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How Did The Harlem Renaissance Influence American Culture

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The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that made a cultural and artistic impact on American history in the early 20th century. Even today, the Harlem Renaissance continues to shape American culture. However, the beginning of this movement can be traced back much further to the earliest African presence in the United States, along with the fusion and adaptation of African cultural traditions in America. By examining various texts and videos from scholars, this essay will demonstrate how African cultural traditions contributed to creating a distinctly American cultural movement that resonates in American society today. It will explore the relationship between African culture and the Harlem Renaissance, that the early African presence in the United …show more content…

This movement marked the wave of a new creative expression in literature, music, art, and theater. Back then the work of a colored person was seen as inferior compared to a white person’s work, but the Harlem Reneisance started to change that. In The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader, David Levering Lewis says “Just as soon as true art emerges; just as soon as the black artist appears, someone touches the race on the shoulder and says, ‘He did that because he was an American, not because he was a Negro; he was born here; he was trained here; he is not a Negro—What is a Negro anyhow? He is just human; it is the kind of thing you ought to expect.” The Harlem Renaissance was a period of renewed pride and identity among black Americans, it marked a moment of achievement in African American cultural and intellectual history. It represented a rejection of the racial oppression and discrimination that had defined their experiences for generations. A profound exploration of themes such as black pride, identity, resistance, and the use of African cultural traditions as a source of inspiration and artistic expression marked their …show more content…

The movement challenged the stereotypes and attitudes toward African Americans and inspired a new generation of artists and intellectuals. The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance can be seen in the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality in current American society. African American culture has continued to evolve, and its expressions are now more diverse than ever before. The Harlem Renaissance serves as a reminder of the resilience and creativity of the African American community in the face of oppression and adversity. Therefore, the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and African cultural traditions will continue to be significant in American society and

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The Harlem Renaissance was such a significant moment for African Americans in particular and also for Americans in general, because it allowed them to express themselves through their own unique culture. For example, the text remarks, “The “New Negro” was a way contemporary writers, critics, social activists, and intellectuals used to define an African American population less concerned with the artistic standards of white and European culture, and more interested in self-expression and a distinctive African American culture” (Paragraph 3). In addition, American culture changed unquestionably as a result of the Harlem Renaissance due to political upheaval, economic transformation, and a huge increase in diversity. One reason for cultural change

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The Harlem Renaissance was a period in American history, which occurred in the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The cultural movement was an opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their heritage through intellectual and artistic works. Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was a product of the Harlem Renaissance. One notable piece of literature by Hughes is “Dream Deferred”. However, the discussion of African American culture isn’t limited to the 1920s.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a black literary and art movement that began in Harlem, New York. Migrants from the South came to Harlem with new ideas and a new type of music called Jazz. Harlem welcomed many African Americans who were talented. Writers in the Harlem Renaissance had separated themselves from the isolated white writers which made up the “lost generation” The formation of a new African American cultural identity is what made the Harlem Renaissance and the Lost Generation unique in American culture because it influenced white literacy and it was a sense of freedom for African Americans.

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"Black artists include political messages in their work" Diffit (2024, Jan 9). The movement inspired and impacted later generations of African American artists and intellectuals, as well as drawing attention to the major works of African American art. African artists take pride in their work and their career. African artists and their work became more popular throughout the year. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic movement.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great cultural growth in the black community. It is accepted that it started in 1918 and lasted throughout the 1930s. Though named the ‘Harlem’ Renaissance, it was a country-wide phenomenon of pride and development among black Americans, the likes of which had never existed in such grand scale. Among the varying political actions and movements for equality, a surge of new art appeared: musical, visual, and even theatre. With said surge, many of the most well-known black authors, poets, musicians and actors rose to prevalence including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Louis Armstrong, and Eulalie Spence.

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African Americans lived in a world of racial injustices and cultural restrictions until the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a time where there is an African American literary and art movement in the uptown Manhattan neighborhood. It is the turning point in African American culture, as well as their place in America. The African Americans were starting to become equal in American society. While the Renaissance built on earlier traditions of African American culture, it was greatly affected by the trends of the Europeans and white Americans.

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This movement influenced many people to speak up about African-Americanproblems. There were many known people who did so. These new voices made an impact on American culture today. The Harlem Renaissance affects today’s world artistically, culturally, and intellectually.

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Katelyn Vang Mrs. Stobbe Research Essay Draft 9 March 2023 The Harlem Renaissance's Effects on History The Harlem Renaissance movement influenced numerous works of literature. This movement exhibited meaningful messages that can be seen in works; its profound significance has inspired African culture to be recognized for exhibiting diversity, evident pride, and rich culture.

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Langston Hughes once said, “Perhaps the mission of an artist is to interpret the beauty to people- the beauty within themselves.” However, the truth is often ugly, racism, slavery, lynching and discrimination is not pretty, and if we sugarcoat everything by shoving the bad thoughts to the back of our head then we have failed as artists, creators, and intellectuals. The Harlem renaissance was an African American literary and artistic movement and through the creation of literature, art, and music blacks could challenge the pervading racism and stereotypes to promote racial and social integration and the improvement of society by reform. The production of art and literature would serve to elevate the race. Music had the biggest impact of all because it could speak what could not be expressed and many musicians created protest songs to convey the experience of being black.

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The Harlem Renaissance was an important time for both African Americans and whites because it gave them an opportunity to expand their horizons through art and music. It helped to establish the African American identity in America, as well as provide inspiration for future generations. The Harlem Renaissance introduced America to Jazz, different art styles, and many great writers. It expanded the horizons of Americans and things created in the movement were able to branch into other things we now consider staples of American society. The Harlem Renaissance, which was a period of great cultural and artistic achievement in the United States, is significant because it brought an influx of African-American talent to the American literary scene.

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The “New Negro Movement,” better known as the Harlem Renaissance, was a period in American history in which African American culture became increasingly influential in the arts. To put it into more vivid terms, the Harlem Renaissance was “...the blossoming of jazz, infused with the breath of southern black musical traditions and a spirit of improvisation.” (National Geographic 91). Mediums such as painting, literature, and music were all given a touch of African stylization during the Harlem Renaissance. Hence the name, the Harlem Renaissance originated in Harlem, New York.

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The shame wasn’t a cause for them to turn away from the love for their culture, it just made the proud of their deep black beautiful roots. The black artists of the Harlem Renaissance put a visual scene to the joy, pain, laughter, tears, and the ugly truth within this endearing culture. The literature of the Harlem Renaissance gave an intellectual opinion in American during in the turn of the 20th century. Writers of the Harlem Renaissance have had a profound impact on the American society today.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that reflected the culture of African Americans in an artistic way during the 1920’s and the 30’s. Many African Americans who participated in this movement showed a different side of the “Negro Life,” and rejected the stereotypes that were forced on themselves. The Harlem Renaissance was full of artists, musicians, and writers who wrote about their thoughts, especially on discrimination towards blacks, such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Langston Hughes. The Harlem Renaissance was an influential and exciting movement, and influenced others to fight for what they want and believed in. The Harlem Renaissance was the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

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If they before were disregarded, in the 1920s their works were widespread. Harlem Renaissance has changed not only cultural but social and political position of African-Americans in American society. The mass migration to the North changed the image of the African-American person, he was not an ignorant and illiterate peasant anymore, he turned into a smart and educated representative of the Middle class. Thanks to this changes, African-Americans became the part of the American and then the world cultural and intellectual elite.

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This led to an increased interest in numerous different aspects of African American culture, including music, literature, performing arts, and political issues. Although each of these mediums are unique in their own sense, they all share core characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance, including personal expression and defining what is meant to be “black”. These common characteristics created a sense of interconnectedness throughout the Harlem Renaissance as many artists drew their inspirations from those of other mediums. This exhibit portrays just a glance into the vivid cultural revolution of the Harlem Renaissance and includes a wide variety of works across both multiple mediums and subjects. It was the hope that this exhibit would give one a holistic image of life and culture during the Harlem Renaissance by exploring different aspects of it.

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