Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

Words: 851
Pages: 4

In the 1920s, there was a nationwide event taking place within America. The Harlem Renaissance began in Harlem, New York, where many people of the black community pulled together and began expressing themselves using different method of art. The event inspired many people in America to do the same, creating a huge celebration of racial pride. Many people used music, art, and writing to proclaim their ideas of equality, many of the most outstanding, and spirit lifting pieces of music, speeches, and visual art were produced during this time. The event eventually went to a national scale, making everyone of different skins join the decade long celebration. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of flourishing self pride, having the location and time, …show more content…
It started in a district within New York, called Harlem, with a dominating population of blacks, "[…] the population of the New York City neighborhood of Harlem was almost entirely black; the area constituted the largest center of urban African Americans anywhere" (Berg). The time of the Harlem Renaissance was from the beginning of the 1920s to the 1930s, while white supremacy was still dominating in America: "[…] Harlem was a cultural center, drawing black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. Many had come from the South, fleeing its oppressive caste system in order to find a place where they could freely express their talents" ("Harlem Renaissance" PBS). This time period was after World War I, which meant America was in a time of richness and prosperity. Many people were attracted to the northern part of America due to its many opportunities and to get away from southern America's prejudice: "In response to this entrenched racist brutality, African-Americans in the South migrated northward en masse, many to New York City" ("Harlem Renaissance" Harry Ransom Center RSS). Since so many people began to migrate from the south, New York and the northern states became a meeting place for all talented black …show more content…
The Renaissance let those of color represent their ideas and opinions with artwork, "[…] the Harlem Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity" ("Harlem Renaissance" History.com). The blacks had more freedom fighters than ever before, and began speaking out against white supremacy: "[…] It involved racial pride, fueled in part by the militancy of the "New Negro" demanding civil and political rights" ("Harlem Renaissance" PBS). The Renaissance pulled many people from their shells, allowing them to expand from their comfortable circle into the world of talent and creativity: "Harlem became the center of a 'spiritual coming of age' in which Locke’s 'New Negro' transformed social disillusionment to race pride” ("Harlem Renaissance" History.com). The Harlem Renaissance was the event that pushed blacks to come out of their shell completely, after years of being oppressed by