The Harlem Renaissance

Name:
Instructor:
Course Title:
Date:
Classic English Literature – The Harlem Renaissance
The early periods of the 1900s saw a massive shift of African-Americans from the southern United States to the Northern and Mid-Western locations. The shift in population led to a robust population outburst in major cities including Harlem. For the first time, the census showed that almost half of the American populations lived in cities and there were approximately 115 cities with over 100,000 people (NAAL 2053). It is recorded that in 1920, approximately 87,000 African-Americans moved into Harlem. And in the following periods of the 1910s to 1930s, the census showed that almost 1.5 million African Americans migrated from the southern parts to the Mid-Western and northern cities. It must be noted that the main reason for this massive migration was a result of poor working conditions in the South. The rising demand for labor and the ever-growing industrialization of the northern US attracted intellectually black workers leading to what is termed as the New Negro Renaissance or the Harlem Renaissance.
The prompt given in the module notes that according to Alaine Locke, the Harlem city developed promptly as an artistic center (NAAL 2056). There was also a massive rise in different fields of human endeavor like music, literature, art, and politics as African-American intellectual thoughts moved from the south to the north. As a marker for black intellectual thought, the Harlem Renaissance expressed something more than a geographic location since its influence was perceived beyond the borders of New York.

Other major cities in the United States saw New York as a vibrant city encompassing persons of different social-political and ethnic affiliations. The rise of different populations of people composed primarily of the whites, African-Americans, and the Indians (NAAL 2062). Most importantly, the Renaissance enabled Harlem to maintain a unique sense of community and further acted as a hub for black talent. During the mid-1900s, the Harlem Renaissance gave birth to a social awakening. The blacks became increasingly aware of changing social issues including racism, discrimination, and their exclusion on political fronts. As a result, artists, authors, and musicians utilized their varied skills and abilities to address socio-political issues in different mediums. The black talent was used to bargain the African-Americans privileges in political, social, and economic fronts as they fought for equality and representation. Most importantly, the black intellectual thought acted as a major force as the concentration of African-Americans populations in Harlem continued to rise.
The module further notes that during the Harlem Renaissance also, the African-Americans became more self-assertive, politically engaged, vocal and racially conscious (NAAL 2053). And accordingly, the black populations became proud by displaying a renewed sense of social awareness. The rise of industry and vibrant commercial activities opened numerous job opportunities, and although Harlem was initially regarded as a white community, the African-Americans seized the expansion of housing to settle and start families. Perhaps this is the reason Harlem embraced a sprout in social expression since the black populations that settled in these US geographies gained momentum and became racially conscious and politically assertive. This analysis hence supports that the Harlem Renaissance acted as a key historical force and brought to fore issues and rising concerns surrounding racism, discrimination sought for equal representation in the commerce, education, industry, and politics. The migration encouraged African-Americans to break from the cocoon of racism and acted as a significant upheaval in skills, talent, and intellectual thoughts.
The Influence of Locke on black Artists and the Emergence of African-American Writers
Alaine Locke was considered as the dean of the black art. He strongly advocated for the aesthetic value of African-American paintings and asked black writers to draw attention from such arts. Among many other things, Locke defined the significance and parameters of the African art and enabled black artists to gain their voice through artistic works. The primary issues of interest to Locke and which are of importance to date are the issues of the appreciation of black art. For a long time, the African-Americans struggled for recognition and representation in artistic fronts. As quoted in different kinds of literature and sources across this module, Locke defined the parameters of black artists and offered a platform through which young black artists could be heard. It must be noted that during the early periods of the 1900 century (NAAL 2058), art existed in relation to the literature. One of the most influential writers in the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes quoted in pages 1037 of the module. Hughes demanded that African-Americans be acknowledged for the cultural contribution they brought to the United States. Hughes also wrote poems that identified Hughes as an activist in radical politics. Another influential writer was Countee Cullen who demanded that black poets be identified as Americans writers without social or racial desegregation. Cullen [1903 – 1946] was not afraid of controversy, indeed, he saw it as a way of changing the identity of black poets to be American writers (NAAL 1056). His contribution to the Harlem Renaissance was that he was not afraid to write about his experiences as a black writer that wholly felt a responsibility to defend the status of black poets and to bargain for their recognition in mainstream literature and poetry.
Works Cited
NAAL. Module 4 – The Harlem Renaissance or the New Negro Renaissance. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Pg. 2053 – Pg. 2062.