Why African Americans Today Should Care About their African American descendants from The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance, also known during that time as the Negro Movement, briefly started in the 1920’s and came to an end in the 1930’s. Although the Harlem Renaissance was a short period in history it marked and created a great movement for all African Americans. Many people during this time became well known in subjects as music, writing, and art. The work and material that these African American individuals produced during this period in history have shown future Africans American individuals to chase their own dreams. These people will stay in history but their work and accomplishments during this period will be carried on into the future.

The beginning of the Harlem Renaissance marked a new role that African Americans would play in our society. During this time African Americans became well known around the world for numerous accomplishments, for example music, poetry, novels, and arts. African Americans after World War One were well educated and had many opportunities to become employed. Due to less job opportunities in the South at this time, this led many African Americans to the industrial cities, where there were many job opportunities being handed out, and where African Americans could make something more of themselves. Many African Americans at this time ended up in New York, particularly in the neighborhood of Harlem where there were many jobs being offered. This led to a large population of African Americans in Harlem, New York during this time period. Then, due to the great number of them being well educated this led to the start of many of these African Americans adventuring out into a variety of different categories. African American venturing out into new opportunities led to the development of groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP enabled more African Americans to proceed in any direction that they would like to go in without having to face the same difficulties that their descendants before them did. Due to the creation of the NAACP African Americans at this time during the Harlem Renaissance were not segregated against due to the color of their skin, and were not rejected to any type of affiliation (Encarta).
One example of a African American person that was able to fulfill their dreams during this time was Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes is one of the most famous writers and poets of the Harlem Renaissance time period. He’s most famous for his poem “Montage of a Dream Deferred”, for capturing “Harlem”. His most famous and important book of the Harlem Renaissance, published in 1961, is considered to be “Black Nativity”. During this time he was said to have put the African American name into a well respected and meaningful one from around the world. He did this by sharing with the world during this time period his perspective on racial segregation and Harlem as a whole. He did this by creating such works as “Black Nativity”, to show African Americans that there is more to life out there than what people have said that African Americans are allowed to have. “Langston Hughes, in "The Negro and the Racial Mountain," argued that these writings catered to African Americans who sought so much to fit into white society that they rejected aspects of their own heritage” (Karsten). They believed that African Americans should be proud of their roots, and should commend their own people for making a way for people of the same color to follow in their path.

The Harlem Renaissance also brought a time of enjoyment of different music genres, for example jazz and blues. The most popular of them all was jazz, which combined blues and ragtime. Some of the most famous musicians who played these genres were Edward Kennedy Ellington (also known as “Duke Ellington”) who played at the Harlem’s Cotton Club, and due to the publicity of Harlem’s Cotton Club because of Duke Ellington; his name was well known around the world, from both black and white listeners. His most famous songs were “Don’t get around much anymore”, “Sophisticated Lady”, and “Sentimental Mood”. As well as Duke Ellington, there were many other musicians both man and women that contributed to the Harlem Renaissance, for example Lena Horne, and Bessie Smith. These musicians led to most of the enjoyment of the Harlem Renaissance. Their music enabled many people to spend many hours of the nights at numerous clubs, enjoying the music of many of these talented musicians and singers.

Upon the arrival of poets, writers, singers, and musicians, the Harlem Renaissance also brought a time of art. Some famous artists that were known during this time were Sargent Claude Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, and Lois Mailou Jones. Sargent Claude Johnson’s art during this time was influenced by many different cultures, for example Cubism, West Africa, Latin America, and Mexican. Sargent Claude Johnson would then use these influences that he had observed from studying these different cultures, and then molding it into his own technique, and therefore creating his own original piece. "It is the pure American Negro I am concerned with, aiming to show the natural beauty and dignity in that characteristic lip and that characteristic hair, bearing and manner; and I wish to show that beauty not so much to the white man as to the Negro himself" – (Johnson). He believed that African Americans should realize and see the true beauty within them. As well as all of these artists, they all tried in some way through their many paintings and sculptures that they created during this time period to get the message across to African Americans that they are beautiful.

There were many reasons as to why the Harlem Renaissance came to an end during the 1930’s. For example, the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929 played a big role as to why the Harlem Renaissance ended. The main cause of the Great Depression was the stock market crash. Due to the Great Depression many people around the world lost their jobs and many companies and industries went out of business. With loosing their jobs, and companies going out of business, instead of making money people are loosing it, so The Great Depression marked a period of saving not spending. With people not being able to go out to night clubs listening to their favorite musicians, for example Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith many of these African American singers, musicians, poets, artists, and authors didn’t get the publicity that they usually got before The Great Depression. Writers and poets were still able to publish their writings and books, the public wouldn’t just be able to buy as much of them, as they would have had The Great Depression not happened.

African Americans everywhere who participated and were a part of the Harlem Renaissance deserve recognition. Many African Americans during this time accomplished so much more than their descendants before them would have ever dreamed to have accomplished in their lifetime. The African American race has come such a long way in society, especially when it comes to being equal to the white race at this time in history. During the Harlem Renaissance African Americans produced books, poetry, and music. But most importantly African Americans showed during the Harlem Renaissance, that they are so much more than what people say. African Americans showed during this time, that they can do just as much as a regular white person can do, and that they have no limits, and could exceed in whatever they themselves put their minds to. This period marked the movement for all African Americans to reach for their dreams and not let what anyone did or said stand in their way of succeeding in their life, and the goals that they had set for themselves.

African Americans everywhere should care about the accomplishments of their African American descendants during the Harlem Renaissance, because it shows them as well as everyone else that African Americans are unique in their own way. In today’s society African Americans are still put in a stereotype that they are to look, dress, and act a certain way. Unfortunately, many people in today’s society still believe that. We each come with are our set of talents and beliefs, and choose to take our own path in life. Hearing all of these negative comments and statements directed towards African Americans, gives them the opinion that this is what we are, this is how we are suppose to be, and just because people say it, makes it true. In today’s society when many people look at the average African -American person, they think thugs, gangsters, and gang members. They have somehow formed this opinion that every African- American person are suppose to act as they say “black”. Then when these people meet a well - educated African American individual that can pronounce their words correctly and wants to do others things with their future other than selling drugs and being in a gang, they think that there’s something wrong with that. We each choose the path that we decide to take in life. But those decisions that we make can sometimes be influenced by what the people in your community or society think of you or your race as a whole.

Letting African Americans today learn about the accomplishments of their African American descendants from the Harlem Renaissance, enables them to believe that their lives can go in any direction that they choose. It enables them not to put themselves in one certain category. It shows them that they are able to achieve so much more in life and everything else that they do and not just excepting the bare minimum that people say that they are able to have and achieve for themselves.


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