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 * = Harlem Renaissance =
 * = History 1312 - Summer 2011 =
 * = University of Texas Arlington =
 * = Group Wiki Project =

Group members and their jobs for this project include:

 * ===Melissa Purdy - Leader===
 * ===Kimberly Starlow - Overview===
 * ===Crystal Wright -Social thought During Harlem Renaissance===
 * ===Emily Rogge - Dance===
 * ===Kristy Roach - Literature===
 * ===Damaris Vasquez - Culture===
 * ===Monique Mitchell - Music===
 * ===Victor Yanez - Art===

=Welcome to our Wiki over the Harlem Renaissance!=

The Harlem Renaissance was of major significance to the African Americans. At the end of the American Civil War in 1865, African Americans had new opportunities in education and employment. There were still many obstacles for the African American, more so in the south, but this was the beginning to change for African Americans who had the will to work for the American dream. In 1896 Plessey vs. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled segregation was constitutional and acceptable; this was a huge set back for equality. In 1905, W.E.B. Du Bois discussed with both black and white politicians the many challenges for the African Americans. In 1909, the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People was formed, better known as the NAACP. This group is still active today to assure proper treatment of African Americans. Through all of this the creativity and personality of the people shown through in their art, music, and culture.

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This event occurred during the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was originally referred to as the New Negro Movement. However, it was a literary and intellectual flowering as well. During this time many black-owned magazines and newspapers flourished. In 1925, this time period was enshrined by Alain Locke as the Harlem Renaissance, and it took its artistic inspiration from people across the Atlantic and in Europe.=====

References for Overview:

Rowen, Beth. & Brunner, Borgna. Great Days in Harlem. The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance. 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmharlem1.html Gates, Henry Jr. 1997. Extracts from ‘Harlem on our Minds’. Retrieved from: http://www.iniva.org/harlem/negro.html

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Many thought of the Harlem Renaissance as the “flowering of African-American social thought and culture based in the African-American community forming in Harlem in New York City” (Harlem Renaissance, 2005). The African Americans expressed their social thought in many ways such as visual art, music, and dance. The Harlem Renaissance also went by another name, “New Negro Movement” which was named after Alain Locke’s works titled “The New Negro” in 1925. White Americans began to see the African Americans in a new way, from rural undereducated peasants to urban, cosmopolitan sophistication in the North after the migrations. Some earned the name “dicty niggers” from their fellow blacks because they began to develop the ways of the whites and mimicked their etiquette and way of dressing. They were also called hypocrites due to the fact that they had always talked like they wanted to be free and live their own ways but were adopting the ways of the whites.=====



References for Social Thought:

Beveridge, Andrew. 2008. An affluent, white Harlem? Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=harlem+renaissance+pictures&view=detail&id=49AEC4D68B2156C98B0CAA00F682885F46E95E35&first=241&FORM=IDFRIR

Harlem Renaissance. 2005. Retrieved from http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/harlem-renaissance/impact-of-the-harlem-renaissance.html

====During the Harlem Renaissance, also known as the New Negro Movement, the popular type of music called jazz was introduced. The development and creation of the jazz dance was directly influenced by this new type of music. Jazz dancing was a very fast paced dance and was persuaded by a combination of tap, European steps, and African movement. The Charleston and the Lindy Hop were two of the first and most popular jazz dances created during the Harlem Renaissance. These dances were complex and swayed by the heritage of black folk dances. The Charleston was named after the city in South Carolina where it originated, and the Lindy Hop, said to be created by “Shorty” Snowden, later became known as the popular Jitterbug. Dance during this period was very important to the African Americans and allowed them to express themselves and their emotions during a time of struggle. This new form of dance was great entertainment for the African Americans in Harlem, and would soon sweep the country with its upbeat rhythm.====



References for Dance:

Charlston Dance. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.vintageperiods.com/charleston.php

Drop Me Off in Harlem. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/harlem/faces/herbert_white.html

Garcia, E., Messmer, E., Monta, C., & Odumes, K. (n.d.) Harlem Entertainment. Retrieved from http://www.tcnj.edu/~messmer2/index.htm

Lindy Hop. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG03/lucas/lindyhop.html

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The Harlem Renaissance represents a time when African American’s wanted to be heard. They no longer wanted to ignore their past and were ready to take charge of their future. Literature and poetry was a way for African Americans to express their feelings and make people more aware of their struggles. The literature was also a way for them to fight for the civil rights they deserved. This is a period of time when African Americans were determined to have their voices heard and were no longer going to settle for any racial discrimination. Common themes they wrote about included their culture, the south, racial hardships and family. There was no specific style of literature during this time, writers just wrote from the heart and did not care what others thought. White Americans became fascinated with African American culture and publishers began taking notice of the movement.=====

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It is said that the work of the early Harlem Renaissance authors helped to shift the view from the “Old Negro” to the “New Negro”. The “Old Negro” implied inferiority of the post-Reconstruction era when black artists often did not control the means of production (Carroll,=====

Prominent writers during the Harlem Renaissance include:

 * =====Langston Hughes The Weary Blues (1926) The Ways of White Folks (1934)=====
 * =====Alain Locke The New Negro: An Interpretation (1925)=====
 * =====W.E.B. DuBois The Negro (1915) Black Reconstruction (1935)=====
 * =====Zora Neale Hurston Their Watching God (1937)=====

References for Literature:
Carroll, J. (2011). Harlem renaissance multimedia resource [Harlem literature]. Retrieved from http://www.jcu.edu/harlem/index.htm

Global Fusion. (2011, February 1). Langston Hughes. Retrieved from http://globalfusionproductions.com/fbl/langston-hughesfebruary-1-1902-%E2%80%93-may-22-1967-prolific-wordsmith-rest-in-power/

Marable, M. (2011). The New Negro. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/marable/c1001/weeks/week6.html

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At the end of the civil war in 1865, this opened up for new beginnings for African Americans. For a time there was actual racial equality until the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson took place. This case that went all the way to the Supreme Court declared racial segregation to be constitutionally acceptable. This led to harsher conditions for the African Americans especially in the South. Due to the unpleasant living circumstances many started moving up North by loads. Even though there was still racism, it was not as bad as in the house and men were able to vote. There were better education opportunities for them and offered better job opportunities. This era was later known as “The Great Migration.”=====

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Neighborhoods were growing fast in Harlem. Developers were building these areas for white communities, but they were building faster than the needed transportation to transport people to and from downtown. This area was then abandoned by the white middle class which forced the developers to lower prices. Landlords started selling their properties to black real estate agents and renting to blacks. The renovation of the Metropolitan area pushed many blacks out of midtown and=====

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began moving in multitudes to Harlem between 1900-1920 and the population in this era doubled. Many artistic black individuals had settled in the new upbeat Harlem, New York city. The area was later known as “the Black Mecca” and “the Capitol of black American.”=====

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In the early 1900s, African- Americans middle class started pushing for racial equality. Three of the largest civil rights groups established in this part of New York; the NAACP (W.E.B. Dubois, one of the contributors), the UNIA-ACL (founded by Marcus Garvey), and NUL (founded by Ruth Baldwin and Dr. George Haynes). These groups helped establish a foundation for African-Americans. Instead of expressing their thoughts about civil rights and other issues through political ways, they used the arts to express themselves. African-American art, jazz, literature; these were different ways of expressing themselves and it became part of their culture. Through arts and music; the Harlem Renaissance was born.=====

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As the 20s were ending, so was the interest white-Americans had with Harlem. The Great Depression also put a dent on the enthusiasm. Many businesses closed along with homes foreclosing. What also increased the tension was between the black community and white-shop owners. The tension between the two led to the Harlem riot of 1935.=====

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Even though the Harlem Renaissance was an historical movement, it had a great change in society. The civil rights movements that were established at this time still continued on in the 50s and 60s. The arts, the music, literature from this time are still being enjoyed and shared till this day.=====

References for Culture:

(2011). Retrieved July 31, 2011, from chimovement: http://chimovement.com/the-harlem-renaissance/harlemrenaissance2/

Black History: The Harlem Renaissance. (2011). Retrieved July 31, 2011, from bio.true story: http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/harlem-renaissance.jsp

The Harlem Renaissance- America's Art and History. (2011, February 18). Retrieved July 31, 2011, from Speak Art Loud: http://speakartloud.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/the-harlem-renaissance-%E2%80%93-america%E2%80%99s-art-and-history/

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Music during the Harlem Renaissance movement was one of the most significant expressions of Black America in this Jazz Age. “People were tired of the war. Women exercised their newly found freedom (having won the right to vote in 1920) and many whites took up an interest in African American culture.” (Americas Library)=====

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“With racism rampant and economic opportunities scarce, creative expression was one of the few avenues available to African Americans in the early twentieth century.” (Pearson, 2007) Harlem became the center of a musical evolution in which newly discovered amazing talent arose and unique sounds were created that has yet to be paralleled to this day.=====

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Blue lyrics expressed themes of working-class protest and resistance to racism. Out of the blues came jazz. “Emanating from New Orleans, Chicago, and St. Louis, jazz was central to the black arts movement and the emerging national culture.” (Jones, p499) The recording industry and radio helped jazz and the blues to spread throughout the nation among blacks and whites alike.=====

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“Louis Armstrong became the first great jazz soloist when he moved from King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band in Chicago to Fletcher Henderson’s band in New York City in 1924. Henderson’s band soon had competitors in “big bands” led by the likes of Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, and Jimmie Lunceford. Once associated with brothels and traveling circuses, jazz gained respectability as a form of high art.” (Britannica)=====

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Music during this time became a worldwide craze. It linked together black life, innovation, and self-expression during a time when African Americans wanted to start a new society for themselves and changed a nation.=====

References for Music:

America’s Library. “Great War & Jazz Age.” Library of Congress Sponsor. 01 Aug. 11 

Jones et al. Created Equal, Brief Edition, Third Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011. eBook.

"Harlem Renaissance." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 29 Jul. 2011. .

Rowen, Beth and Brunner, Borgna. “Great Days in Harlem”. Pearson, 2007. 29 Jul 11. 

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During the Harlem Renaissance (New Negro period) there were quite a few people that expressed themselves in many different ways that allowed everyone to see the beauty of that time. Aaron Douglass was a scholar that graduated with a Bachelors degree that eventually moved to New York in 1922 where he took part in the Harlem Renaissance movement. He was influential in the illustrations that were found in “The Crisis” magazine. This period began to involve the whites which were able to truly see the inspirational talents from the African American artists. Aaron Douglass was known as the “father of African American arts”. He later died in 1979 but left a legacy of art behind him that allowed him to be known as the “father of African American arts”. He never wanted to be known as this since he painted what inspired true art to be in his eyes that dwelled in his heart.=====

References for Art:

Douglas, Aaron. (1936). Rhapsodies in black. Retrieved from http://www.iniva.org/harlem/aaron.html

Flynn, P. (1988). The harlem renaissance: black american traditions. Unpublished manuscript, Department of History, Yale, New York, New York. Retrieved from http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1988/2/88.02.02.x.html

The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point for blacks freed from slavery and fighting for their own place in America. This time in history paved the way for equality for blacks and for a unique culture and legacy for African Americans.