L5&6: The Harlem RenaissanceEquality and Hierarchy: The African American

ExperienceAgenda

Objective: 1. To understand what the

Harlem Renaissance was.2. To understand the

significance of the Harlem Renaissance for the black experience.

Schedule: 3. Group Stations Activity4. Whole Class Discussion

Homework:1.Consult

Unit Schedule. Remember: Literature Review Due ...(Tan = Wed; Red & Blue = Thurs);

The Harlem Renaissance• 1920s and 1930s• The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering

of African American social and cultural thought which was expressed through:– Paintings–Music –Dance – Theater– Literature

Why the Harlem Renaissance• During the Great Migration the majority of African

Americans who moved north ended up in New York City.– Of the almost 750,000 African Americans who moved

North, nearly 175,000 moved to Harlem.• The neighborhood of Harlem became a ethnic

enclave of African Americans.– Harlem is a section of Manhattan, which covers three

square miles• Harlem became the largest concentration of black people in the world.

Where is Harlem?

The island of Manhattan

New York City is on Manhattan island

Neighborhoods

Why Did the Harlem Renaissance Emerge When and Where it Did?

1. Large concentration of African Americans in Harlem2. Emergence of a black middle class coming out of the

Great Migration3. Increased contact between African Americans and white

Americans in the workplace and on city streets forced a new awareness of the disparity between the promise of the American dream and reality.

4. Blacks WWI experience and disillusionment with race relations in the United States• African American soldiers who served in World War I were angered

by the prejudice they often encountered back at home, compared to the acceptance they had found in Europe.

5. Race riots and civil uprisings during the summer of 1919 over post-war economic tensions between blacks and whites

6. Rise of NAACP and Black Nationalism

The Harlem Renaissance and Whites• The Harlem Renaissance appealed

to a mixed audience—the African American middle class and white consumers of the arts.

• Urbane whites suddenly took up New York’s African-American community, bestowing their patronage on young artists, opening up publishing opportunities, and pumping cash into Harlem’s “exotic” nightlife in a complex relationship that scholars continue to probe.

Understanding the Harlem Renaissance

• In order to more fully explore the characteristics, themes, and significance of the Harlem Renaissance we will…– Day One: Artistic Analysis

• Divide up into 4 groups• Look at 4 stations each containing an artistic work by an artist of

the Harlem Renaissance era.• As you interact with each piece.:

– Identify what the piece is saying about:» The Black experience in America» Black identity / Racial Consciousness» White people / White America» How the African American condition should be improved» Other?

– Day Two: Whole Class Discussion• We will discuss the characteristics, themes, and significance of

the Harlem Renaissance using your artistic analysis as our evidence!

“If You Believe the Negro Has a Soul”Marcus Garvey

Speech1921• http://

historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5124/

“I, Too, Sing America”Langston Hughes

Poem1945

• https://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15615

“Take the A Train”Duke Ellington

Jazz Composition1939

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2w2m1JmCY

Jacob Lawrence“Brownstones”

Painting1954

Discussion!