The period between 1920 and 1929 was known as the Jazz Age, a term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was a period of great change for the world as a whole but specifically for Women, Blacks and The Arts. Women, in general, were disenfranchised with the old Victorian ways and the roaring twenties were a liberating period for them. However, this liberation did not extend to all branches of ‘woman-kind’, specifically Black women. Black people faced a great deal of challenging circumstances; most of which were incumbent upon the Black woman to bear in solidarity. In this, the arts were an enchanting release from the heinous atrocities of the everyday on-goings in the south and were in fact a way to unshackle their lives by freeing the minds of
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Black colleges like Tuskegee, Fisk, Howard, Morehouse and Atlanta University were founded in and grew in popularity during the 1920s. This created a surplus of African American professionals (doctors, lawyers, ect.) and all of them migrated toward the cultural hub of the city. In the city there was opportunity to manage multiple ideals, languages, cultural backgrounds, economic backgrounds and so much more. “The New Negro” was a political and cultural statement bringing a unique global identity to the U.S. through the African American …show more content…
It is still considered her best work and is currently considered a classic of American literature. However, during the Harlem Renaissance, this work was not only controversial but one that was heavily criticized by the Black Intellectual community. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" begins and ends with Janie, the main character, telling her life story to her dear friend Phoeby on one starry Florida evening. Janie describes her childhood, young adulthood and current middle age predicament through the use of imagery, similes and metaphors. The novel was criticized for portraying women 's and African American sexuality. Hurston aimed to celebrate black communities in the rural south in both their positive and negative aspects; she didn 't present her characters as "all good" or "all bad" but as complicated and multi-dimensional. Oddly enough the work was well received by the mainstream white
Black colleges like Tuskegee, Fisk, Howard, Morehouse and Atlanta University were founded in and grew in popularity during the 1920s. This created a surplus of African American professionals (doctors, lawyers, ect.) and all of them migrated toward the cultural hub of the city. In the city there was opportunity to manage multiple ideals, languages, cultural backgrounds, economic backgrounds and so much more. “The New Negro” was a political and cultural statement bringing a unique global identity to the U.S. through the African American …show more content…
It is still considered her best work and is currently considered a classic of American literature. However, during the Harlem Renaissance, this work was not only controversial but one that was heavily criticized by the Black Intellectual community. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" begins and ends with Janie, the main character, telling her life story to her dear friend Phoeby on one starry Florida evening. Janie describes her childhood, young adulthood and current middle age predicament through the use of imagery, similes and metaphors. The novel was criticized for portraying women 's and African American sexuality. Hurston aimed to celebrate black communities in the rural south in both their positive and negative aspects; she didn 't present her characters as "all good" or "all bad" but as complicated and multi-dimensional. Oddly enough the work was well received by the mainstream white