Mrs. Ruland's U.S. History Class Project
Harlem Renaissance:A Vehicle for Speaking Out
By: Daniel, Patrick, Patrick, and William
The Harlem Renaissance was a movement of African American culture in the 1920's. The African Americans used this as a way to reach out to the white community and to achieve social reform. A new form of music, called jazz, was introduced in this time, which was a mix of ragtime and the blues. It attracted a large white audience, who liked the upbeat tempo and accepted black musicians. These musicians included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and others.
Another piece of African American culture that was part of the Harlem Renaissance was literature. Many writers used their novels and stories to describe their experiences or their ancestors experiences with discrimination and racism. Some of these writers were Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson.
The Harlem Renaissance did not only include works of literature and music, but it also included artwork. Lois Mailou Jones, William H. Johnson, and Palmer Hayden were a few of these artists. These pieces of artwork helped African Americans get messages across to the white community. They often showed distress and discrimination.
The Harlem Renaissance had a lasting impact on the nation just like previous reform movements such as the Populist movement and the Progressive movement. Although the Harlem Renaissance is not usually associated with previous reform movements, in reality the Harlem Renaissance shares many bonds with these movements. These bonds include the fight for fair treatment, enhancing democracy, and visions of a world where everybody is truly equal. Part of the goal of this page is to make these connections clearer.
Langston Hughes: Writer, Louis Armstrong: Musician, and Lois Mailou Jones:
Artist
There is a near endless amount of information regarding the Harlem Renaissance. Here is a list of some valuable resources:
The Harlem Renaissance This page gives a basic overview of the Harlem Renaissance and links to sites about specific people in the Harlem Renaissance
Biographies of the Harlem Renaissance This site provides a list of links to various biographical web pages for important figures in the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance Artwork and Literature This web page gives information on artists and writers from the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance - A Brief Introduction This web site contains a chronology of important events and publications of the Harlem Renaissance. This site also outlines the significance and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and describes the Harlem Renaissance as a reform movement and explains some of its successes and failures.
Entertainers of the Harlem Renaissance Shown on this web site is a background of the important musicians of the Harlem Renaissance. It also includes photographs of these musicians.
Online NewsHour Forum: Harlem Renaissance This site gives background information about the cultures expressed during the Harlem Renaissance. It also describes many of the people involved in this movement.
Circles Harlem Renaissance History This web page is a timeline of the events that occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. It also includes the various pieces of literature that were published during the Harlem Renaissance.
Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture Included in this web page is a general overview of the Harlem Renaissance. It also gives many quotes from popular African American culture of the time as well as several works that were completed by various people of the time period.
Literature of the Harlem Renaissance This site describes the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and their accomplishments.
Eyecon Art: The Harlem Renaissance This page gives background on the types of artwork created and the artists of the Harlem Renaissance. It also shows many of the pieces of art that were created.
The Harlem Renaissance This web page includes information about the speakeasies, which was a way that the black community connected to whites during the Harlem Renaissance (mostly by the jazz music that they played at these speakeasies).
Last updated March 28, 2005
© Marcella Ruland 1998-2008, All rights reserved
