The Harlem Renaissance

1. The Harlem Renaissance

2. Think about this… “I, Too, Sing America”

3. The Origins of Harlem • Harlem is in New York • Harlem was built in the 1800s as a suburb for white middle and upper classes • The influx of European immigrants caused the upper classes to abandon Harlem • The early 1900s and WWI brought southern blacks to the North

5. Expansion in Black communities • The Great industrial migration brought Blacks into the North and into big cities • Whites in these areas became fascinated by Black culture • The Great Migration expanded Black culture, communities, arts, music, and literary traditions

7. What is the Harlem Renaissance? • The Harlem Renaissance is a reaction to slavery, abolition, and Reconstruction • A reaction to Jim Crow Laws and Segregation in the South • An affirmation and embrace of the American Dream • Experimentation in Black culture, expression, economic freedom, and the arts

8. Cont… • The Harlem Renaissance time period is debated • The movement lasted from the 1910s to the mid-1930s • The Great Depression brought the end to the movement

9. Music • Genre: Jazz and Blues • Jazz was primarily a Southern “poor” Black genre • The new Jazz merged the sounds of poor Blacks with the instruments of elite blacks • Jazz is deeply rooted in the slave spirituals and southern music

10. Continuation… • Jazz and the Blues gained popularity with Whites • The music industry provided a new financial avenue for Blacks • Louis Armstrong – “Hello Dolly”

11. Arts and Literature • The Harlem Renaissance brought various Black Artists and Writers to light • The artists focused on telling stories from a Black perspective • The works debated racism, empowerment, gender, economics, and issues within the Black Communities.