Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

The Impact of the Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was “A movement of Change”. Literature, and the other forms of art produced during that time, created a new image of African-Americans post-Civil-war. Harlem became an oasis that united blacks and whites, and only discriminated against those who were not celebrating. The Harlem Renaissance created social and environmental change. Writers, artists, musicians, and directors forced the whole world to notice them and take them seriously. Ideas and work created during that era has influenced ways of life and thought processes. The Harlem Renaissance continues to inspire old and new artists throughout the world.

Most of Harlem’s residents during the 1920s were migrants from the south.

Home to White upper-class citizens, Harlem was a highly appraised neighborhood. Harlem was made up of luxurious apartments, churches, synagogues, clubs, and a few social organizations. “By 1905, Harlem’s boom turned into a bust. Desperate white developers began to sell or rent to African-Americans, often at greatly discounted prices, while black real estate firms provided the customers.” The large gravitation towards Harlem was mainly the redeveloping that destroyed existing neighborhoods. By 1910 Black migrants became the majority on the west side of Harlem. The population was estimated to be 50,000 by 1914. Fast forward to 1920 and Harlem was now home to Black intellectuals, social elites, and southern migrants all mixed together. “The Negro Metropolis”, was the place to be if you were Black in America. (Wintz

Many of the artists that gained fame through this weren’t even from Harlem. The Harlem Renaissance moved all throughout the world and transformed American culture. If you were to ask someone during that time what started the Harlem Renaissance, they would all have a different answer. At the forefront of the movement though, was literature. Musical theater and music flowed from that, then visual arts trailed behind in the later years of the 1920s. Writers and poets emerging during that time were recapturing the African-American past. Topics such as southern roots, new urban living, and African heritage were a few of their focuses. Langston Hughes was one of these poets transforming the Black image to the rest of the world. He was largely known for the raw emotions he emitted into his poems. Laced with Jazz and Blues undertones, Hughes’ poems that forced you clearly think about what he said. Hughes was attracted to the creative world of Harlem so he stayed there from time to time but never permanently resided there. As Hughes said “The Negro is in Vogue”. Poems and stories based on the passion, and the soul of black people in America, captivated audiences all over the