Week Ten: The Harlem Renaissance
In the boom years following World War 1, Jazz became an international phenomena and African American artists as the leaders of this genre began to throw off the oppression of the past and reach toward the future with their own sound and voice. Harlem, NY was the center of the movement and became a location where the brightest rising stars of the African American arts not only socialized, but also encouraged and inspired each other to greater heights. While there were a number of great writers from this period, two that were notable then and have transcended time into the next century are Langston Hughes and Claude McKay. Hughes' works speak to both the entire American population as well as the specific needs of African Americans. Choosing a less inflammatory method, Hughes works do not call for resistance or rebellion like those of McKay. By contrast,as an early forerunner of the Black Arts Negritude movement, Claude McKay chose to speak for African Americans and to speak out against the oppression occurring. While the two men took different approaches to writing for change, they both contributed significantly to the Harlem Renaissance.
Unfortunately, the Harlem Renaissance was not immune to the Great Depression and its disastrous effects on our country. In economic downturns the funding to support the arts is usually one of the first luxuries forsaken. Many of the philanthropists that had helped support the artists and their causes were forced into hard times with the rest of the nation. Even though the Harlem Renaissance was short lived, the works produced by the great artists across genres was significant and laid the foundation for later changes in our nation.
Unfortunately, the Harlem Renaissance was not immune to the Great Depression and its disastrous effects on our country. In economic downturns the funding to support the arts is usually one of the first luxuries forsaken. Many of the philanthropists that had helped support the artists and their causes were forced into hard times with the rest of the nation. Even though the Harlem Renaissance was short lived, the works produced by the great artists across genres was significant and laid the foundation for later changes in our nation.