1920s lecture 5 harlem renaissance

DUE TODAY: N/A

THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

G – THE GREAT MIGRATION

Great Migration – major relocation of African Americans to northern cities from 1910 into the 1920’s

Began 1910 – Harlem (New York, NY) – a favorite destination for black Americans migrating from the South Life in the South = difficult Hoping to find freedom, economic opportunity

WWI Huge demand for war supplies Created many

jobs Opportunities for African Americans Moved North

G - THE GREAT MIGRATION

G – THE GREAT MIGRATION

1.5 million African Americans from the South headed North into cities like: Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City

This massive relocation caused African American populations in these cities to INCREASE

G – THE GREAT MIGRATION

G – THE GREAT MIGRATION

S – RACIAL TENSIONS ERUPT

FACTORS: Great Migration – new people in cities African Americans had higher expectations after

WWI

S – RACIAL TENSIONS ERUPT

Moving North didn’t help African Americans escape racism

Racial tensions high after WWI – WHY?

Racial violence – Summer of 1919Riots in 24+ citiesDeadliest in Chicago

38 died, 300 injured

S – RACIAL TENSIONS ERUPT

African Americans also believed they had earned more freedoms by fighting in WWINot everyone agreedSome whites wanted

to strike back against the new African American attitude

What do you think?

LET’S REVIEW:

WHY DID AFRICAN AMERICANS MOVE NORTH BETWEEN 1900 AND 1920?

S, I – LIFE IN HARLEM

Early 1920’s – 200,000 African Americans lived in NYC – most in Harlem Harlem became unofficial capital of African

American culture and activism in U.S. http://blackdemographics.com/population.html

S, I – W.E.B. DUBOIS

Leading voice in African American activism

Worked to end discrimination and mistreatment of African Americans

1909 – Founded NAACP National Association for

the Advancement of Colored People

S, I – DUBOIS THE CRISIS THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

DuBois was editor of The Crisis The Official magazine

of NAACP The Crisis became a

major outlet for African American writing, poetry, art

Helped promote arts movement known as the HARLEM RENAISSANCE

S – MARCUS GARVEY

Activist with a different view of African American life

Took great pride in his African heritage Encouraged others to

do the same Promoted self-reliance

African Americans should look out for their own interests, without involvement of whites

S, I – MARCUS GARVEY

Started UNIA Universal Negro Improvement Association

UNIA Slogan: “Back to Africa” - A day when Africans would

return and create a new empire Believed that to achieve that goal African

Americans needed economic success Started businesses including Black Star Line

S, I – MARCUS GARVEY

S, I – MARCUS GARVEY

2 million+ people joined UNIA Mostly poor African Americans

S – CLASH OF GARVEY AND DUBOIS

Garvey criticized DuBois and NAACP Discouraged African

American pride, self-confidence

Attempts to break down barrier between blacks and whites threatened racial purity

DuBois and NAACP suspicious of Garvey and UNIA The Crisis published

an investigation FBI watched UNIA

closely 1923 – charged

Garvey with mail fraud

UNIA collapsed

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

First time living outside the South Racial pride and identity Drew black writers, thinkers, artists, musicians

S, I - THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

A blossoming of African American art and literature that began in the 1920’s

WRITERS AND POETS Before 1920’s, little African American

literature had been published 1924 – National Urban League sponsored a

dinner brining together publishers, editors and up and coming writers Propelled African American writers into the

mainstream The Crisis – outlet for African American

writers, artists and poets

I - THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

I – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - WRITERS

Common themes: Black identity Common heritage Exploring a new world Resistance in the face of white prejudice Hope

I – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - WRITERS

James Weldon Johnson “Lift Every Voice and

Sing” Became NAACP

Anthem God’s Trombones

Claude McKay “If We Must Die”

Langston Hughes The Weary Blues

I – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - ARTISTS

William H. Johnson

I – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - ARTISTS

Into Bondage

Aspiration

Aaron Douglas

I – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - ARTISTS

BrownstonesTombstones

Migration of the Negro

Jacob Lawrence

New opportunities were created for stage performers during Harlem Renaissance Historically, black actors were not given serious

stage roles

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - PERFORMERS

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - PERFORMERS

Paul Robeson Famous stage, movie

performer Cast as lead character

in Shakespeare’s Othello

Performed in 1921 musical Shuffle Along All black cast

Many black performers had huge careers in Europe where black performers were more widely accepted

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - JAZZ

Harlem became the center for jazz

Jazz – blended musical forms of the South into new forms Improvisation No clear rules Spirited and creative

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - JAZZ

“If you have to ask what it is, you’ll never

know.”

– Louis Armstrong

Famous jazz musicians of the 1920’s: Louis Armstrong Cab Calloway Duke Ellington Fats Waller

Blues singer Bessie Smith

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - JAZZ Jazz scene centered around clubs like the Savoy

Ballroom and the Cotton Club Audiences made up of mostly white fans

Flocked to Harlem A wide cultural movement across U.S.

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - JAZZ

S – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - JAZZ

S – JAZZ

FOR NEXT CLASS…

Find out more about one thing we talked about today, write a one page paper about it DUE NEXT CLASS

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