguably the most successful black writer in to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance. Jean Toomer, Claude McKay, and Contee Cullen were prominent black poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Through their literature, these great African American authors were successful not only in pointing out the horrific injustice of racism, but they also were able to present a more unified consciousness within the culture (Harlem Renaissance, 2003).

Below is a cover picture of "The Crisis" magazine, which was utilized by many black authors of the period:

Courtesy: http://www.newseum.org/news/2010/02/6561.jpg

---Theresa L.

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Encyclopedia Britannica Online. (n.d.) Arts and entertainment:  Harlem renaissance.  Retrieved

     November 10,2010, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/255397/Harlem-

     Renaissance/272824/The-background

Encyclopedia.com. (2010). Harlem renaissance. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.

     encyclopedia.com/doc/1g2-3401801849.html

The Charleston Dance!

Courtesy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s58iTzznkp0&feature=related

---Julie M.

Cab Calloway - Minnie The Moocher (1942)

Courtesy: http://www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/Harlem-Renaissance-Cotton-Club.html

---Julie M.

The Cotton Club

Courtesy: http://coffeypark.com/harlem/gallery.htm

--- Julie M.

Era of Music and Dance

According to Pittsburgh State University, the African American Community's middle class started the rise of migration from the North and the South and brought Jazz and Blues (2003). The Harlem Renaissance transformed songs by turning the lyrics into literature and poetry. Langston Hughes is a great known poet from the Harlem Era , who used poetry to express music. The impact of the Harlem Renaissance and its great growth and movement were similar to the Hip Hop movement. The Harlem Renaissance was an attempt to separate African Americans from the whites, and some artists portrayed racism, the Great Migration, and slavery in their work. The Harlem Renaissance was expressed through a multitude of styles. This era created an identity for the African American Community (High Beam Research, n.d.; Harlem Entertainment, n.d.)

Courtesy of: http://faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/jazzage.html

Courtesy: http://www.tuxjunction.net/articlepix/savoy.jpg

With the explosion of new music and dance reaching Harlem in New York City, new nightclubs and cabarets soon followed. Three such popular venues were the Savoy Ballroom, the Cotton Club, and the Apollo Theater. The Savoy Ballroom, often called "Home of Happy Feet," was an entire block of dance floor with a bandstand on each end playing non-stop music (Rau, 2006, p.  28).  The lindy hop was created at the Savoy, where black and white folks alike danced the night away (p.  31). Right beside was the more exclusive and expensive Cotton Club. Bouncers stood at the doors as Jim Crow laws still prohibited access to blacks. The only blacks allowed at the Cotton Club were paid performers and waiters (Wintz, 2007, p. 35). The Club featured music broadcasted over the radio, extravagant performances, and chorus girls in glitter & feathers (Rau, 2006, p. 32-3). But the most prominent of them all was the Apollo Theater. It was originally known as Hurtig & Seamon’s Theater featuring mostly burlesque dancers. Over the years, the Apollo became the most prestigious stage for launching the careers of many rising black musicians and performers. Its Amateur Night showcased stars like Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday—to name a few ("Profiles in black," 2009). The Apollo Theater still stands today, as a lasting impression of the Harlem Renaissance and the entertainment industry.




Courtesy: http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_
images/The_Apollo_Theater__www_tcnj_edu_.jpg

Rent parties (money received helped pay rent) came about during the Harlem Renaissance along with contests and break dancing. This Era's dancing "type" was slow and sensual but then broken up into a performance that became lively (Harlem Entertainment, n.d.).

View videos on the following pages featuring Cab Calloway and the famous dance, The Charleston,  both  courtesy of You Tube.

---Brittany H. & Danesse B.

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Garcia, Messmer, Monta, & Odumes. (n.d.) Harlem entertainment. Retrieved from http://www.tcnj.edu/
     ~messmer2/index.htm

High Beam Research. (2010). Encyclopedia entry: Harlem renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.
     highbeam.com/doc/1p2-5937385.html

Pittsburgh State University. (2003). Jazz age culture part 1. Retrieved from http://faculty.pittstate.
     edu/~knichols/jazzage.html

Pittsburgh State University. (2003). The great migration. Retrieved from http://www.digitalhistory.
    uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=443

Profiles in Black: The Apollo Theatre. (2009). Retrieved from http://theblackmarket.com/
     profilesinblack/apollo.htm

Rau, D. M. (2006). The harlem renaissance. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books.

Wintz, G. D. (Ed.). (2007). Harlem speaks: A living history of the harlem renaissance.  Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Inc.

The Great Migration

At the start of World War I and lasting until the Great Depression, blacks migrated from the South to urban areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Chicago, and other metropolitan areas (Lazar, n.d.).  This shift in the black population became known as the Great Migration.  Reasons for the shift of the black population are varied but illustrate discontent with the stagnant evolution of the race following the Civil War and the reconstruction period.  The depressed economy as a result of the war and lack of opportunities in the South contributed significantly to stimulate a movement making race a national topic once again (Lazar, n.d.).

The area of Harlem in New York City became popular as a result of the talent that gave the arts -- music, poetry, and writing critical of race relations of the day -- a new home (Harlem Renaissance, n.d.).  Although the peak of the Great Migration occurred in the 1920’s and 1930’s, the trend continued through the 1950’s and 1960’s, leading the United States toward two landmark events:  the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Both passed under the Johnson Administration (Harlem Renaissance, n.d.). 

There were several factors which initiated the largest population shifts in America’s history (NY Public Library,  n.d.).  The boll weevil invaded Texas and continued across the South, decimating the cotton crops and effectively breaking the South’s economic stability.  Also, the onset of World War I stopped the constant influx of European Immigrants that had supplied many of the northern industrial workers, causing a critical labor shortage when workers were most needed to be able to meet the demands of the war supply industries. 

Labor agents actively recruited strong young men from the South, above protests from local politicians and law enforcement agencies.  As the population expanded in the North, racial tension again played a large role.  American and immigrant whites resented the loss of available jobs which pushed the wages back, and labor unions maintained rules excluding blacks from membership.  The black influx was so heavy, however, that the unions did not have a significant impact on the industries, as there were ample black men to fill the jobs without having to resort to union staffing. 

These racial tensions triggered race riots throughout the major cities, both North and South.  In most cases, the attacks were directed at the African Americans.  Local police, in most situations, did not even attempt to control the riots.   Throughout the nation, scores of blacks were murdered, and hundreds were injured in the “Red Summer” of 1919.

The political and social climate had further deteriorated in the south, making the time right for a mass exodus of those willing to sacrifice for a new life. Although they faced many hardships, they began to establish a foothold in the social and political landscapes as well, finding their talents in businesses that mostly supported their own community, including store owners, real estate brokers, funeral directors, supported segregated churches, schools and hospitals.  Social service organizations, such as recreation centers and welfare agencies, also grew.

--- Jayne F. & Michael S.

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Harlem Renaissance. [PDF document].  Retrieved from http://teachers.sheboygan.k12.wi.us/tgentine
     /documents/HarlemRenaissance.pdf 

Lazar, Daniel. (n.d.) The great migration & the harlem renaissance. [Power Point Slides]. Retrieved from
     www.daniellazar.com/wp-content/uploads/the-great-migration- the-harlem-renaissance.ppt.

 The New York Public Library. (n.d.) The great migration. Schomburg center for research in black culture.
     Retrieved from: http://www.inmotionaame.org/migrations/landing.cfm?migration=8

Photo 1 Courtesy: http://www.inmotionaame.org/gallery/large.cfm?migration-8&topic=99&id=465450&type=image&metadata=&page=2&bhcp=1

Photo 2 Courtesy of  http://engl352.pbworks.com/w/page/18970000/great-migration

Photo 3 Courtesy: http://www.inmotionaame.org/gallery/large.cfm?migration=8&topic=99&id=465478&type=image&metadata=&page3

Harlem Hellfighters



Courtesy: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/
369th-infantry/images/arriving-home.gif


In many ways, this new movement was directly connected to the return of the “Harlem Hellfighters,” the US Army’s 369th Infantry who fought under the French Flag in World War I.  This unit returned home as war heroes, having fought the longest on the front lines as well as the longest time in continuous combat.  They had also been the first to cross the Rhine River during the Allied offensive, and 500 of its members had won the French “War Cross” award.

When they returned home, they were greeted by uninviting MP’s who were under orders to not salute any 369th soldiers, either white or black.  They were not invited to the Victory Parade of 1919.  Therefore, they had their own parade, which splashed headlines across the country. 

Courtesy: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF47m6aLPV2XKvTqSFBU9fbrpIg3-tyZE68i_Xcg-To8xB6fRyctbVdDyJUxXytAfiqH6ARW9d4oF_NGWMSllicnmH2X11GA-cqat57ZcGaE9kqyP3LUjwo3SIxwfN2fVF4ePQoYgYrHn/s320/WWI+369th+parade.+narrow.jpg&iAdd caption

---Jayne F.

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New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military History. (2006, March 30). Black
     americans  in the US military from the american revolution to the korean war: World war one. 
     Retrieved from: http://dmna.state.ny/us/historic/articles/blacksmilitary/blacksmiltaryww1.htm

 

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

The 1920’s ushered in a period of new awareness and enlightenment in the African American community.  The hardships they faced became a launching board for personal expression through all types of art.  For the first time, they began to celebrate their differences.  The timing could not have been better.  The brief period between World War I and the Great Depression was a time of economic explosion for the United States, with an abundance of jobs that brought unprecedented prosperity to all of America, regardless of race (Williams, 2001).

Courtesy:  http://www.inmotionaame.org/gallery/large.cfm
?migration=8&topic=99&id=569257&type
     =image&metadata=&page=11

“The New Negro” movement (Rowen, Beth, Brunner, & Borgna, 2007) marked a pattern of growth and spirit more than a location.  Each major northern city, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Detroit, showed similar reflection of Harlem, New York City.   They were not looking for acceptance by the white world, so much as searching for the “expression of our individual dark-skinned selves.”  This movement was later called the “Harlem Renaissance,” and revealed writers, poets, painters, musicians and sculptors who drew inspiration from their struggles and new lives.

---Jayne F. 

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Rowen, Beth, Brunner,& Borgna. (2007).  Great days in harlem:  The birth of the harlem renaissance.

     Pearson  Education, Inc.  Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmharlem1.html
 

Williams, Scott. (2001).  The circle association’s weblinks to the HARLEM RENAISSANCE.  Retrieved 

     from: http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/circle/harlem-ren-sites.html