Harlem Renaissance Vocabulary

The Great Migration in the 1920s of blacks moving from the south to the north created competition with white workers for employment and housing, and it caused an unprecedented amount of rioting between the two races.

• extremely hopeful

• very encouraging

• no earlier occurrence

• unfashionable

Although there was a rise of African-American art and culture in the 1920s, it was still a turbulent and stressful time between blacks and whites.

• unrestful

• prosperous

• happy

• calm

Black women wore elaborate costumes for their singing acts at the Cotton Club.

• extremely long

• somewhat short

• very simple

• rich detail

Many people noticed the poverty of the blacks in Harlem and focused public scrutiny on the problem.

• ignore completely

• run rampantly

• examine closely

• choose carefully

Louis Armstrong, known as the Father of Jazz, composed over 2000 pieces of music making him the pinnacle of the jazz era.

• widely known

• highest level

• great disappointment

• frustrating accomplishment

The onset of the Harlem Renaissance began during the 1920s.

• expressiveness

• medium influence

• late period

• early stages

The works created during the Harlem Renaissance were optimistic about the future of blacks in the US.

• hopeful

• saddened

• confused

• harmful

The Cotton Club was a swanky nightclub whose house orchestra leader was Duke Ellington.

• plain

• shabby

• fashionable

• improper

The type of music that originated from Negro spirituals and rose in prominence during the 1920s was the blues.

• attendance

• excitement

• apathy

• eminent

Langston Hughes wrote his stories and poetry portraying blacks as dignified and unique.

• incompetent

• strong

• stately

• weak