The Harlem Renaissance African American Struggles Moved north

The Harlem Renaissance

African American Struggles • Moved north during the Great Migration • Not welcomed up North • 25 race riots in summer of 1919 • Lynching in the South

Marcus Garvey and the UNIA • Believed African Americans should build a separate society • Founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) • Encouraged followers to return to Africa and help natives throw off their colonial oppressors to build a mighty nation • Movement dwindled when he was convicted of mail fraud and sent to jail

Harlem Renaissance • Literary and artistic movement celebrating African American culture • 1 st significant artistic movement coming out of African-American culture • Harlem= borough (neighborhood) in upper west side of New York City • World’s largest black community • Produced notable works of literature, music, dance, and art

African American Writers • Well-educated, middle-class • Expressed pride in the African American experience • Wrote about the trials of being black in a white world

Langston Hughes Wrote poetry that used rhythms of African American music like blues and jazz

Jazz • 1 st true American music started by African Americans • Characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation • So influential that 1920 s are called the Jazz Age • Spread from New Orleans to the North and blossomed in Harlem

Famous Jazz Musicians • Louis Armstrong- trumpet player • Duke Ellington- pianist • Bessie Smith- blues singer

Cotton Club • Important location where ideas, such as jazz, were exposed to white audiences • African Americans were allowed to perform, but often times only whites were allowed to attend as guests