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Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
– by Langston Hughes
Harlem Renaissance:
Triumph of the African American Spirit
According to most dictionaries, the term “renaissance” literally means “rebirth” or “revival.” If you were to ask many people what “renaissance” means, they may refer to the historical period of the same name that is almost universally taught in American high schools and colleges. That “Renaissance” was a revival of intellectual and artistic achievement that occurred in 15th century Europe. Unfortunately, not many of those same people may be aware of another major cultural  rejuvenation that took place in 20th century America that actually changed our artistic and literary landscape forever. That reawakening is now known as the “Harlem Renaissance.”
Between the end of World War I in the early 1900s and the middle of the Depression in the 1930s, African American literature, art, music, drama, and dance flourished in the lower Manhattan (specifically Greenwich Village) and upper Manhattan (specifically Harlem) sections of New York City. This powerful, inspiring upsurge of the humanities quickly became known as “The New Negro Movement” long before it became the Harlem Renaissance. One of the factors contributing to the rise of the Harlem Renaissance was the great migration of African Americans to northern cities (such as New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.) between 1919 and 1926. In his influential book The New Negro (1925), Dr. Alain LeRoy Locke, African American educator and Harvard graduate, described the northward migration of blacks as “something like a spiritual emancipation.” Black urban migration, changing American societal trends toward experimentation during the 1920s, and the rise of black intellectuals like Dr. Locke all contributed to the energy of the Harlem Renaissance.
This movement exalted the unique culture of African Americans and redefined their expression. African-Americans were encouraged to celebrate their history and heritage. Just a few of the writers and poets that defined the Harlem Renaissance era are: Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Jesse Redmon Fauset, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston,  Jean Toomer, James Weldon Johnson, Arna Bontemps, Angelina W. Grimke, and Ester Popel. Musically, there was an explosion of uniquely contextual music that expressed the African American self-understanding, particularly jazz, spirituals, and blues. The Harlem Renaissance, however, was far more than just a literary and artistic movement. It was a canvas for painting portraits of social commentary. Some of the common themes included racial consciousness, racial integration, alienation, marginality, and the perceived misuse of Black heritage and tradition. During the Harlem Renaissance, the voices of traditionally silenced people spoke and sang their witnesses with innovation, virtuosity, and passion.
The Harlem Renaissance began to fade as America faced the Great Depression of the 1930s. Though the movement itself came to an end, the legacy it left on this country and its citizens is undeniable. Perhaps, one day, the word “renaissance” will spark images of African American accomplishment among the general American populace just as much as images of 15th century Europe!
To learn more about the Harlem Renaissance, try these books:
N. I. Huggins, Harlem Renaissance (1971)
B. Kellner, ed., The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the Era (1987)
L. Harris, ed., The Philosophy of Alain Locke: Harlem Renaissance and Beyond (1989)
H. Bloom, ed., Black American Prose Writers of the Harlem Renaissance (1994).
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