The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point for African Americans of their status in America. In the 1920s, following World War I, social and mental changes occurred amongst American men and women. New ideas were spreading about personal convictions, social standards, and advancing technology. Many African Americans had moved North from the southern plantations that they were finally freed from in a movement known as the Great Migration. This movement brought forth the ideals and opportunities the African Americans had been waiting for, and they were ready to celebrate this newfound freedom by shaping their new way of life around it.
Since large Northern cities housed industrial factories and businesses that were in search of many employees during this time of rebirth, the traveling African Americans arrived in these cities …show more content…
One of the first writers in the Harlem Renaissance was Claude McKay. McKay channeled his strong feelings of pride and disdain into poetry that stood against racism in America. He was joined by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, along with Countee Cullen, Alain Locke, and Dorothy West, who all wrote about their lives as African Americans living in a prejudice Caucasian America. In addition to writing, many Africans Americans funneled their feelings into music. Jazz, a type of music created from ragtime and Dixieland genres combined, was launched into the music scene by Louis Armstrong. This style of music gave African Americans an outlet for their souls to sing and tell of the stories of their struggles as slaves and then as the major targets for racism. Broadway finally allowed African American written and directed musicals to be performed with the first being Shuffle Along. The songs and lyrics of the Harlem Renaissance gave a new perspective for Americans, black and white, on the pain African Americans and their ancestors had experienced in
Since large Northern cities housed industrial factories and businesses that were in search of many employees during this time of rebirth, the traveling African Americans arrived in these cities …show more content…
One of the first writers in the Harlem Renaissance was Claude McKay. McKay channeled his strong feelings of pride and disdain into poetry that stood against racism in America. He was joined by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, along with Countee Cullen, Alain Locke, and Dorothy West, who all wrote about their lives as African Americans living in a prejudice Caucasian America. In addition to writing, many Africans Americans funneled their feelings into music. Jazz, a type of music created from ragtime and Dixieland genres combined, was launched into the music scene by Louis Armstrong. This style of music gave African Americans an outlet for their souls to sing and tell of the stories of their struggles as slaves and then as the major targets for racism. Broadway finally allowed African American written and directed musicals to be performed with the first being Shuffle Along. The songs and lyrics of the Harlem Renaissance gave a new perspective for Americans, black and white, on the pain African Americans and their ancestors had experienced in