FACES OF HARLEMFACES OF HARLEMFACES OF HARLEMFACES OF HARLEM

The Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem RenaissanceDr. JarmonDr. Jarmon

WHAT IS THE HARLEM WHAT IS THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE?RENAISSANCE?WHAT IS THE HARLEM WHAT IS THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE?RENAISSANCE?

The Harlem Renaissance got its name because it reminded observers of theEuropean Renaissance (i.e. "re-birth") that began in the 14th and 15th centuriesand permanently Changed European culture and society. Beginning in the cities ofItaly and spreading over the next two centuries to all of Europe, this firstRenaissance represented the end of the looked to classical Greek and Romancivilization for insight and inspiration - was an upsurge of culture, learning,entertainment and rediscovery of roots that showed itself in art, writing, literature,politics, technology and many other areas.

In addition, people moved to the cities and started to look at themselves in a newway and many became literate. For African Americans, the Harlem Renaissanceof the New Negro PeriodNew Negro Period was a similar period of progressive change (in how peoplesaw themselves, where they lived, cultural expression, literature and literacy, politicsand many other ways). There were some differences however. The HarlemRenaissance looked to Africa and Black American culture for inspiration and wasconfined to mostly (but not totally) one country and one race. Nevertheless, bothRenaissances represented a period of enlightenment after a period of destruction,rediscovery of culture and a glorious past, new thinking, and the creation of newexpressions.

NOVELISTS and NOVELISTS and WRITERSWRITERSNOVELISTS and NOVELISTS and WRITERSWRITERS

JEAN TOOMER

GEORGE SCHULYER

JESSIE R. FAUSET

CLAUDE McKAY

NELLA LARSEN

ZORA HURSTON

Literature is one of the areas in whichthe Harlem Renaissance is best knownAnd had its widest impact on manypeople living outside Harlem. The writersof ideas and an identity that has left a lasting influence on both Black and White America.

There were many key writers of theHarlem Renaissance. Some of the majornames include:

Countee Cullen the poet, Langston Hughes the novelist and

poet, James Weldon Johnson, a poet and

novelist

Claude McKay a novelist W.E.B. DuBois, a political activist,

Novelist

There were many others (oftennovelists or poets) whose worksreflected the New Negro images and thoughts. In addition to novels and books written by single authors there were also collaborative efforts.

One very important one was the short-lived magazine "Fire!!" which featured the work of several writers and artists. Most of the copies were burned up in a real warehouse fire and the few surviving copies are rare and expensive treasures today.

LITERATURELITERATURELITERATURELITERATURE

RUDOLF FISHER LANGSTON HUGHES

WALLACE THURMAN

ERIC WALROND WALTER WHITE

C ARL VAN VECHTEN

HARLEM’S NEW ACTORSHARLEM’S NEW ACTORSHARLEM’S NEW ACTORSHARLEM’S NEW ACTORSThe first stage of the Harlem Renaissancestarted in the late 1910s. 1917 saw the Premiere of Three Plays for a Negro Theatre. Many plays that were written often rejected the stereotypes of the blackface and minstrel show traditions. BlackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, inWhich performers create a stereotypedcaricature of a black person.

In 1848, blackface minstrel shows were the National art of the time, translating formalart such as opera into popular terms for ageneral audience. Early in the 20th century,blackface branched off from the minstrel Show and became a form in its own right, until it ended in the United States with the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Lincoln Theatre, one of the first theaters in New York to allow African Americans to pass through its doors, was an integral part of Harlem's cultural scene. In 1915, the Lincoln became the original home of an all-black theatrical troupe. The Lincoln went on to thrive in the 1920s and 1930s, showcasing many of Harlem's hottest jazz and vaudeville performers, including Ethel Waters and Florence Mills. The Lafayette Theatre, a 1,000-seat venue also featured silent movie screenings with musical accompaniment by pianist Fats Waller. The Lafayette Theatre played two starring roles in the Harlem Renaissance: the first New York City playhouses to welcome Integrated audiences, but its stage was among the first to showcase sophisticated performances by African-American actors. It cast Black actors in serious dramatic roles, many of them written for white actors by white authors.. Serious black actors such as Paul Robeson rose above the stereotyped or comedic roles to which they had once been classified.

ACTORS/ACTORS/PRODUCERSPRODUCERSACTORS/ACTORS/PRODUCERSPRODUCERS

Richard B. Nugent

Paul Robeson

Angelina W. Grimke

Charles Gilpin

Ethel Waters

ARTISTSARTISTSARTISTSARTISTS

Jacob Lawrence

Charles AlstonAugusta Savage

Palmer Hayden

Lois M. JonesRomare Bearden

Sargent Johnson

ARTWORK OF THE ARTWORK OF THE RENAISSANCERENAISSANCEARTWORK OF THE ARTWORK OF THE RENAISSANCERENAISSANCE

Augusta Savage

Richard Barthe

Aaron Douglas Palmer Hayden

POETSPOETSPOETSPOETS

James Weldon Johnson

Helene Johnson

Gwendolyn Bennett

Georgia Douglas Johnson

Arna Bontemps

May Miller

Lewis Alexander

A SPIRITUAL ANTHEM A SPIRITUAL ANTHEM FOR FOR ALL PEOPLEALL PEOPLE

A SPIRITUAL ANTHEM A SPIRITUAL ANTHEM FOR FOR ALL PEOPLEALL PEOPLE

Johnson first wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a poem in 1900. Hundreds of African-American students performed it at a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at Jacksonville, Florida’s Stanton School, where Johnson was principal. Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson, later set the poem to music. By 1920, the NAACP had proclaimed the song the “Negro National Anthem.”

Askew, an associate professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college, found letters of appreciation to Johnson from individuals of all different ethnic backgrounds. At that moment, Askew had a revelation: The song he’d known as the “black national anthem” was for everybody.

MUSICIANSMUSICIANSMUSICIANSMUSICIANS

Ella Fitzgerald Louis Armstrong Lean Horne

Count BasieBillie HolidayDuke Ellington

A Spectacular VenueA Spectacular Venue The most famous club for African-American

performers and popular music in the U.S. was the Apollo Theater, a continuing legacy of the Harlem Renaissance. From the beginning, the Apollo offered amateur nights each evening, where many famous artists, such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and James Brown, started their show business careers. Although its popularity declined in the 1960s and 70s, the Apollo experienced a revival when it obtained landmark status in 1983. Today the theater is run by a non-profit organization and draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors each year. It continues to promote new artists through its nationally syndicated variety show, Showtime at the Apollo.

In 1933 Fiorello La Guardia, who would later become New York City’s Mayor, began a campaign against burlesque. 

Hurtig & Seamon’s Apollo was one of many theaters that would close down. Cohen reopened the building as the 125th Street Apollo Theatre in 1934 with his partner, Morris Sussman serving as manager. Cohen and Sussman changed the format of the shows from burlesque to variety revues and redirected their

In 1983, the Apollo received state and city landmark status and in 1991, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., was established as a private, not-for-profit organization to manage, fund and oversee programming for the Apollo Theater. Today, the Apollo, which functions under the guidance of a Board of Directors, presents concerts, performing arts, education and community outreach programs.

Ethel Waters

Bill Robinson

Marian Anderson

Nora D. Ray

Cab Calloway Eva Jessye