Schuyler and Hughes in the Harlem Renaissance

Paper Summary:

One of the most important movements in literature was the Harlem Renaissance, also called the New Negro Renaissance. Two of its contributors, George S. Schuyler and Langston Hughes, had very different perspectives on the art and literature of the African American. Their debate sparked a dialogue among the Harlem Renaissance community. This paper examines the argument between Schuyler and Hughes, adding the perspectives of other African American writers from the era.

From the Paper:

"In Hughes' view, the racial mountain stood in the way of this --"the urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible" (1926) Hughes thought that African American poets should not run spiritually away from their race towards whiteness, which he saw Schuyler advocating and which he thought Countee Cullen did to an extent as well."

More papers on Schuyler and Hughes in the Harlem Renaissance:

• Comparison Essay # 104092 : "The Harlem Renaissance and "Negro Art"
• Analytical Essay # 133568 : "The Harlem Renaissance and the Concept of Negro Art"
• Analytical Essay # 130542 : "Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance"

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