Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

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Harlem's Roaring Renaissance The 1920’s was a time for dramatic changes throughout America both socially and politically. Cities were crowded with people, and the US for the first time had a higher population of people living in cities rather than on farms. Wealth doubled throughout the 1920’s as well, but conflicts were present in America as well. Prohibition as well as cultural civil war between minorities and hate groups such as the Klu Klux Klan burdened the country and cities were full of poverty. But throughout hardship, creativity lived on, and 1920’s art took new forms while still achieving beauty. Art in America during the 1920’s took a dramatic turn with the emergence of movements of new European art (Ford). These new types of …show more content…

Louis Armstrong was a Jazz musician whose music spoke not only to African Americans, but whites as well (History). Jazz musicians which included Armstrong played breathtakingly smooth music at speakeasies where illegal liquor was often offered (History). Visual arts were also a prominent part of the Harlem Renaissance, these arts included paintings, murals, and book illustrations (History). Aaron Douglas, who was referred to as “the father of Black American Art” adapted African techniques (History). Stage work that had been previously withheld from African Americans were obtainable (History). Paul Robeson, an African American act, singer, writer, activist, and more was in the limelight during the Harlem Renaissance (History). Literature was a huge part of the Harlem Renaissance, this destroyed the stereotype of African Americans being illiterate (Boundless). Langston Hughes emerged as an influential writer during the 1920’s and made lasting impact on African American literacy (Boundless). Pieces like “FIRE!!” by Zora Neal Hurston, which exoticized the lives of Harlem residents and caused whites to become interested in the culture and the night life in Harlem (History). Jazz played a huge role in the Harlem Renaissance, and nobody did it better than Louis Armstrong. Louis played the trumpet, saxophone, and even used a beautiful voice to speak to his listeners through Jazz music (Britannica). James VanDerZee captured the daily life in Harlem as well as works that he filled with optimism and horrors of the past (History). VanDerZee accomplished this with the help of his camera lens