African-American literature

The Harlem Renaissance was a celebration of African American culture. Slavery and the Jim Crow Laws had oppressed Africans Americans for hundreds of years. The idea of white supremacy was popular quickly becoming popular in the South. Unfortunately, most African Americans lived in the South and were treated horribly. In 1890, the Great Migration began, in which many African American decided to move North. As a result, thousands of African Americans now lived in big cities. Although not as…

Through Literature: Know Your Place Slavery will forever be engrained in the minds of the world’s population. Regardless if you are college educated or never been to school in your life, you are aware of the times of slavery and the mistreatment of African Americans. Slavery was an epidemic of sorts in a figurative sense, the only difference was a disease was not taking the lives of African-Americans, whites were. Slavery and racism was wide-spread geographically and in terms of time, yet their…

and express and affirm their view of reality. For members of the African diaspora, culture surpassed its role to provide self-definition and sustain the group ethos; it became a way to physically survive. As a site of cosmic connection, identity, meaning and value were made and remade in order to resist. Through the tenacious practice of culture, Africans endured in America. --(K.Zaiditu-Selassie, African Spiritual tradition in the Novels of Toni Morrison,1) In the…

Should certain literature works be taught in every American Literature course in representation of importance in historical and social American culture? The first thing to look at in order to answer this question is why literature is taught at all. Literature has its importance in the aspect of teaching students the “other side” of a past we may have never walked. Considering it dates back to well before any of us who walk this earth were thought of, it has played a role in history devised in an…

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an Classic American Novel that accurately displays the south's attitude towards race in the 1800s. The novel is widely banned throughout many schools in America because of its strong racist slurs. These racist slurs include the n-word which is used over 200 times in the novel. Although this novel is racist, it displays southern racism accurately, is a classic piece of American literature, conveys an anti-racist message, uses satire in a form of a picaresque,…

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of empowerment and cultural growth for African Americans and this is reflected in the literature form that era. In the empowering poem, “Hey Black Child” by Useni Perkins the speaker explores the idea of self-empowerment in order to promote the idea of cultural advancement. Perkins uses repetition to convey the message that if young black children remain hopeful and remember that they matter and they can acquire achievement through dedication and education they…

that found all Americans regardless of race, trying to come to terms with the change from a rural way of life to a northern industrial style of life. While the Harlem Renaissance from the 1920s to 1930s played a pivotal role in beginning of a new African American cultural with literary and artistic; the important change in African American cultural could have been different if it was not for the Great Migration. Many African Americans believed that the job market…

New Black Aesthetic was not just any movement for African Americans this was a movement that helped to bridge the gap in the African American communities. The movement contribute to understanding black culture and experiences by moving told a black nationalist view for African Americans. This black nationalism period was about African Americans understanding themselves during this social change. The 1960’s and 70’s was a rebuilding of African Americans and embracing their culture. The New Black…

Hughes is one if the main reasons black culture is celebrated today. Langston Hughes, or James Mercer, was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He died May 22, 1967 in New York City (Webster 209). Born with a racial background of African, French, Native American, and English ancestry, Hughes used his background throughout his life as an inspiration for his art. Hughes attended elementary school in Lincoln, Illinois. In his class, he was elected as class poet, which may have started his…

E.B Dubois After World War II African Americans were searching for vindication from whites. African Americans faced constant oppression, injustice, and segregation during the late and early nineteen hundreds. Racism ran rampant in the U.S. The external strife gave way to group expression and self-determination. This resulted in them finding refuge in the arts and literature. Another outcome was the creation of organizations for the advancement of African Americans. There was a constant focus…