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the harlem renaissance was a cultural movement among african americans in new york city in the 1920s and 1930s. musicians, writers, and other african american artists were drawn to the harlem section of manhattan by plentiful housing. the artistic outpouring lasted until the great depression forced many harlem artists to move elsewhere to look for work. the impact of the harlem renaissance, however, can still be felt broadly in our culture today.
the emergence of an african american community
african americans in new york city began moving to the harlem area in about 1900. they were eager to move out of the west side of manhattan because of the overcrowded tenement buildings and worsening hostility from white neighbors. harlem had a surplus of apartments, and so landlords were eager to welcome african american tenants. when african american churches began to relocate to harlem as well, the presence of african americans became solidly established and continued to grow.
segregation was widespread in the north as well as the south in the early 1900s. african americans were banned from many white - owned businesses, including restaurants and hotels. as a result, african americans started their own businesses to draw on the large number of potential customers in their neighborhood. among the most successful businesses were nightclubs that featured jazz and blues.
the great migration
the great migration is a term that refers to the movement of african americans from the south to large cities in the north between approximately 1916 to 1940 in its first wave. world war i cut off the flow of european immigrants to the united states. northern factories were growing and needed more workers. they recruited african americans from the south to help make up for the shortage of workers. african americans were eager to leave the south because of jim crow laws that led to mistreatment and violence against them. many were sharecroppers who had difficulty surviving economically, especially when an insect infestation decimated the cotton crop during the war. harlem also attracted black immigrants from the caribbean, promising greater prosperity and economic opportunity. these movements of people to large cities were part of a larger trend; in 1920, for the first time in u.s. history, more people lived in urban areas than in rural areas.
a flowering of the arts
in 1917, playwright ridgely torrence’s three plays for a negro theatre, often considered among the first major works of the harlem renaissance, premiered. the suite of plays featured african - american actors and represented complex characters. the work rejected racial stereotypes frequently portrayed in the theater previously. for example, one of the most popular forms of musical entertainment in the late 1800s had been minstrel shows. these shows featured white men wearing makeup that made them appear to be african americans, and consisted of comedy and musical numbers that portrayed african americans as foolish and simple - minded. in the early 1900s, african american musical performers sought to create their own musical theater that gave a more accurate portrayal of african american life and moved away from stereotypes. eubie blake and noble sissle wrote a musical called shuffle along in 1921. it became the first hit broadway musical written by african americans.
what’s more, music attracted people from all races and walks of life to harlem’s nightclubs. this music included the blues, which originated in the deep south in the late 1800s. the blues grew out of african american spirituals and work songs, as well as the music of africa and folk music. blues music featured trance - like rhythm and unusual scales and chords.
another musical form, jazz, drew partly from the blues. it too was invented by african americans in the south in the late 1800s. jazz features improvisation, in which the musicians create music as they play rather than reading it from sheets of paper. bandleaders such as duke ellington and performers such as louis armstrong created some of the greatest jazz of any era. jazz was created by african americans in new orleans in the late 1800s and represented an integral part of african american culture. it became so popular in the 1920s that the decade is sometimes referred to as the jazz age.
as the outset of the harlem renaissance, as african american musicians flocked to harlem for work in the popular nightclubs, other artists soon followed. african - american artists living in harlem had the opportunity to be trained and mentored by famous artists and to attend top schools in other parts of new york city. among the artists who took advantage of these opportunities were painter aaron douglas and sculptor augusta savage.
rising literacy levels among african americans in the late 1800s made it possible for african americans to consider writing as an occupation. prior to the civil war, few southern african americans could read because it was illegal to give instruction to enslaved persons. the growth of schools in the south for african americans after the war meant that, when the great migration occurred, there was a burgeoning demand for literature and news by and about african americans. the creation of african - american newspapers and magazines helped meet this need.
among the most important magazines read by people in harlem were the crisis and opportunity: a journal of negro life. the crisis was published by the national association for the advancement of colored people (naacp), an organization founded in new york city in 1909. the editor of the crisis was w.e.b. du bois, who used the magazine to shed light on the oppression of african americans and call for increased civil rights. du bois, a sociologist, was the leading voice for african americans during the early 1900s. he appointed jessie fauset as literary editor of the crisis. she published works by most of harlem’s leading authors. another important group of african - american activists, the national urban league published opportunity. this journal published, in addition to literature, studies of the difficulties faced by african americans, including discrimination.
political activism: voices of change
at the outset of the harlem renaissance, marcus garvey launched one of the largest mass movements in african american history. garvey, who had immigrated from jamaica in 1910, led the universal negro improvement association. a charismatic speaker, garvey urged african americans to become economically strong and suggested that they form a black - led nation in africa. he published a newspaper called negro world that ran stories detailing achievements of african americans as well as features about african culture. as its peak, his movement had over one million followers. while his ideas could be divisive among members of the harlem renaissance movement, his work influenced contemporary political thinking.
one of the most widely renowned figures in the harlem renaissance was james weldon johnson. after working as a diplomat to south america,

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