The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that started in New York City during World War I and continued into the 1930’s. It was an African American movement, which was also known as the “New Negro Movement”. Many African American’s were sick and tired of the way they were being treated by white Americans and used many forms of art to express and represent who they were and what was happening in their culture. The Jim Crow laws and white supremacy were becoming too much for many to handle, which is why the Harlem Renaissance had such major impact on society during this time period. The Harlem Renaissance was an explosion of artists who came together to express their feelings using poetry, music, photography, literature and more. Each form of art
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One man that had a huge impact during that time period was Langston Hughes. He was able to express his feelings in poems and literature which opened the eyes of many readers because he put attention on the inequalities and the rising capitalism that African Americans faced on a daily basis even after the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. He had moved around multiples times during his lifetime never staying in one place for too long. Hughes moved to Mexico when he was a child with his father when his parents divorced. As he grew older he moved from Lincoln, Illinois to Cleveland, Ohio followed by New York City, Africa, Washington D.C, and Pennsylvania. Hughes was unlike many artists of his time period because he chose to write about all aspects of his own life and others around him rather than just the good or the bad. In an autobiography about Hughes it says “His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Unlike other notable black poets of the period. Hughes refused to differentiate between his …show more content…
He began by breaking the norm and getting an education and speaking out the best way he knew how too; with written words. By twelve years old Hughes already had experience living in six different American cities. He also had experience with different jobs including a cook, truck driver, waiter, sailor and more. Hughes however did have both black and white critics, but it was the love he received from African Americans that helped him be successful. The Poetry Foundation has and autobiography on Hughes and in it is says “Nevertheless, Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer, recorded faithfully the nuances of black life and its frustrations. Although Hughes had trouble with both black and white critics, he was the first black American to earn his living solely from his writing and public lectures. Part of the reason he was able to do this was the phenomenal acceptance and love he received from average black people” (Poetry 1). This speaks volumes because even though Hughes was knocked down and struggled throughout his life and career he still managed to bring attention to key issues and African Americans were thankful for that. He started out in the Harlem Renaissance speaking out and gaining attention to the inequalities and then shifted to a Marxist approach and spoke out about capitalism, but in each areas he was
One man that had a huge impact during that time period was Langston Hughes. He was able to express his feelings in poems and literature which opened the eyes of many readers because he put attention on the inequalities and the rising capitalism that African Americans faced on a daily basis even after the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. He had moved around multiples times during his lifetime never staying in one place for too long. Hughes moved to Mexico when he was a child with his father when his parents divorced. As he grew older he moved from Lincoln, Illinois to Cleveland, Ohio followed by New York City, Africa, Washington D.C, and Pennsylvania. Hughes was unlike many artists of his time period because he chose to write about all aspects of his own life and others around him rather than just the good or the bad. In an autobiography about Hughes it says “His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Unlike other notable black poets of the period. Hughes refused to differentiate between his …show more content…
He began by breaking the norm and getting an education and speaking out the best way he knew how too; with written words. By twelve years old Hughes already had experience living in six different American cities. He also had experience with different jobs including a cook, truck driver, waiter, sailor and more. Hughes however did have both black and white critics, but it was the love he received from African Americans that helped him be successful. The Poetry Foundation has and autobiography on Hughes and in it is says “Nevertheless, Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer, recorded faithfully the nuances of black life and its frustrations. Although Hughes had trouble with both black and white critics, he was the first black American to earn his living solely from his writing and public lectures. Part of the reason he was able to do this was the phenomenal acceptance and love he received from average black people” (Poetry 1). This speaks volumes because even though Hughes was knocked down and struggled throughout his life and career he still managed to bring attention to key issues and African Americans were thankful for that. He started out in the Harlem Renaissance speaking out and gaining attention to the inequalities and then shifted to a Marxist approach and spoke out about capitalism, but in each areas he was