Introduction
Harlem renaissance was a literary movement that is also called the ‘New Negro Movement’ (Nathan, 1971). The movement was also a political one. It started in Harlem in the 1920s and1930s following the First World War. The movement addressed issues affecting the blacks living in America. They did this through various media for instance: music, literature, art, drama, movies, protests, etc. The African Americans used the literary medium because it was the only resource that was at their disposal. This is because they did not have access to employment opportunities. The blacks sought to challenge racism and paternalism shown by the whites. They wanted to have their own identity and to do this they had to stop imitating the white culture. They had to celebrate the black culture born out of slavery and that also linked them to their cultural connection to Africa. Africa was the land of their fathers who had been moved from there to work as laborers in America. The renaissance started in Harlem and spread throughout the country and even outside. Many individuals and institutions joined the movement to fight for the civil rights of blacks (Carrol, undated).
Main body
The Renaissance was triggered by many blacks coming to the north from the south that was intolerant of the blacks and to get away from the Jim Crow laws, annihilation, and sharecropping as this could not allow the blacks to empower themselves economically (Hissam, undated).
The First World War also helped to awaken the renaissance as many blacks moved to the north to search for employment. They moved to towns like Cleveland Washington. The blacks in the media used it to voice the concerns of the black (Rowen & Brunner, 2007). The whites started looking at the African American culture more keenly. The blacks were for the first time proud of their identity because they had all along been considered as lesser human beings. This was aided by the so many voices talking about this culture brought about by a reawakening of the blacks.
A dinner party that was hosted by Charles Johnson that was aimed at introducing gifted black writers to the literary establishment of the whites helped start the renaissance. This happened because a magazine to address the African culture was launched. It promoted an interest in the black community and hence the interest in Harlem (Hassim, undated).
Novelist Carl Van published a novel that talked about the elite and the life in Harlem and this led to a great interest in the blacks’ music and literary works. Hence more people listened to African American music and through this, they heard about the blacks’ life. There was also the magazine FIRE in the year 1926 that had many black contributors. These writers wrote about the blacks and hence more interest was generated about the African Americans (Hissam, undated).
Harlem renaissance through its elite promoted racial consciousness. They were a people who felt lost and they did not belong in America and in Africa too. They talked of the notion of “twoness one ever feels his twoness-an American, a Negro; two souls…in one dark body” (Rueben, 2009).
The movement was shaken to its core during the great depression as the black intellectuals were caught off guard. They had not to link culture to social and economic reality. The Harlem Renaissance became a sign and a very important place that people would refer to. It became synonymous with the blacks’ fight for emancipation. They had to acknowledge their true value. This could only be if they appreciated where they came from and learned of their identity.
The Renaissance had many impacts it changed the way the African Americans were viewed by the Americans and the world at large. They were viewed as people with their own identities. In this way, they gained a little more respect from their white counterparts (Hissam, undated). Furthermore, their culture and folklore were appreciated. We had many people listening to their music and reading their literature. More African American writers and musicians emerged as they now had a platform.
Most of the blacks moved from rural to urban they portrayed a more sophisticated image. They were no longer the uneducated blacks because they now had an opportunity to go to school. This is because Harlem was less racially polarized. Harlem became the central point from where they would link with the outside world to advance their protests.
The political scene in the U.S was changed completely this was together with the civil rights movements. The whites and the blacks worked together to change the divided and racist society (Nathan, 1971).
Despite the progress made in the era of the renaissance racism remained a thorny issue. Racism still continued to impact blacks and the black soldiers who fought during the world war did not feel appreciated for the service they rendered to their nation.
The Harlem Renaissance had some hurdles for example the intellectuals were mimicked by the people they were representing because they copied the mannerisms of the whites. This became very difficult for them to advance this course because it was seen as a case of preaching water and taking wine.
They could not escape the white presence. The whites were everywhere in trade yet they had to reject their values. They were required to do so without hate or love and had to be true to themselves to become themselves in their lives and endeavors (Reuben, 2009).
The other setback for the Renaissance was that most blacks are natives. They did not have a clear past that they could associate with. The only culture that they had contact with was the white culture. So how is it possible for African Americans to abandon the only life they know and embrace a culture that they do not even understand? Furthermore, they do not have a direct connection with the African culture. Their history and culture are American. The only way for the African Americans to be free is by accepting their nativity and then seek their identity from that point.
The renaissance ended during the Second World War and after the depression. This was after the ‘new Negro’ was born, the new Negro was more educated, urbanized, and had artistic talents to offer. One of the things that triggered the renaissance also ended is a great depression. The blacks who continued to migrate to the north were now accommodated well in the new culture (Frank, Hope & Alfred, 2000).
When the depression set in most of the blacks found themselves out of work. The economy was controlled by the whites, hence when the blacks were left unemployed. They lost their houses as they could not pay the mortgages. This led them to lose hope and the optimism they had of the American dream. Thus the spirit of the renaissance died (Stewart, 1998).
It also ended because the central theme of demystifying the black man ended. The literary works had shown that the black man was not primitive as earlier thought. The image of the African American had changed and now there was sophistication. Thus there was a need to change the way of writing (Stewart, 1998).
Conclusion
The Harlem Renaissance left a lasting impact that is still felt today through the movement that ended in the 1930s. It formed a platform for other civil rights activists like Martin Luther King who organized protests to demand to be treated like human beings. They also voted for the right of the black man to be allowed to vote. They become more socially conscious and politically involved. The whites become more accommodative of the blacks. Today the political scene is changed and we have black representatives in the congress and the senate. What more evidence of that impact than having a black president in office today in the United States of America?
Works cited
Carrol, J. Harlem Renaissance. 2009. Web.
Hassim, C. Harlem Renaissance. 2009. Web.
Franklin, Hope, J and Alfred A. M. Jr. (2000) From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Stewart, J. Harlem Renaissance (1998). Web.
Nathan, I. (1971) Harlem Renaissance. New York: Oxford University Press.
Reuben, P. P.(2008) “Chapter 9: Harlem Renaissance – An Introduction.” PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Web.
Rowen, B. & Brunner, B. (2007) Great Days in Harlem: The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance. Web.