The Harlem Renaissance - Group 4

Major Themes:

• Re-Inventiveness
• Rebirth
• Enlightenment
• Creativity
• Opportunity
• Innovation
• Transformation

The Harlem Renaissance was arguably the most influential movement in American culture. A new age of glory, followed by centuries of oppression that resided in the institution of slavery, flourished in the 1920’s to 1930’s for African-Americans in America and had a profound effect on the African American community. The Harlem Renaissance represents the dawn of revitalized African American culture. This time period was a time of intellectual and artistic explosion.  Black people were now viewed as intelligent, scholarly, creative, and innovative.  Thus, the “New Negro” was reinvented during the Harlem Renaissance, bringing a positive light to the qualities that were often overlooked in African-American people in lieu of the prior two hundred plus years of bondage.  W. E. B. Du Bois was a model “New Negro” as he was one of the intellectual leaders put on the forefront of this movement.  Social stigmas were not the only things transforming during this movement, as positive economic and social opportunities arose for African-Americans, particularly in the North.  

As we acknowledge the positivity that arose from this historical movement, we must also study the struggle that came with it.  America did not simply wake up one sunday morning and say “Looks like slavery is over, we can all coexist peacefully now!”.  No, there were hundreds of years of painful societal constructs that were embedded into American history that had to be sifted through and confronted in order to truly move forward and they continued to face adversity every step of the way. However, the fact that the African-American community now had a chance, hope, and an opportunity, well that was all we really needed! Taking this grain of hope and turning it into a mountain of success through black owned businesses, historically black colleges and black institutions, this new era set the tone for a legacy of greatness for the black community.