The Great Migration
The Great Migration is a significant historical event in the history of the US, which saw millions of Black Americans traveling from the rural South and towards the more progressive North. From 1916 to 1917, at the height of segregation, the economic and cultural opportunities for black people were significantly diminished (Locke 19). At the same time, the industrialized North required laborers at the factories and offered a wage three times higher than in the Southern fields. Industry demands rose sharply during the First World War, making the factory owners realize that it did not matter if white or black hands helped out in times of great need (Locke 25). This migration was not only an economic opportunity for the rising black population but also an event that created a cultural melting pot in many places that people migrated to en masse, and one of these signatory events was the Harlem Renaissance.
The Harlem Renaissance
The city of Harlem used to be an all-white town for well-off individuals. However, during the Great Migration, it became a stopping and settling point for many individuals fleeing the South. Over 200,000 black settlers have set up in the city and its suburbs (Smith 9). They brought with them a new cultural influx and a new lifestyle, which in turn mixed with the existing urban culture of Harlem. The result was an entirely new cultural phenomenon in arts, dance, and music, colloquially known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Similarities Between the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Migration
There are many similarities between the processes that enabled the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Migration itself. The experience of leaving the South and venturing into the great unknown has transformed the black population (Smith 59). It made them more self-reliant and daring to pursue a better life and express themselves.
The explosion of expression came in many different forms, which could have been considered crude at first but then received the polishing and shining from academic arts and music. The themes of the art were variable – many former slaves or descendants of such sought to tell about the difficult life in the South or their current struggles (Smith 64). Others have embraced the opportunity to shine, dance, and sing. This influx of fresh blood, experiences, and ideas reinvigorated Harlem and made it a cultural phenomenon.
The Harlem Renaissance developed from the New Negro Movement, and the black experience was an important subject for their art, and it also helped push the progressive social and political landscape. Black books and periodicals were being printed and published state-wide, and many prominent individuals have become famous. Some of these people include Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, and many others (Locke 40). There is a reason why this time is considered to be the golden age for African-American culture. That signifies another similarity between the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance: both were great opportunities for African Americans to grow, expand, and have their voices heard by the rest of America.
The final comparison between the two events is the cultural-psychological one. The enduring stereotype held on to by the white population was steadily being undermined. Blacks have been viewed as deficient, unintelligent, incapable of complex labor, or developing anything other than a primitive culture. Just like black workers showed that they were as capable as whites when it came to factory labor, medicine, and engineering, the cultural representatives have been proving the same by gifting the world with books, poetry, art, and music. Thus, both have become instrumental to the emancipation of the black community.
Works Cited
Locke, Alain, ed. The New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance. Open Road Media, 2021.
Smith, Sherri L. What Was the Harlem Renaissance? Penguin, 2021.