The Great Migration The Harlem Renaissance 1 What

The Great Migration & The Harlem Renaissance 1

What is the Great Migration? Started in the beginning of the 1900’s n Involved the mass exodus of millions of African Americans from the South to the North n Over 1 million were estimated to have migrated north n Greatly influenced the Harlem Renaissance n 2

Why migrate? n n n Freedom Treatment Crop infestations Technological Innovations World War I Racial backlash by whites n Job Opportunities n To prove their identity n 3

Why Go North? ? ? n Fill up jobs n Political Freedoms n Better life 4

Advantages and Disadvantages n Advantages – – – Freedom Identity Better chances for education – Formation of large communities n Disadvantages – People killed – Racism in north often just as bad as south – Poor schooling for large communities – False perception of “lots of opportunity” 5

How was the North Affected? n Population increase n Economy n Not welcomed in the beginning, even from some African Americans 6

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How did the Great Migration affect the Harlem Renaissance? n n n Music Art Food Civil Rights Power of the People 8

The Harlem Renaissance n It was a cultural nationalistic movement caused by the GREAT MIGRATION n "originally called the “NEW NEGRO MOVEMENT” n "spiritual coming of age" in which the black community was able to seize upon its "first chances for group expression and self determination. " 9

Impact of the H. R. n Black Migration, south to north, changed their image from rural to urban, from peasant to sophisticate n A rich source for racial imagination and it freed the blacks from the establishment of past condition 10

Major Contributors to the H. R. n Langston Hughes – Writer: poetry, novels, music, short stories n W. E. B. Du. Bois – Socialist, Public Speaker n Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday – Musicians n Zora Neale Hurston – Writer: novels, poetry 11

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