cultural achievements of the 1920's 2010

Cultural Achievements and African American Achievements

in the 1920’s

Art and Literature

Charles Lindberg flew from NY to Paris, France.

Became national hero; first transatlantic flight.

Greenwich Village (New York) and the South Side (Chicago)

Many artists, writers, and intellectuals flocked to these areas to share ideas

People lead bohemian, or artistic and unconventional, lifestyles

Modern American ArtEuropean art began to influence American art.

Cubism and realism were new forms of art

Poets and WritersPoets and writers of the 20’s

were very different than previous times

Carl Sandberg used common speech to glorify the Midwest

T.S. Eliot described a world of ”empty men and hollow dreams," showing the 20s weren't perfect

Poets and WritersEugene O'neill was a playwright;

wrote realistic, tragic playsErnest Hemingway - one of the most

famous American writers of all time; wrote about anti-heroes (or flawed main characters); wrote in a direct or simple way

F. Scott Fitzgerald - wrote The Great Gatsby, a book that exposed the superficiality of the 1920s lifestyle.

Question: What seems different about these writers from the writers who came before them?

II. Popular Culture SportsThanks to radio and

movies, baseball and boxing became incredibly popular.

Babe Ruth, baseball's homerun king (at the time), became a national hero

Jack Dempsey was boxing's heavyweight champ from 1919 to 1926.

Football, tennis, and golf all also gained in popularity.

HollywoodMovies still had no

sound yet. Someone in the theater played piano; movie had subtitles.

Charlie Chaplin was a famous silent movie star.

1927 - The Jazz Singer - the first "talkie" or movie with sound

Popular Radio Shows and MusicIn 1920 there was one

radio station. In 1922 there were 400.

One popular radio show was Amos 'n' Andy. It was about two African Americans and the trouble they got into, yet it was acted out by two white actors; reinforced negative stereotypes.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Mass Media: radio, movies, newspapers, magazines. (Not TV yet). These things did more than entertain. They unified the United States. They spread new ideas and attitudes.

Question: Why was mass advertising, the radio, and movies important in the 1920s?

7.3 African American Culture

I. The Harlem RenaissanceThousands of blacks had

moved northing during the Great Migration to escape segregation, find better jobs, and build better lives

New York City was one such place; In Harlem, they created an environment of art, racial pride, sense of community, and political organization: this is known as the Harlem Renaissance.

The WritersClaude McKay - from

Jamaica; shocked by racism in America; wrote boldly, defiantly about racism in two books of poetry

Langston Hughes - born in Missouri; leading writer of African American experience in America. Wrote about African American achievements.

I, Too by Langston HughesI, too, sing AmericaI am the darker brother.They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,But I laugh,And eat well,And grow strong.

Question: Artists during the Harlem Renaissance such as Langston Hughes and Claude McKay shared what common theme in their art?

Jazz, Blues, and the TheaterJazz -

improvisational music introduced by Louis Armstrong

Duke Ellington had a ragtime sound

Many black musicians got their start at the Cotton Club, a famous Harlem nightclub.

Bessie Smith – famous blues singer; at one time the highest paid singer in U.S.

Blues – soulful style of music that involved themes of love, poverty, oppression

II. African American PoliticsThe NAACP Battle LynchingNAACP = National Association for

the Advancement of Colored PeopleFought, often unsuccessfully, against

discriminationThe main issue they fought for was

anti-lynching laws (failed during 1920s and 30s)

One success: they were able to help block the nomination of a racist Supreme Court Justice, John Parker.

Black Nationalism and Marcus GarveyMarcus Garvey – a dynamic

black leader from Jamaicabecame very popular; argued

for African American self-reliance.

Proposed a plan for black Americans to return to start a new country in Africa; became a “fringe movement” and failed.

He was eventually arrested and deported.

Question: Why did the NAACP and Marcus Garvey’s “Back to Africa” movement exist?