The Harlem Renaissance: An Analysis of the African American Search for Identity

Today, non merely is the Harlem Renaissance recognized as one of the most of import motions in African American history but as one of the most of import motions in American history. Originating in the early 1920 ‘s, the Harlem Renaissance was the consequence of the mass migration of African Americans as they left the oppressive parts of the South and moved to the promising northern industrial centres. “ As the name suggests, the Harem Renaissance found its physical and religious centre in New York metropolis, but its range extended to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, London, Paris, Africa, and the Caribbean ” ( Ferguson 1 ) . The Harlem Renaissance was dominated by two political orientations, both driven by racial consciousness and pride. The first was represented by figures such as W. E. B. Du Bois and Alain Locke which supported a kind of elitist theory ; one in which privileged African Americans could take their people. The other was promoted by creative persons such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston and was centered on stand foring the ordinary African American individual. Taken as a whole, the motion served as kick start for black individuality, as African Americans tried to bury about their yesteryear. A batch of plants were besides inspired by spirituals which brought in a new age of music known as Jazz and Blues. Overall, the mass migration of African Americans to the North started one of the most important revivals of African American literature, music and art.

One of the most of import figures of the clip was W. E. B. Du Bois ; American civil right militant, sociologist, historian and writer. Born in Massachusetts in 1868, he went on to go to Fisk University and subsequently went on to finish his alumnus surveies at Harvard University, finishing “ an thorough survey of the history of the slave trade ” ( The Circle Association ) . Du Bois ‘ influence on the Harlem Renaissance comes in portion to his racial activism. As one of the laminitiss of the Niagara motion, a group who fought against racial segregation, he founded and edited the Moon and the Horizon. The group came to set up 30 subdivisions and attained some civil-rights triumphs ; nevertheless, the group ‘s hapless organisation and deficiency of financess led to its disestablishment. Consequently, the Niagara motion served as a precursor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) , which sought integrating of African Americans, with Du Bois functioning “ as manager of promotion and research, a member of the board of managers, and editor of the Crisis ; its monthly magazine, ” ( The NAACP ) for many old ages. In the Crisis, Du Bois advocated his agitation towards white Americans while functioning as a beginning of pride for African Americans. The Crisis, at one point, even came to print plants by celebrated author Langston Hughes because he believed “ that works of all right art inspired by the creative persons ‘ racial heritage and experience would turn out the beauty of their race ” ( University of California, Los Angeles ) . In the terminal, all of his work was focused toward deriving equal intervention for black people.

Equally of import to the development of the Harlem Renaissance was Alain Leroy Locke. Like Du Bois, Locke besides attended Harvard. He studied Philosophy and “ [ by ] the clip he finished schooling, he had been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, been named a Rhodes Scholar at Pennsylvania, studied at Oxford University and achieved a [ PhD ] in doctrine from Harvard University ” ( University of Virginia ) . Locke ‘s major part to the Renaissance came in portion in his work as a author and anthologist. His most renown and landmark piece was his anthology The New Negro. What was so important about this anthology was that it “ shaped the mode in which black American creative persons and faculty members viewed themselves, emphasized both the humanity inherent in black people through mention to the diverseness of voices and endowments in black America and so their indispensable connexion through ‘legacy ‘ to the African continent ” ( University of Virginia ) . The anthology was a great influence for many people and of all the pieces in it, his essay “ The New Negro ” captured the really kernel of the motion. In the essay, Locke stressed that African Americans leave the impressions Americans had of an “ Old Negro. ” Alternatively, he conceived the thought of a “ New Negro ” as a agency to promote inkinesss to rediscover their individualism and get away their yesteryears ; “ Locke basically [ debunked ] the manner Americans remember the Negro yesteryear in order to redefine and relocate what leading is every bit good as who is eligible to take ” and for many, this is what Harlem came to embody ( University of Virginia ) . Harlem non merely offered African Americans a opportunity to make a new black individuality but a diverse 1 every bit good.

Philosophers and socialists like Du Bois and Locke decidedly had their start before the Harlem Renaissance but much of their work that led up to the motion contributed a batch to it. Although the Harlem Renaissance was a revival of the humanistic disciplines and literature, underneath all that, there were strong civil rights overtones as African Americans tried to interrupt away from all the misconceptions people held about them. It was through these beliefs that people like Du Bois and Locke formulated a motion in which people believed that a gifted few would redefine the image of African Americans.

Events of the New Negro Era such as the black migration to the North, the Silent March, and the effusion of occupations created by the industrial motion of World War I all contributed towards doing Harlem the endeavoring cultural part that it was. As Harlem began to take notice as a topographic point of chance and inspiration, several authors heightened outlooks for a lifting coevals of black poets and novelists of alone size and endowment. Writers such as Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston were at the head of Harlem ‘s literary motion.

Attributed as being the most influential author of the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay ‘s plants came to originate the tone of the motion every bit good as to animate ulterior coevals of authors. Born in Sunny Ville, Jamaica, he was one of the many black aliens who found safety in Harlem. As a kid he was an devouring reader and at the age of 10 was already composing poesy. He attended Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and it was during this clip, “ that he foremost encountered the rough worlds of American Racism that would organize the footing for many of his subsequent authorship ” ( Witalecb ) . His composing reflects his belief in the power of traditional African common people civilizations and the demand for inkinesss to return to their African roots and their relationship with the natural universe. One of his most influential pieces was, “ [ his ] 1919 sonnet ‘If We Must Die ‘ ” which “ was radical in its content and tone, as it urged Blacks in no unsure footings to actively defy white subjugation. If Blacks must decease at the custodies of racialists, the poet impulses, they must non travel lying down, like pigs about to be slaughtered ; they should travel down contending ” ( Witalecb ) . McKay ‘s radical like sonnet offered a powerful new message of opposition and pride to the Black masses that echoed continuously throughout the motion. In his following work, Harlem Shadows, an anthology, which, “ was praised by many Black intellectuals as the first aggregation of poesy that genuinely dealt with racial issues ” ( Witalecb ) . This publication was a landmark piece because it showed other Black authors that inquiries of race could be dealt with in inspiring, serious literature. Another of his major plants and his first novel was Home to Harlem. Although it did non fair so good commercially, it was widely acclaimed for its realistic word picture of African American life. Some intellectuals, on the other manus, such as Du Bois, badly criticized it because he thought of it as portraying negative Black society stereotypes. Once once more, McKay was more concerned with portraying the insouciant, mundane African American alternatively of the high-class “ civilized ” African American. Without a uncertainty, his focal point on issues of race and equality inspired many of the emerging Harlem authors.

Regarded as one of the most important authors in American history, Langston Hughes was a outstanding figure of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the motion ‘s chief makers. He was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri and his parents separated shortly after his birth. Raised by his grandma until he was 13, he so went to populate with his female parent in Lincoln, Illinois. In 1921 Hughes enrolled at Columbia University but had to travel elsewhere when he could no longer afford to go to Columbia. It was so that Hughes moved to Harlem and became involved in the flourishing literary scene. During his stay at Columbia, “ Hughes published his first verse form, ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers, ‘ a lyric that demonstrated his ability to convey elevated significances in apparent linguistic communication reminiscent of Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg, poets who celebrated the ordinary events of American life ” ( Ferguson 14 ) . Unlike Du Bois and Locke, artists like Hughes merely wanted to “ show the ordinary African American individual objectively as an person merely populating in the flesh-and-blood universe ” ( University of California, Los Angeles ) . He rejected the thought of merely qualifying “ cultured ” African Americans and alternatively, spoke for creative persons who chose to prosecute their art for its ain interest ” ( University of California, Los Angeles ) . Several old ages subsequently, Hughes broke through with his first aggregation of poesy that cemented him as a major poet of the Harlem Renaissance. In his The Weary Blues, “ Hughes used advanced techniques that looked non to white civilization for inspiration, but to the beat of African American wind ” which showed his, “ finding to compose about the reliable experience of Black America ” ( Janet Witalec, 595 ) . The influence of wind evident and the beat of African American music in these verse forms became a signature trait of Hughes ‘s work and finally became one of the motion ‘s major features.

Another major feature of the Harlem Renaissance was the allusions to African American folklore. Of the many authors of the clip, Zora Neale Hurston was one of the most devouring in this country. Again, the inquiry reduced to whether black cultural individualism could supply a footing for pride and artistic creativeness. She was born in an all African American town of Eatonville, Florida ; nevertheless, due to the fact that she was dishonest about her age, no 1 knows her exact day of the month of birth. Throughout her life, she struggled with poorness despite her difficult work and although she “ grew up uneducated and hapless, ” she, “ was still immersed with black folklore ” ( Webster ) . She worked many occupations during her college old ages until in 1928 she began to work under a adult female, Mrs. Mason, who funded Hurston so she could travel to the South and roll up more folklore. Without a uncertainty, “ Hurston was the first black bookman to research folklore on the degree that she did ” nevertheless, “ [ much ] of her book stuff revolves around the issues of bondage and the clip period following it ” ( Webster ) . This drew a batch of contention over Hurston because in a clip where many people were seeking to bury their black rural civilization and heritage, she celebrated it. Yet through her fresh Their Eyess Were Watching God, we can see how she stayed true to the political orientation of showing the ordinary African American individual by stating the narrative of a adult female named Janie who learns to accept an individuality that society has non come to accept. Although many believe she went against the motion ‘s intent, “ [ she ] merely wanted to portray black life in a manner unconcerned with white people and unaware of jobs attributed to being black ” ( Webster ) .

Not merely did Harlem service as a Mecca for Black literature, it besides served as an country for African American instrumentalists to boom and direct Blues into mainstream America. Originating in the South during the 1880 ‘s and 1890 ‘s, Blues “ characteristically focused on cosmopolitan subjects of sex and love affair ; ” nevertheless, during the Harlem Renaissance, although maintaining its original subjects, Bluess came to observe, “ troubled being through artful vocal, therefore giving testament to the possibility of religious sweetening and self-government through agony ” ( Ferguson 19 ) . One last feature was that a batch of the Blues subjects were derived from of old Black Folklore. The ability of African American music to make the position that it reached came in portion to the technological inventions which created a new mass market for the Blues.

When it comes to the Blues, one of its greatest figures was Bessie Smith. She was born into a life of poorness and at the age of nine lost both of her parents ; her sister Viola took her in and her other three siblings. To raise some money, Smith American ginseng for trim alteration on the streets with her brother attach toing on the guitar. Smith finally got a occupation with a going amusement show where she met Ma Rainey, an creative person accredited with developing the blues sound. Rainey took Smith under her wing and under Ma, “ Bessie ‘s voice developed its powerful and soulful qualities ” ( Bessie Smith ) . Not merely could Smith sing but she was besides a gifted terpsichorean, histrion and comedian. As her repute as a performing artist began to turn, she started working in assorted nines and finally got a contract with Columbia Records. Her first two records Down Hearted Blues and Gulf Coast Blues were instant hits with, “ about two million records in the first 10 months entirely, and upwards of six million in every bit many old ages ” ( Bessie Smith ) . She was however a combatant, and the presence she carried with her mirrored the proud African American that emerged from Harlem.

Along with Blues as one of the major signifiers of music during the Harlem Renaissance, Jazz besides came into the scene with the full force of blues and some. Developing from the Black New Orleans bands, “ it combined processing set music, the blues, and ragtimeaˆ¦ into a typical signifier that came north with the black migration to Chicago and New York ” ( Ferguson 19 ) . Unlike other musical signifiers, Jazz musicians often improvised a vocal as they played it, therefore affecting hearers emotionally. Jazz finally rose to such prominence that the 1920 ‘s came to be called “ The Jazz Age ” with major figure Duke Ellington taking the motion.

Of all the wind instrumentalists and composers of the Harlem Renaissance, no 1 had a greater impact than Duke Ellington. What made his work so advanced was that, “ he wrote his vocals for the single instrumentalists in his orchestra and non for the ‘sections ‘ ” ( Duke Ellington ) . His method of composing music is what greatly contributed to the jury-rigged manner that characterized Jazz ; at one point, he formed an orchestra with eight soloists in clip where most sets did non even have three soloists ( Duke Ellington ) . Not merely was he a great set leader but he was besides considered one of the best piano players of his epoch ; analyzing piano since the age of seven. Ellington ‘s rise to national celebrity started when he began playing in the celebrated Cotton Club. From at that place, “ Ellington and [ his ] crew began radio broadcasts and became celebrated throughout the state ” ( Duke Ellington ) . Finally, his endowment earned him the privilege of executing at Carnegie Hall.

Merely like authors and instrumentalists, creative persons of the Harlem Renaissance were a major portion of the motion. During this period, many creative persons painted bold images of life which juxtaposed to atmosphere that the Blues and Jazz brought to the streets of Harlem. Art during this period fell in line with the Modernist manner that was jumping up in France with subjects of black pride and civilization. However, the humanistic disciplines really played one of the most of import functions as to visually specifying who the African American people were.