W. E. B. Du Bois

What was it? The Harlem renaissance was a huge arts movement started by the African-American community of Harlem in the 1920’s. In a time where race riots and lynchings were nothing out of the ordinary, a professional artist of any sort was not considered a legitimate career choice for an African-American person. The Harlem renaissance was a movement that helped to bring forth talented black people and also to create positivity and creativity in a time of great turmoil. Who was it? There…

A crucial idea that Booker T. Washington establishes in his autobiography, Up from Slavery, is that individual merit and hard work can allow others of african descent to achieve success, despite the barrier of social and political discrimination. As proven by history, many African Americans struggled overcoming the expectations coerced on them. To clarify, this novel took place after the Civil War, meaning few African Americans had the same opportunities as other races. Throughout the novel,…

During the turn of the twelfth century, William Edward Burghadt and Booker T. Washington wanted to help the Black community progress. To do this they both formulated ideas and approaches to effectively quicken the social equality of the blacks. Although these Negro leaders developed approaches to help the same cause, they strongly opposed one another. And although these two men both had sensible ideas to help reach social equality, I believe Booker T. Washington’s position and approach…

James Van der Zee was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance; whom was born on June 29th, 1886, and died on May 15, 1983. Available evidence suggests that he was exposed to the topic of photography at a young age since he was living in Massachusetts. Corresponding with his outstanding academic performances, he began to develop his photography skills and techniques in high school; consequently, gaining a passion for it. During his early adulthood life, he worked as a waiter, elevator…

trailblazing going into the century. DuBois made way for a lot of potential progress for the black community, working to found the NAACP as a civil rights activist, a public intellectual, writer, editor, historian and the first black sociologist. W.E.B Du Bois coined the term double consciousness, explaining that it was the sense of always looking at one’s self through the…

In American history, there has been a plethora of individuals who have gone down in the books as the best of the best in their contribution to African American history, both the past and the present. African American history has dated as early as 1903 with W.E.B Dubois to Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def in 1984. These two phenomenal activists all paved the way for a long legacy of Black culture, music, education, and social justice.Today, the two of these activists lie in many social movements, including…

Following the Civil War, African Americans were heavily discriminated against making it extremely difficult to progress in a white society. Newly freed slaves struggled with fitting into society because before, they had been viewed as nothing but property. As free men, gaining a place in their communities was problematic and many ideas arose on how to improve their situations. From this, two great thinkers, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, emerged and came up with different ideas for…

For as long as mankind has been recording history, this Earth has been filled with intolerant and racist people. For someone reason people have always treated people that are different than themselves in a negative way. It’s impossible to count how many people have suffered due to the mistreatment of people that can’t comprehend change or how people are all different. Of course many people know back than if you didn’t have blue eyes or blonde hair were considered inferior, lower than trash even…

Since the birth of our nation, African Americans have undergone significant changes from slavery, the Reconstruction era and eventually the civil rights movement. These battles have been fought by prominent leaders both black and white. Some examples of early African American struggles include vicious crimes from southern whites that resulted in nearly zero prosecutions, voting rights controlled by violence and intimidation and sharecropping which kept them in debt. Certain laws were ignored…

The definition of Renaissance is an period where the forms and treatments of art is being used. There was a famous Renaissance that occurred in Europe during the 14th century that extended to the 17th century allowing a transition from the medieval to the modern world. In addition, there was a renaissance that emerged in the United States from the 1920s (around the end of World War I) to the mid-1930s. This Renaissance occurred in Harlem, New York. It was known as the “New Negro Movement” before…