Harlem Renaissance

English 3, Period 4

Overview

• When-1920s and 1930s

• Where- Harlem, New York

• Why- African Americans felt disenfranchised - Opportunity to stand up for themselves

http://www.jcu.edu/harlem/index.htm

About Harlem

• What is it: - It has been called a state of mind -But it is also a real place • Where is it: - New York City – Upper Manhattan • Why was it built: - It was a neighborhood for minorities. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/iraas/harlem/

African American Artists

•Harlem inspired novelists, poets, musicians, and actors because:

The New York City pace

The blend of backgrounds

The struggles of the people who live there

• http://kottke.org/08/02/harlem-rent-parties-and-fats-waller

• http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/blues/watson.html

Rent Parties in Harlem

• A rent party is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play in order to raise money to pay their rent.

• Originated during the 1920s in Manhattan but spread throughout Eastern United States.

• The host would stand at the door to collect money from the guests.

Rent Parties in Harlem

• The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blues music.

• Famous pianists from the period included Speckled Red, James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.

• Rent parties began as a way of helping someone pay off debt, but soon became a popular social event many people attended.

Rent Parties in Harlem

• Churches and local diners would encourage their community to go to these social gatherings.

• In order to attract a large number of paying guests, hosts advertised their parties using "rent party tickets,” which were given the nickname “boogies.”

• Rent parties gave the African American community of Harlem a chance to pay off debts while still enjoying their social lives.

Economy of Harlem

• The social thought of African Americans

• The prosperous North

• “Culture of poverty”

Real Estate

• High concentration of blacks

• Money on glamour

• Exciting and fun-filled place

Businesses

• Bobby’s Happy House Records

• First black business

• Launched series of record labels

Works Cited

• http://chnm.gmu.edu/loudountah/resources_files/abk/harlem-renaissance-presentation.ppt

• http://www.columbia.edu/cu/iraas/harlem/dkv/tools/0746/web/s5/s5_2.html

• http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1988/2/88.02.02.x.html

Education

• African American’s education has always been perceived as the greater level.

• The supreme court had set the stage for flagrant discrimination on education.

• New York promised throughout the nation by law prohibited segregated schools.

• After WWII America built separate schools to accommodate the influx of African Americans.

Black Population

• The two populations of African Americans moving to Harlem influenced leadership.

• A number of schools maintained an all black population.

• African Americans took advantage of the free public education.

• Schools quickly became crowded.

• Some principals did not welcome African Americans to their schools.

• Many African American students became victims of racial slurs, teachers and students.

• The Harlem YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) was established the first decade of the 20th century.

Black Universities and Colleges

• Booker T. Washington’s doctrine of education for African Americans.

• He created the educational philosophy for African Americans proposed by W.E.B. Dubois.

• Washington did not deprecate the study of history, mathematics, or science.

• He viewed these subjects as impractical for the education of African Americans.

• Washington believed African Americans should be trained to become farmers, mechanics, or domestic servants.

• They would provide many of the services and much of the produce that the white community needed.

• Until his death in 1915 most African Americans recognized him as their leader, and few whites had serious discussions about race relations without his counsel.

Black Association Clubs

• The numbers among the talented tenth (physicians, educators, lawyers, ministers, morticians, dentists, and business people).

• The populations were small, only about 10,000 out of a total population of more than 10,000,000 in 1920.

• Jump-started the new Negro Movement, known as the Harlem Renaissance, through organizations, such as the American Negro Academy, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.(NAACP)

African American Clubs cont’d.

• In spite of its limited vocational vision for African Americans, the Harlem YMCA came to be one of Harlem’s most important educational recreational and cultural centers.

• Langston Hughes and other literati of the Harlem Renaissance often found temporary housing at the Harlem YMCA.

The Beginnings of Communism

• The communist party had its affect on the African American community in 1919 and was led by Cyril Briggs

• The the presences of the white power was to prominent and race became an issue

• The communist party flourished in areas like the ghettos and slums, especially Harlem

Later on…

• In 1935, at Howard University the National Negro Congress was formed

• The communist party tried to humanize themselves in their associations with African Americans

• During the 1940’s the membership began to dwindle amongst blacks

Who was involved?

• Cyril Briggs – he was the founder of the ABB and joined the communist party in 1921

• W.E.B. Du Bois – founding father of of NAACP but later joined the communist party

• Richard Nathaniel Wright- revolutionist poet and joint the communist party in 1934

NAACP

• The NAACP stands for the National Advancement of Colored People.

• The NAACP was founded in 1909 partially in reaction to the continuing practice of public lynching performed by white Americans on black Americans.

• It is the oldest, largest, and arguably most recognized civil rights organization.

Impact of NAACP

• The NAACP still has a lasting effect to this day

• NAACP right now is striving to bring justice to the slain teenager, Trayvon Martin, and push to raise the amount of black voters in US elections.

• Examples of the things the NAACP advocates is: health, civic engagement, justice, economic opportunity, and climate justice.

Key Players

• Early members of the NAACP include Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary Talbert, and many more.

• The most famous “player” of the NAACP is arguably W.E.B. Du Bois, who founded The Crisis magazine as the main voice for civil rights.

National Urban League • Founded in 1910

• Headquarters in New York City

• Historical civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment.

• Works for educational opportunities.

Mission

• Enable African Americans to secure economic gain.

• The League played a pivotal role in the 20th century.

Important Players

• One important player was Mark H. Morial

• He was the League’s 18th president and chief executive officer.

• http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history • http://www.nul.org/who-we-are/mission-and-history

Literary Movement During the Renaissance

Themes

Promoting Racial Pride

Embracing Pan-African Sentiment

Feelings of Alienation and Marginality

http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/afam/index.aspx?id=8590

Harlemese

Vernacular

Ex: A man who sells stolen goods is known as a “hot man.”

http://theharlemrenaissance.org/harlem_renaissance_slang.html

Writers

Langston Hughes

Zora Neale Hurston

Jessie Redmon Fauset

http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/afam/index.aspx?id=8590

Visual Arts

Subject Matter •Wanted to create a new black identity

• Bring a new ethnic consciousness into art

• Inspire African Americans to create art with an identifiable style and aesthetic

Inspiration

• African culture and African American folk life

• Urban scenes depicting citizens’ daily life

• Previous history as slaves

Artists’ Rejections • Rural and figurative images

• White and European influences

• The “social norm” of the art in this time

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/arts/artfocus_03.html http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/4/00.04.01.x.html

Speakeasies

• Popular during Prohibition years

• Bars, Hangouts, where alcohol was served

illegally

• One base of Organized crime operations

Speakeasy: Cotton Club and Savoy Ballroom

The Cotton Club

• Run by white gangster, Owney Madden

• Segregated

• Shows at the Cotton Club were musical

reviews featuring all types of entertainers.

Savoy Ballroom Owned by Moe Gale, a Jewish man, and

managed by Charles Buchanan, a black man

The first racially integrated public places in the country

Was the “Cotton Club” of minorities.

Works cited

• "About the Savoy Ballroom." Savoy Ballroom 1926-1958. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.savoyplaque.org/about_savoy.htm>.

• “Jazz Age Culture." Harlem Renaissance. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://faculty.pittstate.edu>.

• "The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.blackpast.org>.

and

• 1926, Savoy Ballroom

• Started as a team

• Drifted toward entertainment

• January 1952; Lost to Seattle Chieftains

• Only lost two games in 38 years

• Still active

Harlem Globe Trotters

Harlem Rens

• All black professional basketball team

• February 13, 1923

• Renaissance Casino and Ballroom

• 1st Game Nov. 3, 1923 vs. an all white team

• Record 1932/33 120-8

• Disbanded in 1949

The Great Depression’s impact on the Harlem Renaissance

Great Depression ends the Harlem Renaissance

• Many African Americans went to war

• People were no longer interested in art

• Could no longer work in the arts

Great Depression changes the arts

• Affected the style of art

• Work began reflecting broad range of African Americans’ heritage

• Yet, African Americans lost their

jobs at a faster rate

Harlem Renaissance influence

• Reemerged in the Black Arts movement in 1960’s

• Oppressed the Renaissance but did not end it

• Also influenced the creation of the blues

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/february98/harlem5.html http://www.ushistory.org/us/46e.asp

Works Cited

Harlem Race Riots of 1930’s

• Caused when a store keeper claimed a 16 yr. old black

teenager stole a pocket knife

• Crowd gathered when boy was led away by police, crowd believed they were going to beat him

• When an ambulance (for the injured shopkeeper) arrived and a hearse appeared across the street, the crowd became furious over police brutality,

fueled by previous tension with police

• A group of civil rights activists known as the young liberators organized a demonstration outside the store

The story of the beating grew and after someone threw a rock at the storefront, followed by police resistance, a riot

broke out that spread for blocks

The riot began to settle when photo of an unbeaten Riviera with a police officer was released

What happened?

• Millions of dollars in public property was produced

• 3 people died, many others were injured

• Many whites visited the city

to witness the damage done

by the riot

The Riots’ Aftermath

• The Jazz age brought a interest in African American culture, especially music and painting

• It brought social change and an end to legal, institutional, and social racism

• It allowed jazz, blues, and ragtime as original American art forms.

• Thousands of black and white people went nightly to see the same performers and musicians

• Billie Holliday (jazz club singer)

• Chick Webb (one of the best regarded band leaders and drummers of new “swing” style)

• Louis Armstrong (One of the most famous musicians in the Harlem Renaissance.)

• White people tried to steal blacks’ ideas and use them as their own.

• It helped to bring black and white people

together who had a common interest in music

• It provided women motivation and opportunity in society to become artists.

• The culture of the minority became the desire of the majority.

http://www.ushistory.org/us/46e.asp http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl494/harlemren.htm