The Harlem Renaissance By James Weldon Johnson Essay

Over one hundred and fifty years later, another door was opened that led African-American artists into an era that aided in shaping a new black cultural identity. This new cultural identity was called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural manifestation that lured African-American writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars to Harlem, New York. The Harlem Renaissance shifted the paradigm for cultural and social settings. The blueprints for the Harlem Renaissance began years earlier with African-American genre of literature. James Weldon Johnson was one such writer who sifted through the roughage to promote great writers. Johnson was a reckoning force behind the great push for the Harlem Renaissance. According to The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Johnson favored the memories of his students from the rural South but, he did not condone the use of black dialect. Johnson challenged African-American writers to, â€Å"express the rac ial spirit from within, rather than [through] symbols from without† (Johnson 1009). This is the same argument W. E. B. Du Bois discovered when Booker T. Washington seemingly accepted and settled a lower level of education for African-Americans enrolled at the educational facility founded by Washington. The institution, Tuskegee Institute, was established to train African-Americans in basic agricultural and mechanical skills. DuBois was insulted by the gesture and immediately put together aShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Harlem Renaissance1515 Words   |  7 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Harlem Renaissance Poets consist of: James Weldon Johnson, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Jean (Eugene) Toomer, Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, Robert Hayden, and Gwendolyn Brooks. These eight poets contributed to modern day poetry in three ways. One: they all wrote marvelous poems that inspired our poets of modern times. Two: they contributed to literature to let us know what went on in there times, and how much we now have changed. And last but not least they all have written poems thatRead MoreEssay on The Harlem Renaissance and Its Societal Effects 1133 Words   |  5 PagesWhat Is the Harlem Renaissance, and What Effects Did It Have On Society? Harlem was like a great magnet for the Negro intellectual, pulling him from everywhere. Or perhaps the magnet was New York, but once in New York, he had to live in Harlem(Langston Hughes, The Big Sea). When one is describing a â€Å"fresh and brilliant portrait of African American art and culture in the 1920s (Rampersad, Arnold),† the Harlem Renaissance would be the most accurate assumption. The Harlem Renaissance proved to AmericaRead MoreHarlem Renaissance : A Cultural, Social, And Artistic Explosion840 Words   |  4 Pagesexplosion that took place in Harlem between 1919-1929 became known as the Harlem Renaissance. 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Harlem, a part of Manhattan in New York City, became a hugely successful showcase for African American talent. Starting with black literature, the Harlem Renaissance quickly grew to incredible proportions. W.E.B. Du Bois, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes, along with many otherRead MoreThe Road That Led African Americans986 Words   |  4 Pagesthe period leading up to the Harlem Renaissance. In fact, even after African-Americans had gained their freedom they still experienced abuse, inequality, and suffering at the hands of their White counterparts. The Jim Crow Laws were enacted and in effect in the South, which led to the mass migration to the North, and even in the North, Blacks still experienced some indifference, though not on the same scale as they had in the South. In Lift Every Voice and Sing, J ohnson uses rhyming which of courseRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance1586 Words   |  7 PagesTHE HARLEM RENAISSANCE: ITS HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE ON BLACK CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN AMERICA Written by * Dr. William Mulligan History 522 Read MoreThe Harlem Renaissance: Creation of a New Nation Essays1535 Words   |  7 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance created a new racial identity for African-Americans living in the United States, after the First World War. This new racial identity caused the African-Americans to become a nation within the United States. A nation is defined as a group of people that share common language, ethnicity, history, and culture. A nation of people may or may not have sovereignty. Harlem, a neighbourhood in Manhattan, New York City, emerged as the â€Å"race capital†1 for African-Americans living in theRead MoreThe Negro Movement1364 Words   |  6 Pagesback at the history of the culture that has risen from the ashes; one may be quite surprised just how far the African American culture has come. The progression of the African American culture is indeed one to be proud of. From cotton fields to Harlem, â€Å"The New Negro Movement†, sparked a sense of cultural self-determination, with a yearning to strive for economic, political equality, and civic participation. This was a movement that sparked a wide range of advancements in the African American