SS.912.A.5.10 PART 3

SS.912.A.5.10 PART 3

By Richard Orton

The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a creative time for African American artists. As a result of the Great Migration from the rural South to cities in the North, the African American populations of large Northern cities greatly increased. Nightclubs and music filled these cities, particularly the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Artistic development, racial pride, and political organization resulted in a blossoming of African American arts.

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The Writers

The first important writer of the Harlem Renaissance was Claude McKay. His collection of poetry expressed defiance and a hatred of racism. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer who became a leading voice of the African American experience in America. Floridians Zora Neale Hurston and James Weldon Johnson were also prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston presented a unique, insightful, and often humorous perspective of the African American experience featuring African American women as central characters. Born in Jacksonville, Johnson was an educator, composer, diplomat, and lawyer as well as a writer. Other Harlem Renaissance writers included Countee Cullen and Dorothy West..

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Multiple Choice

One of the striking features of African American writing in the 1920s, as exemplified in Claude McKay's work, was

• A.an attitude of acceptance of African American roles in 1920s society.

   

• B.a longing for an African American cultural revolution.

•  C.a bitter contempt for racism.

   

• D.a desire for a return to the South.

The Writers

The literature of the Harlem Renaissance helped instill a strong sense of pride in African Americans. These new writings encouraged resistance to racism and reminded African Americans of their roots and the difficulties they had overcome. The literature helped lay the foundation for the civil rights movement that started after World War II. The literature of the Harlem Renaissance also created a distinct and separate African American culture apart from the wider culture of the nation. This led to a movement for African Americans to separate themselves from the rest of society in order to protect their identity

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Multiple Choice

The explosion of African American arts, music, and political activity in the 1920s became known as

• A.the Great Migration.

•  B.the Harlem Renaissance.

•  C.the Jazz Age.

•  D.the Blues movement.

Jazz and Blues

In 1922, Louis Armstrong left his native New Orleans and moved to Chicago where he introduced an early form of jazz. This was a musical style influenced by Dixieland and ragtime, with syncopated rhythms and improvisational elements. Armstrong broke away from the New Orleans tradition of group playing by performing solos on the cornet and trumpet. Another jazz musician, Edward “Duke” Ellington, used a blend of improvisation and orchestration with different combinations of instruments to create a special sound. He got his start at the Cotton Club, the most famous nightclub in Harlem. However, the Cotton Club served only white customers.

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Multiple Choice

Louis Armstrong is credited with developing an early form of this style of music, which combined Dixieland blues and ragtime, called

• A.soloism.

•  B.jazz.

   

• C.improvisation.

•  D.syncopation.

Multiple Choice

_______ was the most famous nightclub in Harlem in which many musical greats got their start.

• A.The Cotton Club

   

• B.The Jazz Singer

   

• C.The Harlem Club

   

• D.The Blues Room

Jazz and Blues

Bessie Smith became known as the Empress of the Blues. She sang of unfulfilled love, poverty, and oppression, which were the themes of the blues. This was a soulful style of music that evolved from African American spirituals. Jazz reflected the issues of the 1920s in many ways. Its improvisational style reflected the feelings many people had during the 1920s. They saw the decade as a time of experimentation and a breaking away from old rules and values. Jazz also expressed the individualism of the time. Because many of the jazz singers were women, jazz also reflected the new role of women in American society. Some people, however, associated jazz with the speakeasies. These people believed the music threatened traditional values.

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Jazz and Blues

Jazz built a connection between African American culture and the rest of American society. It helped reduce racism by providing the shared experience of the music. American jazz music was the first cultural expression that had a major influence on the rest of the world. Many American jazz musicians performed in Europe after World War I. Their performances developed a European audience for the music.

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Open Ended

Drawing Conclusions Why do you think the blues emerged as a main musical form of the Harlem Renaissance?

The Great Migration had a significant impact on African American political influence. As the African American population increased in northern city neighborhoods, they became an important voting bloc.

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​African Americans and 1920s Politics

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Multiple Choice

What was the primary result of the Great Migration?

• A.Northern cities became key centers of African American culture.

•  B.African American artists moved west in search of racial equality.

•  C.African American writers wrote about Southern themes..

•  D.Northern factories were understaffed

Multiple Choice

How did African Americans influence politics in the 1920s?

• A.Their numbers in Northern cities made them a powerful voting bloc.

•  B.They managed to elect the first African American mayor of Chicago.

•  C.They were able to get laws passed that favored minorities and immigration.

   

• D.They lobbied for veterans' benefits that were denied to them.

The NAACP Battles Injustice

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) worked against African American segregation and discrimination. The organization lobbied public officials and worked through the court system. W.E.B. Du Bois, a founding member of the NAACP, along with James Weldon Johnson, its chief executive, urged African Americans to protest racial violence. The NAACP’s protests against the horrors of lynching led to the passage of antilynching legislation in the House of Representatives in 1922. Although the Senate did not pass the bill, the NAACP’s protests kept the issue in the news.

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The NAACP Battles Injustice

In 1930, the NAACP joined labor unions in a national campaign against the nomination of Judge John J. Parker to the U.S. Supreme Court. Parker wished to deny voting rights to African Americans and supported anti-union contracts. The Senate refused to confirm Parker’s nomination, showing that African Americans were becoming a powerful political force.

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Multiple Choice

What was one of the major political successes of the NAACP?

• A.It helped elect President Coolidge.

•  B.It ended segregation and racial discrimination.

•  C.It managed to get antilynching laws passed in Congress.

• D.It helped block the Supreme Court nomination of an alleged racist.

Black Nationalism and Marcus Garvey

Other groups began to emphasize black nationalism and black pride. Some called for African Americans to separate from white society. Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican, attracted millions of African Americans to his “Negro Nationalism.” He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to promote black pride and unity.

​Garvey’s ideas were inspired by Booker T. Washington’s call for self-reliance. Garvey believed that African Americans could gain economic and political power by educating themselves. He also called for separation from whites, proposing that African Americans move to Africa.

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Black Nationalism and Marcus Garvey

The African American middle class and intellectuals distanced themselves from Garvey’s ideas. The FBI feared that the UNIA would lead to African American uprisings. In 1923, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud, and in 1927, he was deported to Jamaica. Though unsuccessful, Garvey instilled in many African Americans a sense of pride in their heritage. These feelings reemerged in the 1950s and played an important role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

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Multiple Choice

How was Marcus Garvey successful in influencing African American culture?

• A.He was a key promoter and supporter of the Harlem Renaissance.

•  B.He instilled African Americans with a sense of pride in their culture and heritage.

•  C.He helped African Americans return to Africa.

•  D.He founded the NAACP in order to promote African American-friendly policies.

Open Ended

Contrasting How did African American leaders differ in their approaches to political actions during this decade?